darkroom workers?

[Tony Lovell]

Hi Andrew

The picture of the enlarger is one taken when I bought the enlarger…not my black walls or my curtains! The walls in my darkroom are white...just locally black behind the enlarger positions.

I’m building a new darkroom in which this enlarger will go. I recently bought this 10 x 8 diffuser enlarger and a 7 x 5 condenser; both are temporarily in storage until I have the time to fit out the new (larger) darkroom.

One of the nice features of both enlargers are the glassless negative holders for 10 x8, 7x5 and 5x4. No glass and a diffuser enlarger makes for easy printing.

Tony

[Apple]

Good luck with the new darkroom

Glassless & diffuser means you shouldn't have to do a lot of print spotting

Mine's a condensor head and I've just run out of ceiling height for something I recently tried printing, even with a 135mm lens on - will have to try and see if there's anything a bit wider that will still cover 4x5...

[Dave Parkin]

Mine's a condensor head and I've just run out of ceiling height for something I recently tried printing, even with a 135mm lens on - will have to try and see if there's anything a bit wider that will still cover 4x5...

Could you move the enlarger to the floor for that print,not very comfortable or dignified but might save the cost of replastering the ceiling?

Dave

[Apple]

Unfortunately, even though the enlarger's built like a brick outhouse, it's on a sturdy wall bracket to stop it falling forwards and give it a bit more stability. It's be a fair bit of mesing around along with moving the electrics just for the odd print.

Among my wishlist is a decent, adjustable easel so I'd just crop off the inch or so extra I don't want on the print. I could do it by chopping down the print after I've printed it but it's more work to get a white border on (needs a second sheet cut to size and mounted behine the picture.) I've looked at a couple of easels on Ebay but they normally appear to be very battered and it shows if they're out of true when you're printing 16"x20" with a 1/4" border on a 16"x20" mount. To get a new easel, e.g. V-track from the US is approx 400 dollars before it's sent and the taxman gets his / her claws into it... Secondly, a 16x20 print area measures something like 23"x27" baseboard - that's possibly pushing it to get it in next to the column

It's not something I'm desperate to print but it'd be nice at some point. The picture is the one in my mini portfolio here of Brodsworth Hall looking through the covered walkway - I'd print it without the T-shaped path at the base...

[Apple]

Just been looking in the participants pictures section - I cropped the path off when I scanned it anyway...

[Ole Tjugen]

Mine's a condensor head and I've just run out of ceiling height for something I recently tried printing, even with a 135mm lens on - will have to try and see if there's anything a bit wider that will still cover 4x5...

Some taking lenses are fairly decent for enlarging too. The problem with using a wide-angle lens with a condensor head is that the shorter condensers may not cover the format, as I discovered when I tried using a 120mm Angulon to enlarge a 7x5" negative. The "full size" condensors don't focus the light in the right spot, so there's a lot of light loss.

But it might be worth trying a 90mm Angulon in your case...

[Apple]

Thanks, for the tip, Ole. I'll try borrowing my Dad's 90mm when he's not looking as it's more chance of fitting the enlarger flange than my 90 XL.