Durst Medium Format condenser sets

[davidgc]

I recently missed out on a Durst Vegaset 66M negative carrier and condenser set given I had not done my research before bidding and began to panic as the bids rocketed.
My question is does anybody know if the Durst negative carriers and condenser sets are interchangeable between Durst enlargers or do I need to continue looking at a M670 colour enlarger to compliment my M670 BW given the scarcity of these types of condenser sets ?

Thanks, David

[Argentum]

phone Terry at http://www.northernphoto.co.uk/ and ask. He may even have the bits you need.

OR

http://www.theimagingwarehouse.com/P...al-Photography

[vanannan]

Originally Posted by davidgc

I recently missed out on a Durst Vegaset 66M negative carrier and condenser set given I had not done my research before bidding and began to panic as the bids rocketed.
My question is does anybody know if the Durst negative carriers and condenser sets are interchangeable between Durst enlargers or do I need to continue looking at a M670 colour enlarger to compliment my M670 BW given the scarcity of these types of condenser sets ?

Thanks, David

I don't know about compatibility between Durst enlargers, what price did the set you were after go for, it may be cheaper for you to look for a dedicated 6x6 enlarger than pay exorbitant prices for scarce parts.

[alexmuir]

If your negative carrier has removable glasses or metal masks, you should be able to use the Sivopar replacement masks for 35mm, 6x4.5, 6x6 and 6x7 as well as some smaller formats. These are common to a number of Durst enlargers and would not need to be specific to the M670. You see them advertised quite often, and you can sometimes find them as part of a kit aimed at a different enlarger model. I have bought a couple of kits, one for the AC650 and one for the AC707. These were conversion kits of one sort or another, but contained a set of masks, carrier glasses and a lens panel. Both were a cheap way of acquiring the negative masks. If you are looking to buy the masks alone, I wouldn't pay more than £20 or thereabouts. I'm not sure about your condensers. I would look at the manual first, if you haven't already. It should tell you what you should need. Enlargers similar to yours are the M370, the Graduate and possibly the M605. I'm assuming you are trying to convert yours to do medium format rather than 35mm. A look at their manuals might tell you if they share the same condensers. Some of the manuals are available on FADU, and others elsewhere online.
One thing that confused me about the original post was the reference to a colour enlarger. They use diffusion boxes in place of condensers. You tend to need a different box when going from 35mm and smaller to medium format, in the same way you might need different condensers in a B&W model for different formats. If you're aim is to equip your enlarger for doing medium format B&W work, a colour enlarger wouldn't really help, unless it came with the appropriate diffusion box for that format.
Alex.

[davidgc]

With regard to the colour enlarger I was hoping that I could use the medium format condenser for both colour and BW - I guess not. I have not undertaken any colour developing or printing before (I need to develop some colour film I have asap, so processing the film is more a priority than printing). I suppose I was looking long term thinking about a colour enlarger.
This effectively answers my question: the MF parts would only be of use to BW printing even if they were interchangeable, given the different systems for colour and BW. And as has been said you can probably get a complete enlarger system for a similar price of the negative carrier and condenser set (which went for £92). I did think that it may be cheaper to get a colour enlarger with a medium format set up (and still be able to do MF BW on this) and keep my 670BW for 35mm only.

The colour enlarger can wait but I would like to be able to print BW medium format next time I am home. I will give northernphoto a call when I return home and see if they have anything available.
Thanks all, David

[Xpres]

Terry doesn't do durst any more... in fact nobody does in this country as far as I know. Your best bet is second hand darkroom or ebay.
If you find an enlarger, complete with accessories, on ebay that you can collect, you'll get it relatively cheaply.

[alexmuir]

You could do B&W medium format on a colour enlarger if it had the right diffusion box fitted. They are interchangeable like condensers. The negative carrier and its inserts is common to colour and B&W models. £92 was a pretty high price for that set. I had seen it on eBay. Keep looking as I'm sure you'll find the right condenser at a more reasonable price.
Alex

[davidgc]

Thanks Alex and Xpres.