Gunnar

Depending on the size of the enlarger but contact classis-enlargers.com
. He sells rebuilt Omega D2s. Rebuilt to better than Omega ever built
them. They will last forever.

Lenses are biggies.

Bob  AZ

Gunnar Mallon spake thus:

I'll take a crack at this and say the lens is most important.

As you suspect, the enlarger is basically just several hunks o'metal
that support the lens, negative, lamp, condenser, etc., and hold them in
alignment. Nothing rocket-science about it: basically, the elements in
the optical path (light, condenser, film and lens) need to be in a
straight line with the components aligned perpendicularly to the light path.

So what a guy would want is a solidly-constructed unit which can be
accurately aligned. Most enlargers that are above the El Cheapo class
fulfill these basic requirements. And of course, with the Great Takeover
of Digital Photography, enlargers are much cheaper and easier to acquire.

I would say both are equally important up to a point.  You need a good
strong enlarger with a sturdy base that is light tight especially if you are
having alot of different people using and abusing them.  An enlarger that
shakes will negate the best enlarging lens.  Start with this type of
enlarger and the best lens you can buy and then focus on what exactly you
will be using them for and look for the extras that will help you.

Been away from the darkroom for ten years and that felt great.  I miss it

I agree with others that, above a certain level of quality, the lens is
more important than the rest of the enlarger in terms of producing a
quality image. I would, though, like to point out some of the areas where
the quality or features of an enlarger are very important:

- The enlarger design determines what negative formats you can manage
 (sub-miniature, 35mm, 6x6, 6x7, etc.). Many enlargers can handle
 multiple formats, but you may need different negative carriers,
 condensers, mixing boxes, or other accessories.

- Enlarger heads vary in design, and this can affect the images you get.
 Condenser vs. diffusion, the presence or absence of built-in filters for
 color or B&W variable contrast papers, etc., can be important
 considerations.

- Most enlargers accept lenses with 39mm threads. A few require other
 types of lens mounts. Many use "lens boards" for mounting the lens, with
 multiple lens boards available for different lens types.

- The column height determines the maximum size image you can create,
 given a particular film size and lens.

- In part as a consequence of column height and supported negative
 formats, enlargers vary in size and weight. Measure your available space
 and check on load limits in your darkroom, particularly if you're
 tempted by any really large enlargers.

- Some enlargers -- particularly high-end models -- have extra features
 such as heads that can tilt for wall projection and/or Scheimpflug
 effects, autofocus, coarse and fine focus controls, built-in timers (vs.
 separate timers), etc.

- Popular models from major manufacturers are likely to have parts
 available for years to come. It may be hard to find parts for obscure
 models in the not-too-distant future (or already for used enlargers).
 Pay particular attention to bulbs; some models (especially for used
 equipment) require bulbs that are no longer available or that are very
 expensive.

- The minimum level of quality is important. An enlarger can be out of
 alignment, difficult to focus accurately, etc. Even if it works OK
 today, a poorly built enlarger may suffer more as entropy takes its toll
 than a better built machine would. This is likely to be particularly
 important for a communal darkroom such as the one for which you're
 buying.

- The preceding point goes double (or more) for used gear. Used equipment
 could be banged up, missing parts, badly misaligned, etc. Even if it was
 the best enlarger available when it was new, it could be junk today --
 or it could still be in like-new condition.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend buying a cheap enlarger (in the pejorative
sense; an inexpensive enlarger could be a great bargain) for a communal
darkroom, mainly because it's likely to suffer more from heavy use or
abuse than would a better built enlarger.

One other point: A well-built enlarger is pretty tough and should be able
to handle communal work pretty well. An excellent lens, OTOH, is just as
delicate as a poor one. You might consider buying as good an enlarger as
you can afford and two or three used lenses (even if you buy a new
enlarger). Even excellent used lenses are pretty cheap ($50 or less for
most). You can use the best of the lot as the primary lens and relegate
the worst to backup duty.

You haven't said what your price range is or what sorts of requirements
you have for features (supported formats, color or B&W, etc.). Given some
of that information, the people here might be able to offer more specific
advice, including how much of your budget to devote to the enlarger vs.
the lens.

I am agreed with the folks that say a minimum of both is required.
I think in your environment the wear resistance and design that the many
users cannot screw up during use is more important than having the best
lens.
For most users a 4 element tessar design lens is quite adequate. If you
are doing huge enlargements a fancier lens would yield visible differences.
gr

The best lens ever made can't make an out-of-focus image sharp. A good
chassis with good alignment should be the basis for any enlarging. I'll
take a well-aligned Durst with a triplet over a poorly aligned Beseler
with an APO lens every day of the week.

JD

thank you very much everyone for taking the time for great feedback!

Much appreciated,
Gunnar

http://www.chromografix.co.uk

You can't even begin to print well unless the lenses are good quality.
So that's where to start.  Be sure to get 6 element lenses -- Componon
instead of Componar for example. But there are things you can do to the
existing enlargers to make them perform better.  If they are
mechanically sound and if the moving parts are not badly corroded or
worn, enlargers can not only be brought back to life--they can be
improved.

And just as a note.  Ugly does not mean bad in enlargers.  Some of the
really ugly ones are among the best. All you really want them to be is
solid and stable.

Quick approach:
Clean the units thoroughly inside and out.  They need to be spotless.
Use very light lubrication on any moving parts that aren't smooth.
Sewing machine grease or oil works well, but us it sparingly.  It just
attracts more dirt.

Align the enlarger.  There are lots of notes on the web about doing
this.  One trick is to take a simple laser pointer and mount it on a
base so that the beam is absolutely perpendicular to the plane of the
base.  Shine the beam up into the enlarger (with a glass plate on the
negative stage), and true up the lens, the neg stage, and the paper
stage so they are all parallel using the reflected image back down on
the paper stage.  Also make sure that when the laser is aimed up
through the center of the enlarging lens that the laser dot appears on
the center of each condenser lens and the enlarger lamp.  That means
the lamp is centered on the condensers which are centered on the lens.

Improve the light source.  Nothing says you need to slavishly stick
with a crappy light source. You can install anything that fits. For
condenser enlargers my current favorite is a 12 volt halogen lamp with
a 2" halographic diffuser in front of it.  Many people are fond of
"point source" illumination.

Hope this helps.