4x5 Enlarger

[Yashica FX3]

I am surprised by how few 4x5 enlargers are for sale....not that I have space for one but I am tempted to get one for when I can set up a dark room.

 

[StephenM]

If film photography is a minority pastime compared to digital, darkroom work is a minority interest amongst film photographers. The practical difficulties of setting up a darkroom seem to be large - finding space for one, making it light tight, set up and pack down time and storing all the necessary items combine to reduce, if not interest but at least practicality. Hence few enlargers in general. LF enlargers also are usually not on the small or light size. Intrepid make the only small package enlarger, I think.

That said, there are still quite a few for sale from more specialised dealers.

 

[Yashica FX3]

There was a very nice De Vere at a reasonable price but it was in Germany and shipping was over £200.....I gave that a miss.

 

[ChrisR]

I am surprised by how few 4x5 enlargers are for sale....not that I have space for one but I am tempted to get one for when I can set up a dark room.

Is there a community darkroom near you?

 

[ChrisR]

There was a very nice De Vere at a reasonable price but it was in Germany and shipping was over £200.....I gave that a miss.

IIRC John @thedarkshed (RIP) had a De Vere that went up to 4x5, based near Coventry. The folk from Sunny 16 Podcast are selling of his stuff to help his widow and baby daughter, so presumably that will come up at some point.

(OT, anyone buy one of his Mamiya 7s?)

 

[Yashica FX3]

Is there a community darkroom near you?

I have been trying to locate one for months. There is meant yo be one near me but myself and other people have tried to contact them with no response....I guess Covid may have got in the way of it operating normally. I found out about two others in the city but they have closed down.
One place I contacted had donated all of their enlargers to the community darkroom that I have had no response from.
There is one about 50 minutes drive away from me but I just need to double check if they have a 4x5 enlarger there.....waiting to hear back via email.

 

[Karl.t1965]

Of your 4x5 camera has a grafloc back you could always consider the Intrepid enlarger?

 

[MrDrizz]

Intrepid have there enlarger kit for their 4x5 camera.
Not that much use unless you have the camera and granted not an ideal solution for most.

Intrepid 4x5 Enlarger Kit

The Intrepid Enlarger is the ultimate DIY photography tool, converting your 4x5 camera into a fully functional darkroom enlarger. The Intrepid Enlarger uses new LED technology, so it can match the results of a traditional enlarger whilst being a fraction of the size and price.

intrepidcamera.co.uk

 

[StephenM]

You don't necessarily need to have an Intrepid 5x4 camera; any 5x4 with a Graflok back will be fine. The assumption is that anyone wanting a 5x4 enlarger will also have a 5x4 camera, but clearly not all 5x4 cameras are suitable.

 

[Asha]

You don't necessarily need to have an Intrepid 5x4 camera; any 5x4 with a Graflok back will be fine. The assumption is that anyone wanting a 5x4 enlarger will also have a 5x4 camera, but clearly not all 5x4 cameras are suitable.

Intrepid have there enlarger kit for their 4x5 camera.
Not that much use unless you have the camera and granted not an ideal solution for most.

Intrepid 4x5 Enlarger Kit

The Intrepid Enlarger is the ultimate DIY photography tool, converting your 4x5 camera into a fully functional darkroom enlarger. The Intrepid Enlarger uses new LED technology, so it can match the results of a traditional enlarger whilst being a fraction of the size and price.

intrepidcamera.co.uk

The intrepid enlarger kit works surprisingly well tbh
I still have the original mk1 version which is redundant now as I have a purpose wall mounted enlarger capable of accepting negatives in excess of 10x8 ".
I can however confirm that the kit gave me as good results as I get with my present equipment !

As stated, if your LF camera has à graflock back to accept the light source, the intrepid kit will function fine.

 

[StephenM]

Unfortunately, the OP has the original Chroma, which I don't think has a Graflok back. Whether one could be retro fitted is a question for @stevelmx5

 

[stevelmx5]

Unfortunately, the OP has the original Chroma, which I don't think has a Graflok back. Whether one could be retro fitted is a question for @stevelmx5

All of my cameras have had Graflok plates fitted, they've just been tweaked along the way :0)

 

[Yashica FX3]

Sorry....haven't been able to get on here for a while....yes, my Chroma camera does have Graflock plates (thanks @stevelmx5 for enlightening me as to what those metal plates were) so I could consider using an Intrepid system.