| Enlargers, no matter who the manufacturer, are basically all the same. For the most part, they are designed with the watermelon on a stick design. This means that vibration is a major concern. Once you learn to deal with your enlargers vibration characteristics, you won't have to worry about it. Enlargers all have a light source, a place to put the negative, a place to mount the lens and an area where the paper is placed for printing.
A few ideas on purchasing an enlarger. I have never owned a new enlarger. Buying used has made it possible to purchase the enlargers that I do own for 25% or less of the new price. Most enlargers are very well built and not difficult to repair if the need arises. I would buy an enlarger for the largest format that I would think that I might use. My first enlarger was a 4x5 Omega even though I only owned 35mm cameras. I still use this enlarger, in its basic form, as my main enlarger today. My investment for that enlarger works out to less than $10 a year, a good buy if you ask me. There are several different types of light source for printing in black and white. Condenser, cold light, color diffusion, variable contrast diffusion, variable contrast cold light and point light source to name a few. All are capable of making excellent prints. My current choice is a color dichroic or color diffusion light source. Besides the obvious advantage of being able to print color photos, it works well with the variable contrast papers that I am now using. With most enlargers it is possible to change light sources so I would not get too hung up on this until you find a real need for particular type of light source. Enlargers also have a maximum negative size that they will print. Some enlargers can only print 35mm and smaller while some can print negatives 8x10 or larger. I would buy the largest size that I could afford and that I might need. Larger enlargers tend to be built more sturdy and give more possibilities as your photographic needs change. To print different size negatives, a negative carrier is needed for each different format that you wish to print. These come in glass negative carriers and glassless negative carriers, I would stick with the glassless until find that you have a need for a glass negative carrier. Your enlarging lens is maybe the most important consideration in your enlarger set-up. For my first 10 years I used a Wollensak 135mm Raptar lens and an El-Nikor 50mm lens. The El-Nikor is a modern lens and is still one that I use today. The Wollensak is an old lens, probably made in the 1950's. It was still an acceptable lens to use and I never had anyone look at my photos and say that I needed a better enlarging lens. I have since gone to a complete array of El-Nikor lenses for the different formats that I print. I feel better about using the newer lenses and I do see a difference in sharpness and local contrast. So buy the best lens that you can afford, in the long run you will be happier and it also may be a savings as the price photographic equipment continues to rise. An enlarging easel holds the paper during exposure. It serves several functions, first to ensure that you placing the paper in the exact same position every time. It also holds the paper flat and creates any border that you may desire. Again, I would buy as good an easel as possible. My first good easel I bought at an auction for $5 and still works well today. When setting up your enlarger there are a few thing to consider. First, vibration as mentioned earlier can be a problem if not dealt with properly. The easiest approach is to place your enlarger on a sturdy table that will not hold anything else. Before making an exposure you can let everything sit quietly and have the vibrations die down before starting the exposure. I have now gone to a system using supports that are mounted on the wall, it is very solid and a great way to go if possible. Enlarger alignment is also very important. Three stages of the enlarger need to be in alignment: the negative, the lens and the paper. The least expensive approach is to use a bull's-eye level that you buy for a couple of dollars at the hardware store. Make adjustments to your enlarger at each stage to make level. This can be tricky and often frustrating but it can help to get your enlarger in alignment. I use a laser alignment system which is expensive but it is also the easiest and most accurate method that I have found. The lesson here is don't just assume that everything is ok with your enlarger, take steps to make sure that everything is functioning as it was designed to do. |
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