Good beginning enlarger, without spending a fortune...

[IanIanBoBian]

I've read that the Beseler 23c is good, but I'm wondering if I need something that good or not. If I'm only using it for 35mm black & white, could I get away with something cheaper? What brands would be good to stick with? Thanks for the help.

 

[nealjpage]

I throw my vote behind the 23c. It's cheap, it's versatile, and it's built to last. Sure, we all start out saying we're only gonna do 35mm black and white, but before you know it, you're trying to figure out if you can jam a 4x5 plate into that thing. I like the 23c because it'll do both 35mm and medium format. They made a whole lot of 'em, so parts are easy to get. And, if you keep your eyes open, you can get 'em for a steal. Mine cost $40 and works like a charm.

 

[mortallis288]

ebay

 

[ann]

cheaper does not equal stable.

with the market being so soft these days you can find terrific buys including someone even better than the 23c.

i had someone call me yesterday about wanting to know about selling a 45beseler system with everything one could image . He just didn't want to throw it away, and would let it go cheap. None of my students need this equipment so i am not sure what his next step will be.

However, this just points to the fact that there is a lot of valuable equipment available for pennies on the dollar.

And, as someone else has suggested you may end up wanting to move to a larger format .

regardless of the format you need a stable well built enlarger.

 

[nealjpage]

cheaper does not equal stable.

with the market being so soft these days you can find terrific buys including someone even better than the 23c.

i had someone call me yesterday about wanting to know about selling a 45beseler system with everything one could image . He just didn't want to throw it away, and would let it go cheap. None of my students need this equipment so i am not sure what his next step will be.

However, this just points to the fact that there is a lot of valuable equipment available for pennies on the dollar.

And, as someone else has suggested you may end up wanting to move to a larger format .

regardless of the format you need a stable well built enlarger.

A 45, eh? Where is your friend located? I may move up to LF here one of these days...

 

[jstuedle]

23C is about the best med. and small format enlarger out there in quantity. Just a solid, good piece of equipment.

 

[ann]

i am in atlanta ga.

this was not a friend and so i really don't know how to get back in touch with him unless he decides to donate the equipment to the school in jan.

people call me quite often wanting to donate equipment. so there is a lot of stuff out there, just may take some foot work to find.

 

[kaiy]

I don't know where you are, but craigslist.org is also a good place to look. Many sellers, for something that large and not so expensive, would rather sell locally in order to avoid having to crate and ship. Go tho the website and see if there is a craiglist listing for your geographic area.