New Darkroom, wondering about the Beseler MXT

I found this forum for the first time yesterday and

this has to be the greatest web site I have ever come across. Thanks to everyone for all the amazing thoughts and ideas!

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After years of using a public darkroom (I managed one in Chicago for 6 years) and using my father-in-law's darkroom for the past three, circumstances have finally allowed me to build my own in the basement of my home. My brother-in-law is currently constructing the walls, the plumbing, the ventilation, etc., and I have just finished obtaining most of the equipment from ebay - timer, easel, print washer, safelight, etc. The final buy will be the enlarger. My father-in-law has a Beseler MXT with an Aristo cold light and the results I have obtained with it blew away anything I got with the condenser enlargers at the public darkroom. So I am planning on going with the MXT and cold light just because of the good luck I have had with it. After reading a few of the threads here yesterday, though, I realize that there is more than one good company that makes enlargers. So now I am wondering if the MXT is the way to go . (What if the motor blows out?) Can anybody tell me anything negative they have experienced with the MXT, or if they think there is a better brand for that type of enlarger. Also, I was going to buy it new, but am not sure if it is wiser to buy a used one. I don't even own a 4x5, I use a Hasselblad, so I could probably get by with one of the smaller enlargers, but the sturdiness of 45's has me convinced that is the way to go. Anyone think I should just buy a 67 instead? One last thing, where is the best place for me to purchase a new enlarger? I usually order from Calumet, but they have been disappointing to me this past week. They told me it would be 1 to 2 months before they have any MXT's in stock, and they are also out of high intensity Aristo Cold lights. Oh yeah, can anyone let me know their preferences for the cold light, high or low intensity? I found that the high intensity light greatly increases contrast with VC papers, and I find it more difficult to do complicated dodging and burning because of the shorter exposures, but it allows me to use a small aperture setting without having to set the timer to 2 or 3 minutes.

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Thanks to everyone who can help!

I have a Besseler MX series 4x5 enlarger and like it a lot. I think

some people prefer the Omega, and it may be a bit sturdier. I've

found for non-commercial/institutional use, the Besseler is more than

adequate. I don't know about the cold light decision, I have one,

but it is a Zone VI that came with the enlarger (used).

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If the motor blows, I suppose you could crank it up and down with

that little knob, but that would make 2-3 minute exposures seem to

fly by. Mine is pretty old and well used and the motor is still

going strong, I would think that should be one of your least major

concerns.

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I use mine with 35mm and 6x6 negatives also and I like the way it

works. If the price isn't tremendously different, I feel you're

better off getting the 4x5. If you ever decide to get a 4x5 kit,

you'll already be ready in the darkroom. It's expensive to purchase

new, sell and repurchase.

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For used equipment, check out Midwest Photo Exchange. I've seen used

MX 45s in their flyer from time to time.

Just a couple of observations Mr. Webb.

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I have used a MXII, main difference is a tapered bellows I believe,

for 25 years. I have used a Beseler condenser head, Zone VI cold

light and at present am using a Zone VI VC head. I contact 8X10

negatives that tend to be a little on the dense side (gotta love

those highly technical terms!) and the times are in the 30 to 45

second range for the soft light exposure and an additional 5 to 10

seconds for the hard light. I guess I don't know if that makes it

high or low intensity (it gets a little hard to see through those

8X10,s sometimes). I do some printing for a local pro of the high

school teams in 645 format. She has negatives that run from 5 seconds

to 25 seconds depending if she is inside with flash or out in the

sun. (I know these times are not entirely relevent but give you an

idea.)

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As to used I can't see a down side except maybe finding one. I

occasionally go to Iowa City Iowa where the university is and at a

small camera store they have one on ocassion. I am not sure how to

age a Beseler (I believe they date to the 50's) except that they go

from green to blue to black, MX, MXII, and MXT. If someone knows

different I stand corrected and humbled by thier knowledge! A little

digging might uncover one, maybe an ad in the classifieds. I had a

friend call one night wanting to know if I wanted an Omega enlarger,

no charge. Well the price was right! I went over to his house and it

turned out to be an old 4X5 enlarger in need of some tlc and a cord.

