tom_raymondson

In the US these are called the Saunders 4500-II and the 4550XLG. From

the Saunders website: "4550XLG Enlargers have a higher-power light

source (with higher-performance cooling system to match), for faster

printing." So it sounds like the 250w bulb would generate too much

heat. Too bad, because the only complaint I have with mine is the l-o-

n-g exposure times.

I just saw the new AA exhibit at SFMOMA. Almost all of the prints

were mounted with the reveal, which I think was the same size (maybe 3/

8 in.?) all the way around.

If you've only seen the posters and the books you should take this or

any opportunity to see his prints. Amazing.

I have the same motor base and have not experienced any irregular

development with Arista 125 in D76 1:1 with presoak. I don't reverse

the drum.

A couple of years ago I found some nice architectural details to

photograph in Santa Fe, in and around the Plaza, early before the

crowds. Nuthin' much in Albuquerque, but I probably just didn't know

where to look.

Is there any difference between the Unicolor and Beseler drums?

I'm admittedly new to LF (building a Bender - not yet finished), but

for my lensboard I . . . drilled a hole. Am I missing something? The

lens fits fine, is perfectly centered. Why would anyone pay $50 or

even $10 for that?

VLA

My limited experience with eBay has been good - 5 photographic

purchases, all as described, all in the area of 2/3 the cost of the

same item new. What I find amusing is the items that go for near or in

some cases more than the cost of new.

I think most photographers have extended development times, rubbed

prints, and even poured warmed developer on specific spots. All very

exciting when you're learning and your standards aren't very high. But

it doens't lend itself to repeatable results, so we improve our

techniques, increase out understanding of the process, and eventually

produce better prints. Now when I develop in Dektol 1:2 I pull the

print at exactly 1:30.

I use a Saunders/LPL 4500 II Dichroic with an El-Nikkor 105mm/f5.6. I have found absolutely no limitations for me with this setup, for both b&w and color up to 11x14 (I plan on trying 16x20 soon). It also works great for 35mm with a 50mm lens. It's probably more enlarger than you really need for 6x7, but for only the cost of a negative carrier you can also do 6x9, and for the cost of a negative carrier and lens you can try 4x5 too.

I was in New Mexico last summer and found the best photo opportunities (for me) at: Taos Pueblo (you have to pay an extra fee to bring in a camera and they don't allow tripods), Santa Fe (architectural details, particularly doors, windows, etc.), the Very Large Array (especially if you can juxposition a close-up of one telescope with the others off in the distance), and if you want to go further north, the railroad that goes into southern Colorado (the names escapes me right now). Have fun!

I just had a very positive repair experience (A2 command dial failure)

with Horizon Electronics in Union City, CA - http://www.horizon-

electronics.com/index.html

 

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I sent the camera regular UPS on Monday, they got it on Tuesday and

immediately called with their cost estimate, they shipped it out on

Wednesday, and I got it back on Thursday (I live in Northern

California, hense the fast ship times). Not only did they repair the

command dial, but they modified it so the button no longer needs to be

depressed (a much better design). I wouldn't hesitate to do business

with them again.

Xtol 1:1 at Kodak times plus 25%. Even at plus 10% I still got

underdeveloped negatives.

This past summer I was shooting New Mexico with a Fuji 6x7 rangefinder and a tripod. In the Taos Pueblo tripods were not allowed, so I shot hand held. The only difference I can see in the 8x10 prints is the reduction in DOF because the faster shutter speeds required the lens to be nearly wide open.

I'll offer a slightly contrary answer (something more for you to think about). I'm assuming that if you can afford a Mamiya 7 then you can afford a decent enlarger and you are serious about photography. The conventional wisdom is to go with black-and-white. But this probably means struggling with film developing (there are so many things that can go wrong) and teaching yourself to see images in shades of gray. Why not get a color enlarger capable of doing at least your 6x7 negs (I use an LPL/Saunders 4x5 enlarger and love it)? Shoot color negs and have them developed with machine prints anywhere that does medium format. You now have proofs to work from for your enlargements (it is virtually impossible to look at color negs and really know what you have). Get 3 developing trays, a box of RA-4 paper (I use Kodak Supra) and room temp RA-4 chems (Beseler makes a 1 liter size that will do about 30 8x10s). If you want pick up a stop bath for black-and-white, but you could probably get by with just water in the middle tray. You won't need a safelight because the exposure and the first part of development is done in total darkness (you can turn on the lights after it's been in the stop, or if there is no stop when it's in the bleach/fix). To fine tune your prints get the Kodak Color Print Viewing Filter Kit. One other thing - make sure you have a good size waste basket and realize that you aren't going to save any money doing this. After one session in your new darkroom you will have a print at least as good as you could get from your average lab, and once you fine tune your skills you will never let anyone else touch your negs again.

