Which Enlarger for B&W Prints?

[mmitsch]

We had a home fire and I lost a Durst F30 enlarger that I had for over 4o years. I am trying to get a replacement on eBay and have seen Durst F30's, F60's, M301's, etc. I will only be doing 35mm and am not familiar with other models Durst made (I vaguely remember the F60). I also will probably only do B&W and will use Kodak Polycontrast Filters. I notice a filter drawer on some of the models but never had one as I remember.

Let me know your thoughts. I appreciate any imput!

 

[ac12]

It depends on where you live.
IMHO, in the US, you are better off with Omega or Bessler. In Europe, Durst is an option, because it was made in Italy.
This is simply because of parts availability. In the US, you will have an easier time finding Omega and Bessler parts; such as negative carriers, and lens boards. Durst parts are hard to find and expensive when you do find them.

Durst has been long out of the enlarger business, so spare parts are HARD to find. The only source of parts is the secondary/used market.

If you do buy a Durst, make sure it has ALL the parts, as finding the missing parts could/will be time consuming and expensive.

Durst 3x and 3xx are 35mm enlargers, 6x and 6xx are 6x6 enlargers.

 

[webestang64]

Omega or Bessler

Agreed......you can get these for very little money. I get asked about buying someones enlarger at the camera shop I work at all the time. I've even been just given a enlarger for free because they just wanted it out of their house.


I use an Ilford cold light head (up to 4x5) with a Bessler chassis.

 

[IanG]

I'd suggest getting an M601. 605 or 670, with a colour head, that gives you the option to move to MF. The colour head is very useful for printing with Multi Grade papers.

Ian

 

[Derrel]

Beseler 23C II...super popular...

 

[ac12]

Before we go too far down the path, are there any constraints, such as:

• Have to be able to be carried, or put on a cart, or will it be in a fixed location?
• Have to be able to be broken down and stored away between uses.
  • This was my requirement in my apartment and flat, and for the half-bath that I use in my house.
• Limitations on vertical height.
  • This was/is my limitation at my parents home. So no XL enlargers.
• Max space dimensions for the baseboard.
• Do you envision that you "might" get into 6x6 or 6x7, or not at all.

 

[tommy39]

ac12 there used to be a 35mm zenith enlarger ,that folded down into it's own case.ahhh showing my age now,it was the first one i bought,even had auto focus.somewhere around 1970, haaa the good old days

 

[ac12]

@tommy39
I think I remember seeing it in Modern or Popular Photography.

 

[webestang64]

35mm zenith enlarger

A friend of mine had one of those his father bought overseas in the 80's.

USSRPhoto.com - Russian / Soviet Cameras Wiki Catalog - UPA-5M Portable Enlarger