AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

A lot of us still are...

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

I think that is great.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Not since the 1990s! But I still have all the equipment, well preserved. I worked in a 90,000 square foot pro photo lab environment for 33 years. So at some point, I let my fellow employees do it...

I’ve exclusively used digital processes since 2004.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

That is what I thought. That was a big lab. Where is it today?

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Extinct.

First, we were Delmar Studios. Then we were sold to Herff Jones, and combined with Camera Art and Thompson Photography to form Herff Jones Photography Division. In 2011, we (our ESOP shares) were sold to Lifetouch. In 2015, they closed the Charlotte lab. Shortly thereafter, they were sold to Shutterfly.

The school portrait business is a tiny shadow of its former self.

mlkddk Loc: Colorado

Check this out? 3035980630 if this is a possibility. Wheel and deal!

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Very good points (I once had a B-22XL also). Condenser heads like the B22 are very contrasty, and they can also show every speck of dust and bit of grain. I now have a Bessler 45 MKII with motorized column and Dichro head and APO Rodagon and El-Omega lenses that I paid an amazingly low price for at a thrift store (hence the reason for the extra Bessler 67). I’m just doing B&W at the moment (not as interested in color since Cibachrome went away), but the Dichro head is a little more forgiving of dust and grain, and I like it for changing contrast easily on VC papers. I bought the enlarger, lens and easel, matching timer, several never used color print drums and a drum agitator/roller for $100 (the marked price), so there are some real bargains out there.

ecurb Loc: Metro Chicago Area

I'd jump on an Omega F if I could find one. It would be worth adding on to the house to make space for it!😎

domcomm Loc: Denver, CO

I had several enlargers over the years, but the best one I ever used was the Beseler 67. Then I got a chance to add a cold-light head, the same as Ansel Adams used, and it made a remarkable difference in the prints. With a condenser head, there is an increasing amount of heat, which can warp the negs, and the light also goes through the neg at different speeds. With a cold-light head, there is no heat problem, and the light goes through all densities of the neg at the same speed. Much better than a condenser head!

Bob Werre

Boy am I glad I sold both my Besseler's when I did. Sold one on Ebay, so it was shipped from Texas to New York. I had some large plywood scrap so I basically built a short phone booth with frame for a fork lift but I got decent money overall. My second one was much older but in better condition overall, I did send the two lens with; I sold it to a lady in Louisana so she picked it up with her truck!
Over the years I've used them all, generally speaking its the condenser that's so important, so be on the safe side and go one step larger in format--shooting 2x3 go with a 45 enlarger, 35mm go with 2x2. My biggest was a 10x10 Durst with Dichro colorhead, vacuum base plus pin registered carrier. This guy used 4 bulbs in the head and had it's own base. Not for the basement operation however. One of my instructors said the Durst was the best instrument ever made, but you want one that's probably more friendly! Omega's are great but they can get out of alignment--a real pain to get really right. My old Beseler traveled in moving vans across the country twice and never needed alignment, but they will rust in the darkroom.

ORpilot Loc: Prineville, Or

I have used all of the enlargers that others have mentioned. I cut my darkroom teeth on a Federal Enlarger $10 at a garage sale back in 1964. My work horse in college was an Omega B22XL (longer head pole). Now I have an omega D2v. I used a Bessler 4x5 with the Minolta color head in graduate school. Note: the Minolta color head uses 3 Flash tubes in the subtractive colors rather than additive dichroic or gel filters. The Minolta head also has a built in exposure timer. Colors heads are very useful instead of filters for multi contrast papers. Color heads are less prone to dimming due to power fluctuations from a refrigerator turning on or other high power appliances kicking in. Others have noted that you should spend the $$$$$ on the enlarger lens. That can make all the difference in your prints. Be very mindful of the floor and table you put your enlarger on. Any floor or table vibration may be transmitted to the enlarger and blur your prints. My setup is on a concrete floor in my garage. But trucks driving by do shake the enlarger a bit. Get yourself an electronic timer-controller for the enlarger exposure. The most popular were made by Grablab. They are big and easy to use. There is nothing like the smell of fixer late at night....

Paul Diamond Loc: Atlanta, GA, USA

Hi, sorry if I use opinionated reply. This looks like junk. Too flimsy, too easily could go out of alignment. And only the Lord knows where you could find parts for it like film holders, etc. - For a child maybe?

This is not the quality of a Beseler 23C or 67. Or a B22, or larger Omega or Beseler enlarger.

Paul Diamond Loc: Atlanta, GA, USA

All are rugged professional quality machines. The CB7 was special to me. I traded one to Ansel Adams for the rights to use his 'moonrise over half dome' picture on my Beseler brochure for Ultrafin b/w film chemicals - 1973-4. (I should have also asked for a signed print!)

ral

I picked up a Super Omega D Dichronic II for a couple hundred bucks at a store that carries old film equipment. What makes it so great (besides being a professional quality machine), is it's a color enlarger, so there are three sets of dial-in filters built in. The purple set works great for black and white film. Slap on an 80mm El-Nikkor f5.6 and the machine handles everything from 35mm to 6X9 cm. With a longer lens the machine will do 4X5. Tons of great equipment around now, for a song.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Besseler 23C