I have an older Slik tripod (about $80 ten years ago) that came with a quick-release tilt/pan head better suited for a camcorder. It easily screws off, so I recently replaced it with a Slik Standard Ballhead II which was about $40 from B&H. It works great with my Fuji rangefinder - very solid and easy to adjust. It seems that it could handle twice the weight of my camera.

What are my choices for a 6x7 color enlarger with the capability of

doing 6x9, while also handling 35mm? The Beseler 23CIII-XL Dichro is

out since I just spent a very frustrating 6 months with a defective

sample and have finally arranged to return it for a refund (Beseler

could not satisfactorily explain why dust on the translucent panel at

the bottom of the mixing chamber was in focus, causing spots on the

prints). Saunders, Durst, and Omega all make 6x7 enlargers that are

roughly in the same price range as the Beseler, but am I correct in

assuming that they won�t do 6x9? Are there any other 6x9 enlargers, or

do I need to move up to 4x5? I have my eye on the Saunders/LPL Super

Dichroic 4500 II, which is about twice the cost of the Beseler. Will

my El-Nikkor 105mm work on this enlarger for both 6x7 and 6x9? Do I

need a separate mixing chamber to do 35mm with a 50mm lens? I�m

assuming that the price listed in the B&H ad does not include lens

board and negative carrier (are there different lens boards for

different size lenses?) And in the unlikely event that I decide to try

4X5, will this enlarger at least get me started. Any comments from

personal experience will be greatly appreciated.

Check the data sheet that comes with the Ilford paper. It provides numbers for both single filtration (just yellow or just magenta) and double filtration (a combination of yellow and magenta). Basically, as you increase yellow you decrease contrast and as you increase magenta you increase contrast. The settings are also differentiated by the particular brand of enlarger you are using. They're basically starting points - the nice thing about using a color enlarger as opposed to the contrast filters is that the contrast is continuously variable. I haven't used the Agfa paper but I assume it has a similar data sheet.

Since you're getting lots of advice, some of it conflicting, I'll add to the confusion with my 2 cents: increase your P-F dilution, don't go near a squeegee, dry slower.

A couple of comments . . . I've been shooting with the Fuji GW670III

for a few months now after many years of 35mm and a year of toying

with a Yashica-Mat TLR. I'm using a Slik 504QF which I've had for

maybe 7-8 years - it cost under $100 back then - and it's plenty solid

enough for the camera. So far I've only printed 8x10 but I am still

truely amazed that I can use absolutely all of the negative - in other

words if you compose carefully, especially for landscapes, then you

don't really need 6x9 unless it's for the wider lens. The 1-second

maximum exposure seems to be the biggest drawback with these cameras.

The suggestion that I have heard is to quickly replace the lens cap

then turn the shutter dial.

I put a new 105mm lens on my 20-year old Beseler 67C with the Dichro 67

Colorhead to print 6x7 negatives, but with the bellows fully extended

the image still is not in focus. (The enlarger works fine with a 50mm

lens for 35mm and with a 75mm for 6x6, but 75mm for 6x7 results in

corner light fall-off.) It appears that the 105mm would need to be

about 2 inches lower to achieve focus. Is there some kind of 6x7

mixing chanmber or other part for this enlarger/head combo that would

remedy the situation? If not, would the current model (67 XLD Dichro)

be better suited for 6x7, or would I need to move up to the 23CIII-XL

Dichro? Any help from personal experience would be appreciated.

Maybe try a different film. I use T-Max 100 and have not had any

trouble with curling.

Try http://www.fpointinc.com/data/beseler/instb.htm

I've only had my Fuji 6x7 for a few weeks, but I can answer some of

your questions. There is no meter. 10 exposures to a roll of 120,

but as I quickly discovered it makes more sense to just take 9 because

you can't fit 10 on an 8x10 proof sheet. I haven't tried flash yet,

but it has a hotshoe for X sync. 67mm filters. I quickly found that

my 75mm enlarging lens did not have enough coverage to avoid light

falloff in the corners, so I have been waiting (and waiting, and

waiting) for a 105mm from New York. Even so, the few test prints I

made (T-Max 100 on a tripod) looked incredibly sharp. It's quirk,

apparently (I haven't tried this yet either) is that to take an

exposure longer than 1 second you have to set the shutter at T, start

the exposure, then to close the shutter you move the shutter speed

ring. Really! In the darkroom the entire image fills an 8x10 - there

is no wasted space on the negative. I anticipate great images from

this camera.