His neighbor had aquired it some where along the line and was going

to set it out for fall junk pick up. It's now on semi permanent loan

to a friend along with the Zone VI cold light head. The point is they

are out there and not everyone is either aware of thier value or

cares.

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As far as the motor blowing out I haven't had a problem and it has

made a few trips up and down the column! There should be availabiltiy

of parts and assemblies, it has been around for a while.

James,

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I use an MXT and once the wire cord got caught between the baseboard

and the wall while I was raising the enlarger head with the motor. It

was dark and had I not stopped the motor in time, the cord would have

snapped off the motorised unit. Close shave! Just a little caution

here.

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Aaron

Of course, if you get the MXT you will be prepared and all set to go

when you see the light and move to making 4x5 images. ;-)

James: The Beseler is a good machine, I can't comment on better than

an Omega never having had an Omega. I've had two of the Beselers.

One came out of a garage where it was extremely dirty and the motor

was dead. Some WD40 and it worked great until I sold it 5 years

later. The motor seemed to me to be very high quality and, if you

think it about, it doesn't really run much compared to most 120V

motors so I'm not surprised they have a lack of problems. The paper

manufactureres claim you can use yellow filters to modify older cold

lights so that they work well with current VC materials. I tried

really hard to make that work and no matter what the contrast was

untameable. I called Aristo directly (great service, interesting

woman who answers the phone) and they sent me a tube and I relamped

the cold light with their V54 tube and it works great with Ilford

filters. If you use the #2 filter for a "normal" negative

(unfiltered light from the V54 doesn't seem to be really truly normal

to me) it does decrease the printing speed a bit all by itself which

is your concern. I'm not absolutely sure about it since I sold them

both years ago, but I think some of the older MX's have side braces

that can interfere with the easel, so you might check that out.

These do show up often on Ebay, I think in practice old is as good as

new, and while a medium format enlarger like a 23C would be adequate

we all hope you move on from that little tiny square negative, and

the MXT would let you do that with just the purchase of a negative

carrier and a longer lens. If you will never go bigger than 6X6, the

Omega B22XL (longer column) is remarkably inexpensive on Ebay and can

be easily lamped with an Aristo head. I've had mine since high

school (uh...32 years ago) and I still like it and use it for 35mm

and 6X6. It will not handle a 6X7 negative though, which the 23C will.

Since you've got the space, I strongly suggest that you go with a 4x5

enlarger. In addition to enabling enlarging of 4x5 negatives in the

future if you ever want to, you'll reap the great benefit of

very even illumination for your roll film originals. Many 6x7

enlargers exhibit significant corner falloff, especially when printing

with higher contrast papers/filters.

And one more thing on "cords," it gets really exciting when the gears

of the lift come in contact with the power cord draped across the

vertical track. Just so you know. Kind of a high maintenance flash

bulb.

Hey, we've got three of those monsters here in our lab...one of them

is on a drop leaf table (for making bigger prints) with a

high-intensity Aristo coldhead....this does make a difference for

pretty large prints, but I wouldn't worry about it too much for

smaller ones....we occasionally pull this thing out into the middle of

our huge darkroom and tilt the head back & make murals this way as

well....

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The other 2 have color heads on them, and are younger...the older

units have a tapered bellows on the bottom stage (lens stage)...these

don't quite offer you all the alignment controls of the newer

chasis...no really big deal, but in it's old age, we wound up

retrofitting a new bellows & lower stage to the one with the cold

head....it basically couldn't be aligned after a certain point.

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Don't worry about the motors, they'll last for a long time, but they

can also leak oil sometimes, so be careful....the enlarger can/will

jump the tracks sometimes, the chasis frame can get bent if mishandled

and then you're really out of luck, alignment-wise....but all in all,

it's a real workhorse of an enlarger.

