Holga enlarger

oriecat · Sep 21, 2003

Just recently saw in my latest Freestyle Photo catalog that Holga makes an enlarger, only 99 bucks! Anyone used it, or heard anything about it?

motcon · Sep 21, 2003

i assume it's this one, Orie?

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/sc_prod.php?cat_id=1601&pid=5625

from what i see, it isn't all that great. right out of the gates, the lens cripples the whole deal.

you can get a great enlarger with a decent lens on ebay for less money.

oriecat · Sep 21, 2003

That be it! How come the lens cripples the deal? Crappy brand?

I guess I just liked the idea that it came with the mf negative holders, because I can't believe how expensive those things are! And I need cheap because I'm gonna have no money once my house gets bought... definitely time to start perusing ebay tho....

motcon · Sep 21, 2003

yah, the lens is a crappy brand. you would regret it.

i couldn't recommend any higher the omega b600. it typically comes with an el - nikkor f4 lens and is a condenser enlarger. i still use mine and i am but one amongst many happy b600 users. and they are cheap on ebay....

motcon · Sep 21, 2003

here's a b600 with darkroom set up:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2951776929&category=29985

the easel alone is worth 60 bucks.

same one i own:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2951855819&category=29985

and carriers are about....10 bucks or so:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2951715002&category=29985

if you want to spend more, the beseler 23c is a nice enlarger, but doesn't have much over the b600 outside of the ability to do color (which i never do) and a tilt head.

oriecat · Sep 21, 2003

Thank you, Will.

motcon · Sep 21, 2003

oriecat said:
Thank you, Will.

my plzr.

oriecat · Sep 21, 2003

One thing I have never understood is the difference between condenser and diffuser enlargers. What difference do they make in the final print?

motcon · Sep 21, 2003

a tremendous amount of difference.

i'll hit the key points:

a diffuser enlarger scatters the light in the enlarger head. what this means is that the light hits the neg from all angles, not straight down. this results in the ability to print a neg with minor scratches/dust and getting away with it. the light and resulting print are considered to be 'softer'.

a condenser enlarger gathers the light through convex and concave lenses and forces the light straight down. when it hits the neg, it's dead on. if you have a speck of dust or scratch, you can be pretty sure it will be on the print. it's rumored that even thinking about dust will cause it to show up. the result is in a 'crisper' print and approximately one grade higher print than the diffuser enlarger, but this can obviously be corrected with paper grade or vc filters.

that said, i very much prefer condenser enlargers and won't recommend against a diffuser enlarger; i've just come to appreciate the sharpness of the condenser.

oriecat · Sep 21, 2003

Thanks again!

I think I have always used condensers then because dust is my eternal foe. My Spotpens (my last ebay purchase!) and I have become very close.

ksmattfish · Sep 22, 2003

I agree with everything Motcon said.

One more point to consider is in the operation of the enlarger. Diffuser heads often use florescent "cold-light" bulbs. While the "regular" incandescent bulbs in a condenser enlarger warm up almost immediately as soon as you hit the switch, florescent bulbs warm up slowly (like over 5 minutes), and they are more affected by irregularities in voltage. This means the light output from a diffusion head can fluctuate. In the very latest models I'm sure they have sorted a lot of this out and made it easier to use, but if you are like me and you're using darkroom equipment that is older than yourself, you have to have a voltage regulator and develop some tricky rituals to keep the head nice and warmed up and constant. It's a pain in the rear. I switched my 23C back to condenser; I like the sharper/contrastier image anyway.

ksmattfish · Sep 22, 2003

Back to the original thread....

I really think that an enlarger called the Holga should come ready to print Holga negs; it should come with an Arista 75mm lens.

On a more serious note, as you may have seen in some of my other posts, I'm a firm believer that in these days of the digital revolution only fools and the very desperate are paying retail for darkroom equipment. The used market is flooded with great equipment, and the price is down. You will get much more for your dollar buying used.

I suggest you pick a chassis that will handle the largest neg size you hope to print someday. Look for one that will take homemade, matboard carriers. Get a Schnieder or Nikkor lens. And wait for an enlarger that comes with a good easel and grain magnifier thrown in for free. With a little patience you'll find a great deal. Just remember to consider shipping charges.

enigma · Sep 23, 2003

not about the post, but about the enlargers ( condenser and diffuser.)

What about filters... I have a diffuser, it has the CMY dials, but I do not see those on condensers. I would guess they have some kinda of glass filtering similar to what goes on a camera lense....

Thanks for any help.

motcon · Sep 23, 2003

on any enlarger filtering is done, well , through filters. i have a filter drawer above my condenser lenses and i also have a below the lens ilford filter kit. the current day filters are gels, not glass. my ilford set ranges from contrast 00 to 5.

ksmattfish · Sep 24, 2003

enigma said:
not about the post, but about the enlargers ( condenser and diffuser.)

What about filters... I have a diffuser, it has the CMY dials, but I do not see those on condensers. I would guess they have some kinda of glass filtering similar to what goes on a camera lense....

Thanks for any help.

Some enlargers (yours) have the filters built in. Particularly you will find this in modern color heads, which are almost always diffusion. I have seen older condenser heads with CMY dials. The dials are just easier to use than stacking a bunch of gels to get the right amount of C, M, and/or Y. I've also seen BW only heads with just the Y and M dials.

With my Beseler 23C I have the proper sized Ilford multi-grade filters, but with my Omega DII I stack magenta or yellow gels to control contrast because I haven't bought the right sized multi-grade filters yet. Somewhere in the lit that comes with your paper there is a chart showing the amount of M or Y to use to achieve certain contrast grades.