# Which enlarger?



## vickiwoo

Hey can anyone give me any tips? I'm wanting to set up my own darkroom and I'm looking at getting an enlarger but the only problem I've got is I want to do both clour and B&W photos and I'am I correct in thinking you need two separate enlargers one for Colour and One for B&W? Any response would be good and and any relavent info will be great. Cheers!!!!!:lmao:


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## ann

you just need to get an enlarger with a color head, it will do both.

what format sizes will you be using, that is something you need to consider.

there are a lot of enlargers on the market these days.

check out beseler, omega, saunders.

i would stay away from the low end enlargers as there are a lot of high end ones for sale on the cheap these days.


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## vickiwoo

ann said:


> you just need to get an enlarger with a color head, it will do both.
> 
> what format sizes will you be using, that is something you need to consider.
> 
> there are a lot of enlargers on the market these days.
> 
> check out beseler, omega, saunders.
> 
> i would stay away from the low end enlargers as there are a lot of high end ones for sale on the cheap these days.


 
Cheers for your reply I wondered if you could recomend any good websites to look at for enlargers. Or could be tell me where you've got yours from? I'm only want a basic one to get me started nothing to expensive.


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## ann

check out ebay, craiglist. your local newspaper.

camera clubs in your neighbor or perhaps schools that are shutting down their darkrooms and  going digital.


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## Bobby Ironsights

You don't need two enlargers to do b&W and colour, you only need one enlarger. 

In fact, in theory you can do colour negatives on a b&W enlarger but it's a hassle. Perfect colour negatives don't need any adjustment, you can just shine perfectly white light through them and print. But in reality, It's pretty damned rare that you are getting absolutely perfect negatives. 

So to use a black and white enlarger to print in colour, you have to get a multitude of little pieces of plastic colour filter material and mix and match them in the filter drawer of your enlarger while simultaneously keeping them free of dust and scratches.....

OR....just buy a colour enlarger and use the dials.:mrgreen:

A colour head just has the ability to mix a colour with the light coming out of the bulb to change the overall colour cast of the final colour print. To print black and white you just set them to zero.(usually, but I won't get into the variable contrast paper thing right now) 

If you are just starting out, get a enlarger with colour head. I'd also recommend getting an enlarger that does medium format negatives, so you can buy a cheap medium format like a seagull, and make large prints that will make your digital friends less snotty and more envious.

I'm not just giving this advice, I'm also taking it.

I've got two enlargers, a beseler printmaker (small 35mm enlarger) and a Beseler 45mxt (a very large motorized enlarger that takes 4x5 inch sheet film negatives as well as 120 and 35mm). At the time, I was obsessed with black and white so I "saved" a little money and didn't bother getting one with a colour head.

I'm now in the market for a colour enlarger, probably 120 film format, to make colour prints, because my GF isn't so hot on everything being in black and white, and I'd also like take a few pics of sunsets.

I also realise now that colour printing isn't as hard as some people make it out to be, and my fears were probably unjustified.


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## ThomThomsk

The OP is in the UK and is unlikely to find Beseler, Omega or Saunders enlargers here, although I'm not familiar with any of them and it is possible that they may have been sold under different names. 

The two most common brand names you will see on eBay in this country are Meopta and Durst. I have a Meopta Opemus which will do medium format and 35mm, check this website for details of the new models and then check eBay - there are lots of examples around:

http://www.thedarkroom.co.uk/products_class.php?getCategory=111&getBrand=22

That website also has new Kaiser and LPL enlargers, which are worth looking at even though you should probably buy second hand.

I also have a Durst M370, which again will do medium format and 35mm. There are lots of Durst enlargers on eBay, many of them the cheapest 35mm-only model, the C35. I started with a Meopta and I would do the same again - cheap, durable, spares still available. Then again, most of the Meoptas are for B&W, so if you can collect from Horsham you might want to keep an eye on this eBay auction for a Durst M305 with a colour head. Lots of similar kit on there pretty much all the time.


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