From: donl@glass.esd.sgi.com (donl mathis)
Newsgroups: rec.photo
Subject: Re: In the dark about enlarger
Date: 12 Jan 93 01:40:24 GMT
Reply-To: donl@glass.esd.sgi.com (donl mathis)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA


In article <1ipur8INN4a9@meaddata.meaddata.com>, otto@meaddata.com (Otto
Burgess) writes:
|> It is time to make a choice I will be living with for
|> a very long time.  I have been 'looking' at enlargers
|> for almost a year now.  I am almost set on the new
|> Saunders LPL 4500 II - some call it XL.  [...]
|> 
|> I have posted notes on this subject before, and I want
|> to thank all those who responsed.  I asked about the
|> Saunders enlarger specifically, and several people 
|> gave it praise, but did not recommend the VCCE head.
|> I even wrote Bob Shell, of Shutterbug fame, [...]

Bob Shell seems like a nice guy.  Personally, though, I wouldn't ask him
for a meaningful evaluation of the technical variety..

Remember that if you buy the Saunders, you are stuck with their
colorhead for the rest of your natural life -- it can't be changed.
Maybe you can't imagine ever wanting to replace the colorhead, but
someday you'll win the lottery, and you'll say "Gee, I wish I could
replace the colorhead.  But I can't."  Buy a separate chassis and
colorhead.

|> The Bessler 45VXL is the state of the art from that
|> old company.

Blech.  Puke.  Gaph.  Gurge.  Ick.  Ptew.  Barf.  Vomit.  Gack.  Gah.
Ew.  Horrors.  No, no, no.  No.  No, no, no.  Never.  No.  Nope.  Not.

Shall I elaborate?

There is no such thing as "state of the art" from Beseler.  They have
done a fine job putting out many workable, inexpensive, small and
medium format enlargers lo these many years.  They do not understand
engineering, and therefore when they start to exceed their bounds, the
produce products that nobody should actually pay money for.  The 45VXL
chassis is one of those.  There is no lateral triangulation keeping the
two big side plates from wiggling left and right.  No, the lamphouse
and negative stage will not bounce up and down very much.  Yes, the
lamphose and negative stage are essentially unrestrained in lateral
movement, and will spend most of their life doing the hula.  It will
make for some interesting effects in your prints -- all of the image
points fuzzed out left and right.  I have seen this wiggle.  I have
invoked it with my own hand, with a light smite on the side.  It made
horrible rattling and shaking noises, like it wanted to throw off a 
few loose parts.  Everyone in the store turned and looked.

No.  No, no, no.

|> So too is the Bessler Universal 45 
|> light source.  They call it light source, I think,
|> because it can be configured for different 
|> applications, and upgraded as technology changes.
|> I would go for the B&W VC version.

Well, maybe.  It would have to be *gobs* cheaper than the Minolta 45A
colorhead to make it worthwhile -- the 45A is really nice.  (It is
essentially Minolta, even though Beseler puts their name on it.  It
looks like Beseler did the sheet metal work, at least -- the holes in
the case don't really line up very well.)  Anyway, I really like mine.

|> Since this enlarger and light source is new, I am
|> not certain that anyone on the net can give me
|> any personal experience with it.  Just the same I
|> am asking????? 

Buy an Omega D5500 chassis.  Cheap, not a bad design at all, very
stable, quite workable.  An all-around good deal.  It's not a Durst
but it doesn't cost as much as a Durst, either.

If you can, put the 45A colorhead on it, or think about the D5500 head.
Otherwise, get the simple Omega dichroic colorhead.

- donl mathis at Silicon Graphics Computer Systems, Mountain View, CA
donl@sgi.com