Help Buying First Enlarger

[GoonjoshGoon]

Hey guys i recently developed an interest for developing my own film and wanting to make my own prints here at home. I shoot mostly black and white and have both a 35mm and a Bronica MF camera. Ive been checking craigslist and i came across someone selling a Omega D2V Enlarger with tanks and reels for a fair price. I was wondering if this would be a good enlarger to learn on. I also saw a Patterson enlarger for only $50 but i have never heard of that brand. I read once that Beseller 23c (i believe the model is called) is a good enlarger but i could not find one locally and would have to buy one on Ebay. How does the Omega compare to it? I will be using the enlarger for only black and whites. On my local Craigslist there was also a Beseller Printmaker but i think those are only for 35mm? In addition there was an Omega C700. I would really appreciate it if you guys could guide me through the process.

 

[ann]

The Omega D2V is a good enlarger, much better than the printmaker and the C700 IMHO. What lens and negative carriers come with it as they should help determine if it is a fair price.

TH e Beseler 23cd is a good enlarger and will also be able to do a variety of formats.

 

[J.Kendall]

With the 23C, you can do anything from 35mm to, in some cases, large format prints. In high school I ran a lot of 35mm and MF (6x6) prints on a 23C. Pretty simple to use and learn on.

 

[compur]

Beseler 23C prints up to 6x9cm format. Omega D-series enlarger print up to 4x5"
Both are excellent pro-quality enlargers for which accessories are easy to find in
the USA (neg carriers, lens boards, heads, etc).

 

[Images]

If you come across an enlarger with a dichroic-color head, even if you didn't want to print color the color head can be used to print on variable contrast B&W paper.
You would not have to mess around with changing variable contrast filters.