What 's the best medium format enlarger?
Charles Nguyen
out there on the market? I currently own a Leica enlarger
and found it to be the best for 35mm format, but I can't do
medium format on it. Your opinions are appreciated. Email me
directly.
rada...@gdi.net
I have a Durst M601 that I bought new. I have anti-Newtonian glass
for the 6x6 carrier and a glassless carrier that I converted from a
Saunders carrier. I really like this enlarger although I only have
the condenser head. There is a color head available. Mine is well
made with little plastic. I am now using a Beseler MRCX for the 4x5
capability and since my present dark room is only 3' x 5' I can only
have one enlarger at a time. The Durst is just waiting in the wings
until I convert a room to my new darkroom then I will have both set
up. I have really not heard anyone curse their enlarger so it may not
be easy to get comparisons. Good luck
Russ
DKeysser
Zone VI, with the variable-contrast cold-light head (mainly because I am a
fan of that light source). The machine is built beautifully (be sure to
get the newer version, not the first one). It will also accept either a
Beseler or Omega 4x5 dichroic color head if you want to do color as well.
For a less expensive solution, I like (and have) the Beseler 23cII. I
think it is built better in general than the Omega counterparts, and can
be purchased with a Dual-Dichroic head, which will work with either
condenser or diffusion light source (giving you the best of both worlds).
Don
MarBau
you may be able to buy one 2nd hand as Salthill is out of business I
think, then the LPL's, Zone 6, Besselers and Omegas, Meoptas are good too
but are hard to get in the states.
Remember, don't buy a cold light thinking it will improve your prints, its
simply a diffusion light source that has problems with VC filters.
Mark.
I need more money and power and less shit from you people!
Bob Lambert
good. You will find that the one that fits your darkroom, feels good
and has the options you want will probably be the best.
IMHO I prefer the LPL (Saunders in the USA) C7700 for colour (and B&W)
but will be buying an added enlarger with the condensor system for B&W
or if money allows the VCCE which is the VC model.
I think it was in a C&D magazine report a year or so back that the
reporter noted "LPL is the only enlarger that does not have to be
periodically aligned". To me this says a lot.
I would love to have the 4 * 5 model as all reports I have had on this
have been great. Well when I will the lottery ........
Cheers from Oz,
Bob L
Ilan Ginzburg
>
> Charles I think it is fair to say in medium format that they are all
> good. You will find that the one that fits your darkroom, feels good
> and has the options you want will probably be the best.
>
> IMHO I prefer the LPL (Saunders in the USA) C7700 for colour (and B&W)
> but will be buying an added enlarger with the condensor system for B&W
> or if money allows the VCCE which is the VC model.
I have the VCCE 7700. It's nice but it's not THAT good.
The lens board shifts a bit left and right when you focus, and the
carrier is not really well made (the metal things you can move for
masking the edges are not really parallel to what they should be).
Before this I had an Ahel 12 (french made) that goes up to 4"*5" but is
HORRIBLE (least to say), and before that a Durst M305 that was fine
(better engineered IMO than the LPL) but did only 35mm.
I wouldn't go for the lower price dursts, they're as bad as other
enlargers. I think the LPL 7700 is the best for its price. If you can
pay more, the Durst 70 looks nice too.
Happy whatever,
Ilan.
--
Ilan Ginzburg, email: Ilan.G...@imag.fr
IMAG - LMC, 100 Rue des Mathematiques, Tel: (33) 76 51 45 74
BP 53X, 38041 Grenoble Cedex 9, France. Fax: (33) 76 51 48 46
Gregory A Kriss
>Can anybody tell me what's the best medium format enlarger
>out there on the market? I currently own a Leica enlarger
>and found it to be the best for 35mm format, but I can't do
>medium format on it. Your opinions are appreciated. Email me
>directly.
I regularlly use an Omega, Durst, Saunders, and a Bessler.
Omega 4x5... a workhorse, parts easy to get, but it's precision leaves
something to be desired. Alignment can be impossible to set at times.
Bessler 4x5... again a workhorse and is a bit easier to align. Seems to
handle a bit more precisely than the Omega.
Durst 4x5... If the enlarger has not been dropped, the alignment should
be right on. Percision and handling is great but parts hard or
impossible to find. Is Nuteck still around???
Saunders 4x5... The best currently made I believe. We replaced 2 Omegas
with a pair of these and are 100% satisfied with no problems.
If you really want to match the Leitz 35mm, find an old Focomat IIc
which takes 120 film. $$$$ would be way up there, but it had the
precision of a microscope.
I have used Rollei, Durst, and Omega mid size enlargers for 120 but have
come to prefer using a full size 4x5... The illumination I believe is
always more even, and I like the felling of using a larger more sturdy
piece of equipment
greg
Arild Noven
: I regularlly use an Omega, Durst, Saunders, and a Bessler.
: Omega 4x5... a workhorse, parts easy to get, but it's precision leaves
: something to be desired. Alignment can be impossible to set at times.
The precision certainly leaves something to be desired, and so does the
negative carrier which, IMO, is poorly designed compared to the Durst
carrier.
: Durst 4x5... If the enlarger has not been dropped, the alignment should
: be right on. Percision and handling is great but parts hard or
: impossible to find. Is Nuteck still around???
Durst enlargers are certainly not dropped, at least not in Europe. Durst
makes various 4x5 enlargers ranging from the fully manual Laborator 1200
to the computerized Pictochrom series with autofocus, closed-loop motorized
filters, automatic slope-control, etc. They also make a 6x9 cm enlarger
called M800 Elite (with autofocus), and its predecessor, the Laborator 900,
may still be found on the used market. The Laborator 900 is a much better
enlarger than the Leitz Focomat IIc IMO. The negative carrier on the
Focomat is a real pain in the ass to use, and its autofocus mechanism is
more vulnerable to misalignment than the mechanism on the L900. Also,
finding a dichrioc color head for the Focomat may be difficult, since
most of these enlargers were sold as B/W condenser versions.
: If you really want to match the Leitz 35mm, find an old Focomat IIc
: which takes 120 film. $$$$ would be way up there, but it had the
: precision of a microscope.
Arild Noven
University of Bergen
Norway
Ben Weiner
>The Rolls Royce of enlargers are Dursts, after that comes the Salthill,
>you may be able to buy one 2nd hand as Salthill is out of business I
>think,
Actually, it turns out they're not! And they even have a web site now.
Robert Gurfinkel
DKeysser
said that the best medium-format enlarger is a large-format enlarger,
because of the greater strength and rigidity, and better coverage. I
think the best large-format enlarger is the (newer version) Zone VI 5x7.
It takes a variable-contrast cold-light head, with separate rheostat
controls for the blue and green light tubes, and is built like a tank.
It has the added advantage, unlike 4x5 enlargers, of accepting the 6x17
panoramic format. If you are printing color, you can mount either the
Beseler 4x5 or Omega 4x5 color dichroic heads on the Zone VI.
Don
Michael Jenner
On 21 Mar 1996, Charles Nguyen wrote:
> Can anybody tell me what's the best medium format enlarger
> out there on the market? I currently own a Leica enlarger
> and found it to be the best for 35mm format, but I can't do
> medium format on it. Your opinions are appreciated. Email me
> directly.
>
>
Leica makes (or made) a medium format enlarger, the Leitz Focomat II. If
you're happy
with the 35mm version, perhaps you could move up to the
larger one that will print 35 and medium format.But, if the lens is what
makes you really happy with your current Focomat, be sure you get a
medium format version that comes with the Leica enlarging lenses and
carriers.