James:

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I would not hesitate to go with the 45MXT. I have had several years

of experience with this enlarger and some of its earlier

incarnations. (Note to Marv -- I started out on an old blue one in

high school in the 80's and it probably 20 years old back then!) I

have found the MXT to be durable and reliable. Complaints? The

focussing mechanism isn't too terribly precise -- the rack and pinion

tends to jump a bit when examining the image with a grain magnifier.

Other than that, no gripes. As other posters have noted, leave room

for growth and go with a 4x5 enlarger. Enjoy!

I've used the 45MXT for years without any problem. I bought it well

used. It is a battleship. I definitely recommend the 4x5, even if

you don't think you will need it. VERY stable. I use the high

intensity V54, and had same positive experience with Aristo. You can

find them all over the place...surf the web, try ebay, call Midwest

Photo. Many available, with the current advent of digital.

The Beseler would be my second choice, and it is a fine machine.

Nothing to complain about with it.

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As far as light sources, if you want cold light go for the Aristo V54

VC tube, which has green and blue light present so you can print VC

if you like.

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If for some reason you burn out the motor, Beseler can provide a

replacement.

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My first choice is what I have: a Saunders/LPL 4500-II. I think it

works more smoothly and effortlessly than the Beseler. These have,

however, diffusion light sources only. But they give the same light

character as cold lights.

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Check out Adorama for mail ordering it. They've got decent prices, &

quick service. B&H is good, too.

Try B&H for the 45MXT. I know they have them in stock and their

prices are consistently better than Calumet, although their sales

help is not as good. But since you already know what you want, B&H

is reliable.

Sorry to be contrary here, but I strongly recommend you do not buy the

MXT. For a few hundred dollars more you can get the Beseler V-XL which

is a far superior machine. The problem with the MXT is that the

negative and lens stages cannot be aligned properly or permanently. I

owned one for ten years and always had to fiddle with it. On the V-XL,

which I purchased afterwards, the lens stage and negative stages can

be aligned positively and permanently. Save yourself years of

frustration. They both take the same light sources and accessories.

Saunders makes nice enlargers. So does Beseler. So does Omega.

I've used all three, and they worked fine for me.

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I agree that getting a 4x5 is a good choice. You may want to see

what sort of deals come around. I have an Omega 4x5 with a color

head. Got a great deal on it from a place that was going digital.

(My wife hates it when I find those kinds of deals.) That's why I

have an Omega.

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If I hadn't purchased the Omega, I would have a Beseler 45 MXT with

the drop-top table. I moved into a new lab (molecular biology, not

photo) and there was the Beseler and table (and an Omega B-66 along

with 50/2.8 and 135/5.6 Nikon lenses) stuck up on top of the pipes

running along the ceiling. The previous occupant didn't want them,

so I got them. Selling the Beseler more than made up for buying the

Omega.

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For me, the choice came down to what good deals were available when I

was buying. You may want to look around and see what sort of deals

you can find. I think buying used is a very good way to go. Very

little of my photo equipment was purchased new.

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DW

Go used. If you're careful, you can get a 'good as new' enlarger for

much less than you would pay for new. If you're in chicago, it

should be easy to find a shop with good used equipment. Ebay is

another good place to check, although shipping could be an issue with

a large item. Good luck. The Beselers are made to last forever.

Someone mentioned the focus control of the 45M binding and jumping.

I had the same problem, and managed to all but eliminate it.

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The lower standard (where the lensboard lives) travels on a track

that is geared on the front and rides on Teflon pads on the back.

The uneven travel is caused by the contact surfaces not being clean.

The best way to fix it is to remove the whole shebang from the rack.

Normally, it can only travel so far down because there's a screw that

protrudes through the gear rack from the back. Remove the screw, and

the lower standard will ride right of the rack (it will just be

hanging by the bellows). Clean all the accumulated crud off the metal

and the Teflon and lubricate it with some dry powdered graphite.

Smooth as a baby's bottom....no binds, no jumps.

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Don't lose the screw.

James,

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I had an MXT for 8 years. I loved it for most of that time. However,

it apparently got "warped", because from one day to the next it would

never align properly again. I worked on it for months without success.

Also, the focusing would jump. I hated getting rid of it, but I had

to. I bought a Saunders/LPL 4550 XLG. I've really enjoyed it, both

the alignment and the secure focusing.

