Your Favorite Enlarger & Why

You want a sturdy enlarger. You want one that lens axis, negative stage, base , all can be aligned to get sharp grain in all four corners.

You want one that hold negs flat, preferably from top only.

Some are better than others in these respects. Sometimes you need to improvise with shims to get some adjustments. Sometime you need to make top glass neg carriers for anti newton slide projection glass.

Satisfy all the requirements & they all work the same with very minor differences.

I have two 4x5 Omegas, Leica V35, two Focomat I c, two with three dichroic bulbs for RGB perfect color control. Name escapes me for now. One bends the neg and lens stage for tilt and shift to straighten converging lines.

You need a good tool to align it. I use the long mirror Omega/Peak because it looks into the very corners. The short mirror model will not work. Other tools were made.
 
I've a Beseler 45M and an Omega D2, and both are built to survive in war zones. I would hang to the Omega if I had to choose between them, but that is mainly because Harry Taylor at classic-enlargers.com is such a great source of parts and advice, and he only does Omega enlargers.
 
For 35mm, IMHO nothing beats the Focomat V35. Up to 4x5, I use an Omega with Super Chromega Dichroic II that looks it will last forever.
As lenses, I have some Componon-S (50mm, 80mm) and Rodagon/APO-Rodagons N (50mm, 135mm). Someone stole long ago my 40mm WA-Focotar, so I am coping with the lack of AF function on the V35, but as I always enlarge to the same paper size (18x24cm or 20x30cm) it's ok for me.
 
Dunco 67-II

the VC Module is superb, but the combined VC + Color module is fine, too. No need for drop in filters.
I use mine with the long 120cm stand,
Click to expand...

Indeed, I have the Dunco II 67 120 pro CVC and as extra the Heiland Split Grade module:

2060738124_7c0a3d13a4_z.jpg
 
Basically, I agree with what's been said.

I think the Beseler 23C is about the best enlarger ever made for up to 6x9, and almost every commercial and school lab used to have a couple. They're simple and rugged, and deal with vibration extremely well. The other best buy is an Omega D2V, which is what I eventually bought for my darkroom. Both had a wide range of options and accessories to do whatever you needed them to do. When you find them they're just about free.

The nice thing about both is that they never wear out, and parts are very easy to find. I've used both in production settings, and the Beseler is a bit faster, if you care about that.

Whatever you buy, make sure you can get the parts you might need easily. I bought a little Durst on a whim and still haven't been able to find the right lens board that I need for it. You see a lot of old Leitz enlargers out there for sale, often missing some piece you'll never be able to find. It seems that many enlargers get sold by heirs who didn't know what pieces went together, and there's some little thing missing, but with a Beseler or Omega, at least you can find that piece. There are lots of nice enlargers out there. . . . until you need a part.
 
Besley 23c for me. It's just so nicely built and, easy to clean (although some may dispute that).
I also have a school version Besler 67 that is set up to pre-flash.
Sometimes a girlfriend joins in and uses the little Besler.
 
Twenty five years ago I bought a NICE Omega D2 and has a good friend restore and align it for me. They are plentiful, cheap, and well made. Does everything I need to do up to 4x5. Recently I have been buying D2 neg boards to cut out myself, in several sizes that were not available in the catalog. Very little not to like. Has always made very sharp prints for me. I have most of the original accessories. For B&W printing I like the Omegalite head. When I was doing a lot of color printing, it was the Chromega dichroic head. A relative made the beautiful wooden drop-bed enlarging table, as a Christmas present. The plans for it were in Peterson's Photographic magazine. It is a joy to work with as is the D2.

At the last camera show I went to, a friendly guy there had one he didn't wanted to take home. Offered it to me for free, but really I already have everything I need. He said he didn't want to drop it in a landfill.
 

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Focomat 1c. I am lucky to have come across one that was expertly modified to take the Dunco VC module. As TomA said, the Autofocus is a gem, such a timesaver. Unbelievable.
Now if only I had more time, and a dedicated darkroom...

Greetings, Ljós
 
mdarnton said:
Basically, I agree with what's been said.

I think the Beseler 23C is about the best enlarger ever made for up to 6x9, and almost every commercial and school lab used to have a couple. They're simple and rugged, and deal with vibration extremely well. The other best buy is an Omega D2V, which is what I eventually bought for my darkroom. Both had a wide range of options and accessories to do whatever you needed them to do. When you find them they're just about free.

The nice thing about both is that they never wear out, and parts are very easy to find. I've used both in production settings, and the Beseler is a bit faster, if you care about that.

Whatever you buy, make sure you can get the parts you might need easily. I bought a little Durst on a whim and still haven't been able to find the right lens board that I need for it. You see a lot of old Leitz enlargers out there for sale, often missing some piece you'll never be able to find. It seems that many enlargers get sold by heirs who didn't know what pieces went together, and there's some little thing missing, but with a Beseler or Omega, at least you can find that piece. There are lots of nice enlargers out there. . . . until you need a part.
Click to expand...

I always wanted a 23C until I actually owned one. I quickly came to the conclusion that the 23C is a piece of garbage!!! Impossible to align, I could never get any prints that were sharp at the corners and center. I tried my best with that thing, but I finally gave up and got a properly set up D2. I started getting much better results immediately.
 
My favorite enlarger is a little LPL 3301D. It's not a particularly good one per say but it's my only enlarger and I am getting some great results from it.
It's also the only thing that fits into our tiny Tokyo apartment according to my wife. I could easily fit a Beseler 23C but that would leave me sleeping on the balcony I am afraid.

Sometimes it's not what we wish we had but what we can have and as long as it produces pleasing results, it's all good!

Ben
 
Focomat V35 with Focotar 40mm and Heiland Splitgrade for most of the work. LPL 4x5, also with a Heiland Splitgrade for the bigger stuff. Fired up the LPL on Monday for the first time in more than six months and enjoyed using it for old Rollei negs and a couple of 35 shots from the weekend storm. Both enlargers are great; neither require or even allow alignment. BTW, does anyone know if Leitz still services the V35 - one of the masking blades won't work. Thanks.
 
Minolta MODIII with 24x36 and 6x7 diffuser boxes and built-in color analyzer. Very solidly built, use for black and white and color prints. And the C.E. Rokkor 50mm and 80mm lenses are the best.
 
I've used just about everything going back to an Elwood and the one I own now is my favorite. It's a Beseler 45VXL which is not a common model. It's a sturdy, single rail, non-motorized 4X5. Very well counter-balanced so easy to raise and lower. I have three heads for it; the standard condensr head, an Aristo grid head and the weird Minolta/Beseler head with the triple flash tubes.
 
One of my most memorable experiences in a lifetime of photography features a wonderful enlarger.
In the early 1980's while attending CUNY Queens College I took a cultural anthropology course
taught by Dr. Robert Glasse (R.I.P.), who had done extensive fieldwork in Papua New Guinea.

The course was entitled Ethnographic Photography. The class made weekly photographic field trips to various
locations in and around the New York City borough of Queens, the most ethnically diverse community on earth.
We would meet in the Anthroplogy departments off-campus house to develop film, make prints and discuss
our work. Their excellent darkroom featured a half-dozen Beseler 23C-XL enlargers with Negatrans.

Since moving out of my parents home I have never had room for a 23C or permanent darkroom.
I currently use a compact Omega C700 and a couple of real nice lenses. It serves its purpose.
Most importantly it stores easily in a closet between printing sessions in my bathroom/darkroom.

Dr. Robert Glasse NY Times obituary

Chris
 
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