Please recommend an enlarger to me

[philipus]

Hi everyone

I'm thinking of beginning to print my b&w negatives, both 135 and 120. If i also wish in the future to print colour negs, which enlarger should I look for?

Thank you very much in advance
Philip

 

[Roger Hicks]

Dear Philip,

Where are you? Recommendations for Europe and the USA are not the same.

In Europe I'd go for a Meopta Magnifax or (if you have the money) a De Vere 203 or 504. I wouldn't touch Durst as parts are too hard to come by.

To a considerable extent, too, the lens matters more than the enlarger.

Cheers,

R.

 

[bjmc]

I use an LPL 7700 for exactly this purpose, there are several reasons why I like it:

-Very solid construction, all metal so no movement at full height etc.
-New film holders readily available through KHB - including a 35mm "full frame" carrier which I find very useful
-Lots of them on eBay (at least here in the UK), so the price is low. They dismantle easily for transport (I carried one home myself, it was not super-light, but certainly possible!)
-Colour head allows for both Multigrade and Colour Printing

The DeVere enlargers are certainly very good, however I've found them both more expensive and rarer, and I think for the money the LPL is a good deal.

 

[philipus]

Dear Roger and Barney

Thank you very much for the suggestions, very much appreciated (I'm in The Netherlands btw).

What are your views on condenser v diffusor enlargers - is there really any difference?

I just checked the UK Ebay and there are lots of different enlargers on offer. Too bad they don't ship easily. De Vere seem the most expensive, the Meoptas less so and the LPLs even less. Are there spare parts for all three brands?

cheers and many thanks
philip

 

[bjmc]

I had a (very bad) condenser enlarger first - I found it about a grade "harder" than the diffuser (7700). It also magnified the effect of any tiny dust particles/scratches etc. on the negs themselves. Roger is much more knowledgeable than me in this area, so take my advice with a heavy pinch of salt, but I prefer the diffuser - you may have to increase the paper grade by 1, or develop for slightly more contrast, but that is the only downside for me, really.

There are spare parts for the LPL here. I'm not sure about the others.

 

[Ansel]

I have been using a Meopta Magnifax 4a with Colour (diffusion) and Black and white (Condenser) heads for the past 15 years and I am very happy with it. Handles all formats between 35mm up to 6x9. Sturdy, adjustable and precise. Very well built and will last a lifetime. Not had any issues at all with dust or particles. Glass or glassless negative holder plates with adjustable marking. Very good prices SH.

 

[Fotohuis]

For the Netherlands you have a lot of choices:
Meopta, Magnifax 4A till 6x9cm roll film format
Dunco II 67 XL or 120 pro CVC ( color and Variable Contrast head)
Kienzle 67
Kaiser 67 or 69 but a bit more plastic in it.
Durst M805 can be till 6x9cm roll film but parts can be sometimes a problem.

Dunco, Kienzle and Kaiser enlargers are still in production.

 

[Vics]

I had a Durst M600 for many years, which I hated for the glass negative carrier. I could never get all six surfaces clean at once. I then got a Beseler 23CII with two El-Nikkor lenses 50 and 75, and I'm happy!

 

[MarinB]

Fujimoto 450M-C.

 

[B.J.Scharp]

In the Netherlands, the Meopta's are ridiculously easy to find. Especially the Opemus III can be had on Marktplaats for next to nothing, and will do everything up to 6x6 very well.
Just make sure you get one with a filter drawer or a dichroic head, since graded papers are hard to come by these days, so you'll want to be able to use filtration.

Great thing about the Opemus models is that they can be used as both condenser and diffuser enlargers.

I use two Opemus IIIs in my darkroom, and am very satisfied.