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That said, I agree with other posters about buying most equipment

used, and if the price is right, do it. My only fear about an MXT

after the problem I had is in knowing whether or not the one you buy

is aligned or can be aligned. This may not really be a common

problem, but since it happened to me, it would be a worry.

Thanks to everyone for the great ideas about enlargers!

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I will take a long walk and decide what to do. Used or new? MXT or

VXL? Another brand? Lot's of choices, but fun to think about. I

noticed when working on my father-in-law's MXT that the focus would

frequently move, and also that his alignment was not very stable. He

bought one of those laser gizmos, and when he proudly showed me how it

worked, was surprised to find that his enlarger had already skewed its

alignment. I don't notice it on smaller prints, but he mentioned that

on larger prints the edges get soft if not properly aligned.

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Thanks again to everyone for taking the time to reply, and enjoy the

holidays!

In my neck of the woods, there are more in-house labs going digital

and commercial labs shutting down wet labs as well...I'd say to look

for the newest used model you can find...avoid something that's seen

too much use in a commercial lab though....if there are any state or

university system surplus lots near you, you might want to go on a

scavenger hunt through them....I was out at one of ours several weeks

ago, and saw quite a bit of lab gear, processors etc... Fed surplus is

the best, but it's hard for an individual to get access....the stuff

is out there though, I picked up an old D2V years ago out of SC state

surplus for next to nothing...I'd say go new only if you can't find a

decent used one, and even then I'm not too sure if I'd buy one new...

A new MXT runs close to a grand anyways, so you might want to broaden

the search to other types like D2's etc., LPLs, maybe Dursts. Happy

hunting....

With respect to aligning the MXT, Beseler made changes at some point

in the production of the MXT and the later version can be aligned

relatively easily (the key word here being "relatively"). I bought

mine about seven years ago and it's the newer version so anything

that age or later should be o.k. If you want to pursue this, I

suggest you call Darryl McNicholas (sp?), who wrote the manual for

the Beseler MXT and is an authorized repair person, or Beseler

itself, for the details. I spent a lot of time on the phone with

Daryll discussing the changes Beseler made and how to align the newer

version but it's been a long time ago now and I don't remember the

details. Daryll often writes for Shutterbug and includes his phone

number with his articles. If you can't find it and want to talk with

him, let me know and I'll dig it out.

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I respectfully disagree with the person who recommended the VCL. I've

used both and the VCL, with its single column chasis, didn't feel

nearly as sturdy to me as the MXT. It may actually have been as

sturdy or even more sturdy, I didn't try to do any kind of scientific

tests, it just didn't have the same sturdy feel to me as the MXT.

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The only thing I don't like about the MXT is that when using a piece

of 8x10 or larger mat board to dodge or burn, the board often bumps

up against the chasis supports at the rear of the enlarger and it can

sometimes be difficult or impossible to get the board in the desired

position. This problem might be alleviated with wall mounting.

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I use the Aristo VCL 4500 head and it works beautifully when coupled

with the MXT and the Metrolux timer. It's an expensive combination

but well worth it IMHO.

Brian...yeah, it's Darryl Nichols...he puts out the ColorBAT Lab

manuals & tech sheets.....there's alot of info in these handbooks

about Beseler products, Jobos and using additive enlargers, but he's

not a Beseler employee...the handbook is sort of along the lines of a

photolab tech manual. We've never had very many alignment problems

with our newer MXTs...the old MXII was a different story though, but

it's seen _alot_ of use anyways. The newer modles can be aligned in

both directions on the lens stage, whereas with the older ones you can

only get so much out of them....also, if you use a rotating lens

turret, you might as well give up on trying to get perfect alignment

as well...get some of those lensboards with the alignment screws in

them as well....the MXTs are rock solid though...you can get them in

focus & leave them there all day....and they won't slip or budge...I

do this in making mass PR prints...350+ prints off one neg...it stays

in focus from beginning to end. BTW, the vcl4500 & metrolux is a great

combo too....