Any experience of Meopta Enlargers?
David Atherfold
I'm thinking of buying a Meopta Enlarger. I want the colour head and
need to go up to 6x6 so the Opemus would do.
The Magnifax goes up to 6x9 which may be handy in the future.
Does anyone have any hands-on experience of these enlargers and would
you recommend them?
Thanks in advance,
Dave.
John Stewart
I used Meoptas in the past, with color heads. They are fine. Probably
not as cheap as they were when the Commies were in charge....
John
In article <332912...@sqf.hp.com>, dav...@sqf.hp.com says...
Robert Young
David Atherfold wrote:
>
> I'm thinking of buying a Meopta Enlarger. I want the colour head and
> need to go up to 6x6 so the Opemus would do.
>
> The Magnifax goes up to 6x9 which may be handy in the future.
>
> Does anyone have any hands-on experience of these enlargers and would
> you recommend them?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Dave.
used and I've really enjoyed using it. I have 50mm and 75mm lenses both
from Meopta but I don't remember the model name.
The IIa has a short, skinny column so 35mm negatives can't be enlarged
much beyond 11x14 but I get a lot of column shake up there! 6x6 works
better.
Mine also had the difuser glass but it doesn't work all that well. I
just use it as a condening enlarger.
My IIa doesn't have a filter drawer so I use unmounted 3x3 filters and
set them on top of the condenser. The lamp is far enough away the
filters don't get too hot.
My IIa came with a universal carrier with two pieces of glass. I took
out the top glass sheet because all I ever got were dust spots and
Newton's rings.
All in all, the finest photographic equipment to come out of
Checkoslovokia.
--
Robert Young
bea...@infinet.com
Man Friday
In article <332912...@sqf.hp.com>, David Atherfold
<dav...@sqf.hp.com> writes
>I'm thinking of buying a Meopta Enlarger. I want the colour head and
>need to go up to 6x6 so the Opemus would do.
>
>The Magnifax goes up to 6x9 which may be handy in the future.
>
>Does anyone have any hands-on experience of these enlargers and would
>you recommend them?
>
>Thanks in advance,
>
>Dave.
I bought an Opemus 5 around 15 years ago. Still works fine. It's a bit
crude in construction and inclined to leak light out of the bulb
housing. Nothing that you can't fix with gaffer tape, though.
Get the glassless neg mounts, as they save mucho spotting.
I also bought the colour head when I saw one cheap in a sale. The
filtration is not standard (as in, not Durst or suchlike), but it does
work.
Overall, a good bit of sturdy kit that does the job.
----------------------------
Paul Friday
http://www.devce.demon.co.uk/
stefano
David Atherfold <dav...@sqf.hp.com> wrote:
> I'm thinking of buying a Meopta Enlarger. I want the colour head and
> need to go up to 6x6 so the Opemus would do.
> Does anyone have any hands-on experience of these enlargers and would
> you recommend them?
I have an Opemus 6 since '91 and I'm quite happy with it. Solid and
basic, no thrills but everything you need. Best value!
The onlu complaint is that it's not immediate to print negative edges in
medium format, since the neg carrier is only SLIGHTLY larger than the
negative, you can do it, though... Just not quick to adjust.
I bought it in Prague for less than 100 US$ with 80 mm f4.5 and 50mm
2.8. How much is it now?
Stefano
____________________________________________________
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/3631
____________________________________________________
Pat Clough
In article <332912...@sqf.hp.com>, David Atherfold <dav...@sqf.hp.com>
wrote:
>
> I'm thinking of buying a Meopta Enlarger. I want the colour head and
> need to go up to 6x6 so the Opemus would do.
>
>
Not as 'polished' as some others perhaps, but reliable, durable and work.
The metal neg carriers are much better than the Durst Plasticky ones.
I might prefer to buy a second hand LPL to the Meopta, but I have produced
equally good prints on both. Get a GOOD enlarger lens!
Pat
--
__ __ _____________________________________________
|__|\ / / Acorn RPC610 40M, 500M, etc. and hoping for
| \/ \__ a stronger ARM soon!
_____________________________________________ pat.c...@argonet.co.uk
John Fryatt
David Atherfold <dav...@sqf.hp.com> wrote:
>I'm thinking of buying a Meopta Enlarger. I want the colour head and
>need to go up to 6x6 so the Opemus would do.
>
>The Magnifax goes up to 6x9 which may be handy in the future.
>
>Does anyone have any hands-on experience of these enlargers and would
>you recommend them?
I use a Magnifax and am well pleased with it. They may be a little
less 'hi-tech' than some others, but they are well made, sturdy, and
do their job fine.
John
---
John Fryatt Internet : j...@dircon.co.uk or j...@compuserve.com
London Compuserve: 100013,710
UK Web pages : http://www.users.dircon.co.uk/~jrf/intro.html
Michiel Fierst van Wijnandsbergen
On Sun, 23 Mar 1997 22:29:42 GMT, j...@dircon.co.uk (John Fryatt)
wrote:
>David Atherfold <dav...@sqf.hp.com> wrote:
>
>>I'm thinking of buying a Meopta Enlarger. I want the colour head and
>>need to go up to 6x6 so the Opemus would do.
