Starting a darkroom: which enlarger ?

Samsam said:
Hi FrankS ,
yeah people say film is dead ^^ . The problem is i don't know where i can find darkroom equipment for free or 20 bucks !
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Go to a camera club. Seriously! Or even some vernissages to meet other photographers. Or ask around the Bd. Beaumarchais...

A few weeks ago an acquaintance of mine (in the UK, admittedly) was GIVEN a Leitz Focomat IIc (that's MF as well as 35mm, autofocus).

Cheers,

R.
 
Hi Samsam,

After you get it, you will find that the enlarger is one of the most dumb to learn devvices in a darkroom, therefore there is no reason for not buying a good one from the start.

However the key question is whether the lens is included or not. A nikkor lens is the minimum decent level, and very nice by itself, to start. Otherwise you will be ruining your prints, waisting more paper than necessary (and paper is the biggest expense of any printing darkroom), and miseducating your photographic eye for print evaluation.

My enlarger is an LPL which comes with a fine tuning arm, enabling you to fine tune the focus at table level.

Cheers,
Ruben
 
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Check for Freecycle, I think they are in most cities, people give you stuff to keep it out of landfills. Last two enlargers I was given, I gave away on Freecycle.

I bought an entire darkroom one day for a friend in Prague, just before film died, ;-) and still paid $100, used to see people driving in to buy enlargers from FotoSkoda. Freestyle in California used to sell Meopta made for them.

Camera shows here, if someone has an enlarger, they often do not want to haul it home, so at the end, they give them away or dump them.

Too large to store for long or haul around, and they just do not attract the buyers as when you get a good one, they last forever.

There is a direct flight to Cleveland, I can give you an Omega B22, and you can give me a few bottles of second label Brane Contengac, or any other Margeaux.

I will toss in a Schneider lens for a boite of Fois Gras.

Camera show next Sunday as well, you might make a profit on the trip. ;-)

Have a spare 23C, but it is heavier, the Omega is boxed and ready to go.


Regards, John
 
Samsam said:
Hi guys, thx for your answers.
I did some searches and it seems that the Meopta Opemus 6 is the most available enlarger on the french market. Is it as good as the Meopta Magnifax ?
I didn't know that Leica made enlargers, I suppose it must be really good.
Thanks to your help, i'll focus my searches on Focomat, Meopta, and Beseler even if i didn't find lot of enlargers on ebay.fr
Any other comments/suggestions are welcome 🙂
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I'm using an Opemus 6 with the Meograde head (alongside a Focomat Ic) and I'm very happy with it. Now I regret not to have bought the Magnifax though, since I'd like to print from 6x9 negs. I suggest you get the Opemus as soon as you can as the availability seems to be dwindling. I tried to get a spare neg carrier from Germany and it wasn't available anymore. Meograde heads also seem to be difficult to find.
 
Meopta Axomat -> 24X36mm latest is axomat 5 or 6
Meopta Opemus -> up to 6X6cm latest is opemus 6 (or 7)
Meopta Magnifax -> up to 6X9cm latest is Magnifax 4

As the others I'd vote for the Magnifax having had both the Axomat 5 and several Opemuses
including a Std, 3,4 and 5.
Bevare or compatibility issues between early and late models of the Opemus.
It should be possible to get an Opemus for free. Of the 8 enlargers (including two Dursts) I have or have had I have only payed for one 🙂 The rest was given to me for free. If you are a member of a photo club that should be possible for you too
 
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jensen optical has taken up the job of supporting durst products. problem is that the prices are astronomical.
 
I finally received the Focomat Ic I won on Ebay. I paid 6.50 euros ( 8.5 dollars ? ), and 36 euros for the shipping. It's as if it was given free to me 🙂 and the Focomat is in perfect condition.
I started printing, and i love the results 🙂
Thank you guys for your help
 
The best for 35mm I've used is the Leitz but there desirablity seems well known as prices are high. I've bought two very fine enlargers from EBay both for about a £100 if I remember correctly. A Durst Model 70 which was great and went up to 6x7 and then an Omega D5 because I just had to try 5x4. and its the one I use all the time now for the reasons stated earlier on tte thread.

If Rogers right about parts for Omegas I'd better keep the Durst cluttering up the place as backup.
 
Befoe I went completely digital, I used three different enlargers in my B&W-only darkroom- a Chromega 6x7 with the dichro head was my main enlarger, a Beseler 23CII with a condenser head for hard printing, and a motorrized Beseler 45 for large format printing. The Chromega was a true workhorse. I still have that one and the 45, just in case. I can't see myself ever going back to wet printing, but you never know......
 
The best enlarger ever is the one you get for free. I have two of the best enlargers ever. They are out there. You have to watch, look and listen.
 
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