Today I got the negative carrier that I bought for $75 USD off eBay 3-4 weeks back. The carrier fits into my new/used Durst 1200 4x5 enlarger. Last week my friend Jack also told me he found the same carrier which had been misplaced. Jack will also send me his carrier, it should arrive in the coming weeks. I will have 2 of these things now which is alway good. If there is one thing I have learned from my rather rough and extensive time in the darkroom, it's that stuff breaks! Having a back-up is alway good.
I will probably use the Durst 1200 as my main enlarger in the future. I produce rather dense negatives and having a brighter and more stable (less shaky) enlarger is a big bonus. The negative of the 3 children I was working on last night required a 80 second main exposure at F2.8 (widest aperature) to make a 16x20 print. If I use the Durst instead of my old Saunders enlarger I will be able to cut down that exposure time quite a bit, the Durst light is brighter. I am excited about using this new tool. I might try it out tomorrow or the next day after work. I also bought a single piece of expensive ($90 USD) anti newton glass for the carrier, which I will install tomorrow. This afternoon I looked at the design of the carrier, it looks like only 1 piece of glass fits into it.
Update* The carrier does take 2 pieces of glass, which I guess makes sense. I installed the first piece and now will try to find another piece online. I will end up with one glass carrier for the Durst 1200 enlarger and one from Jack that uses metal inserts. This should work out very well as I recently broke the glass carrier for my Saunders LPL.
Update** I cannot find a second piece of glass for the carrier. I will continue to look for one, this might take a few years.
I will probably use the Durst 1200 as my main enlarger in the future. I produce rather dense negatives and having a brighter and more stable (less shaky) enlarger is a big bonus. The negative of the 3 children I was working on last night required a 80 second main exposure at F2.8 (widest aperature) to make a 16x20 print. If I use the Durst instead of my old Saunders enlarger I will be able to cut down that exposure time quite a bit, the Durst light is brighter. I am excited about using this new tool. I might try it out tomorrow or the next day after work. I also bought a single piece of expensive ($90 USD) anti newton glass for the carrier, which I will install tomorrow. This afternoon I looked at the design of the carrier, it looks like only 1 piece of glass fits into it.
Update* The carrier does take 2 pieces of glass, which I guess makes sense. I installed the first piece and now will try to find another piece online. I will end up with one glass carrier for the Durst 1200 enlarger and one from Jack that uses metal inserts. This should work out very well as I recently broke the glass carrier for my Saunders LPL.
Update** I cannot find a second piece of glass for the carrier. I will continue to look for one, this might take a few years.
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| Specially designed Durst 1200 enlarger negative carrier |
