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Ade Ward
6th April 2010, 08:09 AM
I have recently bought a medium format camera and now need to buy some B and W darkroom equipment

i see a lot of enlargers on ebay but i am unsure what to get

do i buy a basic one or one with built in mutigrade functions

thanks in advance

adrian

Mamiyamaniac
6th April 2010, 08:28 AM
Hello Adrian,
welcome to the world of darkness.
It kind of depends, how much you are willing to spend and if you are convinced that you stick to darkroom work. I might be wise to get a basic but cheap enlarger first and then go on after a while. I started with a Meopta enlarger and used multigrade filters for the b&w work. These are quite solid and really cheap.
I now use a DUNCO 66-II, a lot of spare parts available, it is still produced. I have got a multigrade modul with it which I find is much more comfortable than filters and the enlarger isn't really expensive either. But there are a lot more that are great and colour heads usually can do multigrade too - but it takes a little more to get used to the filtering for multigrade.
You might want to wait - if you buy on E-Bay, to get a whole lab - it#s much cheaper than to buy everything one after another.
Tell us about the progress and how you like the darkness - here in the forum is a lot of (friendly and shared) knowledge to help.
Have fun - Frank

Richard Gould
6th April 2010, 08:48 AM
Personally I would go for something like a meopta,opemus 6, a very good solid enlarger and use multigrade above lens filter set, I use one of these and have done so for a while now,and prefer to use the filter set,if you want at a later date you can get a multigrade head for it,parts are available and they are still in production,Richard

Martin Aislabie
6th April 2010, 01:36 PM
Someone on FADU is selling a MF Enlarger and Darkroom kit - http://www.film-and-darkroom-user.org.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=2383

Martin

Daud
6th April 2010, 03:44 PM
I would have a look at the Meopta (never spell that right?:slap:) range – good value and built to do the job!
I have both a Magnifax and a durst – use the Magnifax most of the time (for some reason, I don’t think they make it any more but sure to find S/hand).
I will say that you should get the best enlarging lens you can afford and compromise on every thing else…

David.

JimW
6th April 2010, 04:26 PM
I will say that you should get the best enlarging lens you can afford and compromise on every thing else… Absolutely. You spend time and trouble and money to get a half decent neg, and then project it through the bottom of a glass bottle? :slap:No thanks. I bought a cheap tripod-once. If you have a limited budget, (like the rest of us?) spend the money on a decent lens. Most enlargers are function over form, but the lenses are the key.

RH Designs
6th April 2010, 04:51 PM
do i buy a basic one or one with built in mutigrade functions

If buying secondhand I would suggest a multigrade or colour enlarger unless a basic one comes with suitable filters - a new set of Ilford Multigrade filters is over £50! LPL, Meopta, Durst, Kaiser and the other well known makes are good buys. I had a Meopta Opemus 5 for a while and it was a bit wobbly but the more expensive Meoptas are good and solid. I would also go for a vertical column (some are inclined which means you'll have to reposition the easel every time you change magnification).

Argentum
6th April 2010, 05:09 PM
well actually I disagree with the spend the money on the best lens argument.
The biggest problem with sharpness in a print is caused by the enlarger being out of alignment and not the lens quality. Most people have no way of properly testing this. So get your self an enlarger which is well built and can be aligned and will stay aligned. Any enlarger can be aligned but some are easier than others and some stay aligned and others don't. Doesn't matter how good your lens is, if the enlarger isn't aligned correctly you will never benefit from an expensive lens. Rodagons can be had cheap and you don't need an APO lens.
If you are doing only B+W then one of the enlargers which has a "vario" head which uses only a single dial to change contrast makes life simpler than messing with yellow and magenta filtration combinations. And contrary to popular opinion I think a good condensor enlarger will make your images sharper than any difference you would notice between lenses.
One with a double condensor lens as they collimate the light better than the single condensor lens enlargers. The kaiser VPM models spring to mind.
See http://www.kaiser-fototechnik.de/en/produkte/2_1_sortiment.asp?w=1348
They come up on ebay occasionally. Theres one in very good condition there right now with a good quality schneider lens.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/enlarger-kaiser-multigrade-7500-darkroom-equipment_W0QQitemZ290419145196QQcmdZViewItemQQptZ UK_Photography_DarkroomSupplies_SM?hash=item439e54 79ec
So there:p

p.s. its not a 7500. its actually a 7005 which is perfect for your needs.

