<p>I have three Meopta Opemus enlargers that can handle everything from 1/2 frame 135 to 6x6cm with a wonderful moving-slide mask system that makes cropping simple. My Opemus III was $10, the Opemus 4 with 50/4 Nikkor was $30 and an Opemus 5 with a Meochrom Color Head was $20. The Opemus 4/5/6 models have a drawer for filters, with the Opemus III you have to hang filters under the lens using a Kodak or Ilford filter holder system.<br>
Meopta also made a wonderful 6x9cm enlarger- the Magnifax. I would like one.<br>
I have a 1940's Kodak Precision for 6x9cm and Leitz Valoy I and II's plus a Focomat Ic for 135. Information on Leitz enlargers is easily found online.<br>
I also have a Reid & Sigrist copy of the Valoy I with a 50mm Taylor & Hobson Ental lens. Better made than the original. Apparently during WWII the Brits had a supply problem with Leitz...<br>
These are all well-made machines and available for peanuts these days.<br>
Here's a link to James Ollinger's Meopta guide:</p>
<p>http://www.jollinger.com/photo/enlargers/meopta.html</p>
<p>a guide to enlargers in general:</p>
<p>http://www.jollinger.com/photo/enlargers/index.html</p>
<p>and a page on the Kodak Precision's:</p>
<p>http://www.bnphoto.org/bnphoto/KodakEnlargers.htm</p>
<p>Meopta were sold in the US, but were wildly popular in the UK/Australia/New Zealand due to their high quality and relatively low cost. You may be lucky enough to find a Meopta Magnifax or a Leitz Focomat in a skip...</p>
<p>All of the old Meopta's I've seen still have wiring with intact insulation, but the Kodak and Leitz models from the '50's usually need re-wiring. I am a qualified electrician, but really it's just wiring up a lamp - so just follow how it was done before, point-to-point.</p>
<p>Now is a great time to be finding this stuff. So much darkroom gear is being dumped. Just buy a few you like and try them out. You will soon amass all the trays, timers, mixing vessels, etc. you need. In another 5 or 10 years enlargers will be hard to find - unless you dig up a landfill.</p>