Should I buy an enlager...?

[pbromaghin]

I recently bought a complete bathroom/darkroom setup. Like you, I have only limited experience back in the 1970s. I watched craigslist for several months before making my decision. Trond's advice sounds good. Watch those sites for a few months and do a lot of reading (APUG and wherever) to understand what will be the right setup for your own situation. Then one day the right deal will come along and jump on it!

[Helinophoto]

Hehe, indeed =)

Thank you all for the input, maybe smart to not just bite on the first bate

There are some other things in the package beside the enlarger itself, like one table with wheels, 2 safe lights (one red, one yellow/green??), one focus lens, 3 trays, a couple of Patterson type developer tanks, 100 sheets of Afga paper (17*24cm) and some other paper, contrast filters and other bits and nicks.

I'll sleep on it and call the guy tomorrow and see if I can bargain a little, I have time anyways and I can see several enlagers on the places fore-mentioned in this thread, so I guess there will definitely be another alternative coming up pretty quick.

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Do it! If not this one, then the next good one.

To me, in the darkroom is where the magic happens. And you will see your negatives in a different way, for better or worse.

There is nothing like watching the print come up in the tray.

- Thomas

[John Koehrer]

You have the idea. Bargain. If the seller has the feeling that you will walk away from it you're in a much stronger position.

FWIW, years ago I had a cousin that really tough. When he found something he wanted to buy in the newspaper, he decided
how much he would pay and that's the money he would put in his front pocket. small denominations so the bankroll would look very tempting.
Unless the seller is married to the equipment, the idea of cash in hand is a very powerful tool.

Personally I'd aim for the three hundred mark. 340 likely to be tops.

[jerry lebens]

Not at that price, it's far too expensive, even with the lens.

[Newt_on_Swings]

asking a bit much, but durst enlargers are good quality.

there are many enlargers out there that can handle medium format, but you have to be wary about if the enlarger needs an extra condenser or not (does not pertain to diffusion enlargers), and if the negative carriers are included or easy to buy. I know durst has a universal carrier that you can easily adjust sizes with to mask.

the enlarger lens market is currently a buyer market, its really cheap to get really awesome stuff online, and at auction. I see el nikkors, rodagons, componons, and all the other older lenses (ektars, wollenstocks, etc) go for 10% of their original retail price. the only ones i see retaining a good deal of their value are the apo versions, not needed if you only plan doing b&w.

I suggest do a bit more research, set a budget, and go for it. clicking the shutter is only 1/125 second, the real meat of it is in the darkroom, its where the magic happens.