>>
>>The Magnifax goes up to 6x9 which may be handy in the future.
>>
>>Does anyone have any hands-on experience of these enlargers and would
>>you recommend them?
I have used the Opemus for years... actually, for about 15 years. I
have finally traded up to a Durst. The Opemus is fine. Sturdy.
It is a condensor enlarger though, so dust and scratches do show up if
they are there.
The color head is fine too. Really, there is nothing wrong with this
enlarger.
The reason I went for the Durst, is the fact that it is a diffusion
enlarger.
Michiel
Tim
j...@dircon.co.uk (John Fryatt) wrote:
>I use a Magnifax and am well pleased with it. They may be a little
>less 'hi-tech' than some others, but they are well made, sturdy, and
>do their job fine.
I can second this. I've been using a Magnifax semi-professionally for
years for everything from 35mm to 6x7 and have never had cause for
complaint. The colour head is also okay - the results are fine, you
just have to get used to the fact that the filter numbers are not
compatible to anything else on earth.
The reports I've heard of the Meopta enlarging lenses have not been so
great, however. I use a Nikon EL for 35mm, which was a great bargain.
mike...@austin.ibm.com
In article <3335adf0...@news.dircon.co.uk>, j...@dircon.co.uk (John Fryatt) writes:
> David Atherfold <dav...@sqf.hp.com> wrote:
>
> >I'm thinking of buying a Meopta Enlarger. I want the colour head and
> >need to go up to 6x6 so the Opemus would do.
> >
> >The Magnifax goes up to 6x9 which may be handy in the future.
> >
> >Does anyone have any hands-on experience of these enlargers and would
> >you recommend them?
>
> I use a Magnifax and am well pleased with it. They may be a little
> less 'hi-tech' than some others, but they are well made, sturdy, and
> do their job fine.
>
> John
>
> ---
>
> John Fryatt Internet : j...@dircon.co.uk or j...@compuserve.com
> London Compuserve: 100013,710
> UK Web pages : http://www.users.dircon.co.uk/~jrf/intro.html
Anyone want to buy one that is 30 years old. It is a 6x6, and I have the
instruction book. I bought it new. Have LPL/67D now. It also has a lens
board that I had machined that has a 39mm Besler adapter super-glued into
the center. These old Meoptas are hard to find lens boards for, and just
about every one uses a slightly different one. I have a box full of them
that didn't work (fell out with lens in them), so I just had a machine shop
make me one that was like the orginal, but with a hole that the bessler jam
nut would fit into. I am thinking of giving it to goodwill.
No color capibility.
--
Michael (Mike) C. Dean
IBM - RISC/6000 Division
Austin, Texas.
Disclaimer - The opinions expressed in this append are mine alone.
TarKwin
There is a colour head available for all the Meopta enlargers, the one
unit is common to all.
TarK.
John Fryatt
Michiel...@nlrtdfsc.origin.nl (Michiel Fierst van Wijnandsbergen)
wrote:
>On Sun, 23 Mar 1997 22:29:42 GMT, j...@dircon.co.uk (John Fryatt)
>wrote:
>
>>David Atherfold <dav...@sqf.hp.com> wrote:
>>
>>>I'm thinking of buying a Meopta Enlarger. I want the colour head and
>>>need to go up to 6x6 so the Opemus would do.
>>>
>>>The Magnifax goes up to 6x9 which may be handy in the future.
>>>
>>>Does anyone have any hands-on experience of these enlargers and would
>>>you recommend them?
>
>I have used the Opemus for years... actually, for about 15 years. I
>have finally traded up to a Durst. The Opemus is fine. Sturdy.
>It is a condensor enlarger though, so dust and scratches do show up if
>they are there.
>The color head is fine too. Really, there is nothing wrong with this
>enlarger.
>The reason I went for the Durst, is the fact that it is a diffusion
>enlarger.
You could have stuck with Meopta, as their colour and multigrade heads
are diffusion types. I expect your Durst is ok though <s>.
Erik Jonker
David Atherfold <dav...@sqf.hp.com> wrote:
>I'm thinking of buying a Meopta Enlarger. I want the colour head and
>need to go up to 6x6 so the Opemus would do.
>The Magnifax goes up to 6x9 which may be handy in the future.
>Does anyone have any hands-on experience of these enlargers and would
>you recommend them?
I use an Opemus 6 with the Color Head and they do a fine job with me.
If you want to do 35mm and 6x6 prints alternatively, buy a second
negative holder, because it will wear.
Good luck,
Erik.
--------
Erik Jonker
e-mail private: erik....@a1.nl
e-mail work: ejo...@hgl.signaal.nl
Michiel Fierst van Wijnandsbergen
On Mon, 21 Apr 1997 19:57:05 GMT, erik....@a1.nl (Erik Jonker)
wrote:
>David Atherfold <dav...@sqf.hp.com> wrote:
>
>>Does anyone have any hands-on experience of these enlargers and would
>>you recommend them?
>
>I use an Opemus 6 with the Color Head and they do a fine job with me.
I agree. I have used an Opemus 5 with color head for 15 years.
Noproblem. Buy a good lens!
Michiel