Daud
6th April 2010, 05:32 PM
Yes I will bite…..cos it is fun!:D

This is chicken and egg me thinks?

An APO now that can be stupid money….

What I meant was that when one spends money on good camera lenses; it is easy to forget that they are only as good as the enlarger lens. But you are absolutely right; alignment is as critical but can be overcome in even modest enlargers. The lens needs to be traded up for an improvement and usually at a loss of hard earned cash.

David.

Trevor Crone
6th April 2010, 05:34 PM
I would certainly endorse what Rob has just said about enlarger alignment. Many years back I purchased an Omega enlarger and no matter what I did I could not get it in perfect alignment, hence areas of the print were not sharp. I promptly exchanged it for a Durst which served me well for a good number of years because it was user alignment friendly ;)

Miha
6th April 2010, 05:35 PM
I think a good condensor enlarger will make your images sharper than any difference you would notice between lenses.
One with a double condensor lens as they collimate the light better than the single condensor lens enlargers. The kaiser VPM models spring to mind.

Ditto! I have one, hand made in 1983, super sturdy and as smooth in operation as one can hope for. It is the only photo tool I'm satitisfied with since the day one.

Miha

Argentum
6th April 2010, 06:28 PM
Yes I will bite…..cos it is fun!:D

This is chicken and egg me thinks?

An APO now that can be stupid money….

What I meant was that when one spends money on good camera lenses; it is easy to forget that they are only as good as the enlarger lens. But you are absolutely right; alignment is as critical but can be overcome in even modest enlargers. The lens needs to be traded up for an improvement and usually at a loss of hard earned cash.

David.

But there is an assumption that unless you pay big money you won't get a good enlarger lens. The criteria should be to buy a 6/7 element lens rather than a four element lens. But 6 element lenses can be had very cheaply. Older rodagons can be had for next to nothing but they are good quality lenses. Maybe not as good as current new ones but you would be hard pressed to notice the difference and then only if your enlarger was in perfect alignment. Newbies think good lens means the most expensive APO lens but that is throwing money away. You simply won't see the benefit unless you are pushing the limits of every part of your system including camera lenses.

Dave miller
6th April 2010, 06:53 PM
I have recently bought a medium format camera and now need to buy some B and W darkroom equipment

i see a lot of enlargers on ebay but i am unsure what to get

do i buy a basic one or one with built in mutigrade functions

thanks in advance

adrian

I must recommend an enlarger with a "colour head", it will have in-build filters that will allow you to get the best out of the modern printing papers. You will need one that will accept your medium format 6x6 negatives, so look for one that will take that size or larger, a common size is 6x7. Among the reasonable makes are Durst, LPL, and Meopta. If you see one that you think may be suitable you can post the model number here for further comment.
You will need a lens for it of around 80mm, but anything up to 100mm will do.
Don't get bogged down in "quality" or "alignment" issues, plenty of time for that later; the important thing is to get printing, everything else will fall into place later as you gain experience. ;)

Stoo Batchelor
6th April 2010, 09:53 PM
...and don't forget the one tool that every darkroom worker should have, a very large bin! This will reduce in size as your skills improve :)

Stoo

Roger Hicks
7th April 2010, 07:57 AM
Frances uses two Meopta Magnifaxes with Meograde (Multigrade) heads. The fact that she bought a second one (both new) tells you something about how much she likes them.

Cheers,

R.

Ade Ward
7th April 2010, 08:02 AM
so far I am looking at
VIVITAR 356
LPL(JOBO) C7700
and Meopta Opemus6

but they all seem to have a 50mm lens,, is there a std for enlarger lenses so i can buy something

Dave miller
7th April 2010, 08:30 AM
so far I am looking at
VIVITAR 356
LPL(JOBO) C7700
and Meopta Opemus6

but they all seem to have a 50mm lens,, is there a std for enlarger lenses so i can buy something

I am unfamiliar with the Vivitar model, so cannot comment, the other two are good makes. Are the LPL and Meopta fitted with colour heads? The fact that they come with 50mm lens suggests that they are set-up for 35mm work, so check that they have the necessary 6x6 masks with them, you will also need a longer enlarging lens, something around 80 to 100mm.

Tony Marlow
7th April 2010, 09:01 AM
is there a std for enlarger lenses so i can buy something
Practically all the usual enlargers have a 39mm thread in the lens board which matches most of the available enlarger lenses. It seems to be a universal standard.
Tony