I have this exact enlarger and done the same as you, it had been sitting in a college basement for 20+ years so was very dirty. It's a great enlarger and I especially love the focus gadget built into the negative carrier, very intuitive. Great job at cleaning it up 😊
So nice to see a young man with the initiative to do something. You did a great job in the lab. Keep working on your passion. Photography will bring you lots of joy.
The first quality enlarger I ever used was an Meopta, in 1961, some 60 years ago. The craftsmanship was exceptional. The Meopta enlarging lens which came with it, not so much, but adequate. Looks like the same lens shown here. Here, the knobs which move the enlarger chassis up and down on its column, and move the lens board to focus, depend on friction between disc and its slot to move the units. Clean them, but do not lube them. Lube will attract dirt and also cause slippage.
Hello, I have a very similar Opemus 5 enlarger that comes from my old darkroom equipment from 1980th. It is in much better condition than yours when it was purchased, it is kept in its original packaging, but it also needs a little cleaning, so your video is very helpful! Thank you!
My first decent enlarger back in 1967 was (still have it) an Opemus 2A. My friends all seemed to go for Durst, but I still maintain the Opemus was superior. I later converted it to a colour head (dial in my colours dichroic filters) That enlarger which I'd wall mounted, made many 16x20 colour prints before I went to the big Omega 4x5 dichroic enlarger. I've subsequently bought as a collectors item the predecessor to the 2A have not used it to work for me, though.
Thank you for sharing. Just disassembled my Meopta while watching your video. Could you tell me, what is this glass for at 3:30? I don't have it in my enlarger. Thank you!
It is a filter (laying in the filter frame/drawer. Probably UV filter, which normally would look like a clear glass or plastic sheet. Printing papers can be quite sensitive to Invisible UV light, so this filter trims out such light above the visible frequency brand. If you use variable contrast B&W paper, you would put appropriately sized VC filters in this drawer.
In the filter drawer there's a matt screen to diffuse the incoming light. These Meopta B/W enlargers are condenser enlargers and thus would normally produce parallel light, but with this glass in place you can get somewhat diffused lighting. It's sort of a middle-ground to a real diffusor enlarger. And thanks for the video @Lost Light Art, I also bought a used Meopta Opemus 5, which is very very similar to the 5a and your video was helpful!
Hey, nice job with this enlarger. I was wondering if it is possible to make cyanotypes with an enlager (maybe a UV lightbulb) so you wouldn't have to scan the negative and to print it on foil to make bigger prints. thanks
I have this exact enlarger and done the same as you, it had been sitting in a college basement for 20+ years so was very dirty. It's a great enlarger and I especially love the focus gadget built into the negative carrier, very intuitive. Great job at cleaning it up 😊
So nice to see a young man with the initiative to do something. You did a great job in the lab. Keep working on your passion. Photography will bring you lots of joy.
Thanks Alexandre for your kid words. I will definitely proceed in what I love doing...
The first quality enlarger I ever used was an Meopta, in 1961, some 60 years ago. The craftsmanship was exceptional. The Meopta enlarging lens which came with it, not so much, but adequate. Looks like the same lens shown here. Here, the knobs which move the enlarger chassis up and down on its column, and move the lens board to focus, depend on friction between disc and its slot to move the units. Clean them, but do not lube them. Lube will attract dirt and also cause slippage.
Hey Randall thanks for the tip!
That was extremely satisfying to watch! What ana amazing job you did cleaning that.
Thanks James :)
Hello,
I have a very similar Opemus 5 enlarger that comes from my old darkroom equipment from 1980th. It is in much better condition than yours when it was purchased, it is kept in its original packaging, but it also needs a little cleaning, so your video is very helpful!
Thank you!
Cool man good luck 😉
My first decent enlarger back in 1967 was (still have it) an Opemus 2A. My friends all seemed to go for Durst, but I still maintain the Opemus was superior. I later converted it to a colour head (dial in my colours dichroic filters) That enlarger which I'd wall mounted, made many 16x20 colour prints before I went to the big Omega 4x5 dichroic enlarger. I've subsequently bought as a collectors item the predecessor to the 2A have not used it to work for me, though.
Great thanks for all of this informations!
Nice job, well done, nice to see one of those enlarger taking back service !
Thanks 🤗
Great video. Thanks!
Nice job and amazing time lapse !
Thanks :)
Thank you for sharing. Just disassembled my Meopta while watching your video. Could you tell me, what is this glass for at 3:30? I don't have it in my enlarger. Thank you!
Thanks for the comment. I assume it's filter drawer 😉
It is a filter (laying in the filter frame/drawer. Probably UV filter, which normally would look like a clear glass or plastic sheet. Printing papers can be quite sensitive to Invisible UV light, so this filter trims out such light above the visible frequency brand. If you use variable contrast B&W paper, you would put appropriately sized VC filters in this drawer.
@@randallstewart175 Thanks for the explanation!
In the filter drawer there's a matt screen to diffuse the incoming light. These Meopta B/W enlargers are condenser enlargers and thus would normally produce parallel light, but with this glass in place you can get somewhat diffused lighting. It's sort of a middle-ground to a real diffusor enlarger.
And thanks for the video @Lost Light Art, I also bought a used Meopta Opemus 5, which is very very similar to the 5a and your video was helpful!
@@lagaguga Thank you for this informations!
Nice video thanks🙏
Hey, nice job with this enlarger. I was wondering if it is possible to make cyanotypes with an enlager (maybe a UV lightbulb) so you wouldn't have to scan the negative and to print it on foil to make bigger prints.
thanks
Hey Bertalan. Thanks. Hm never tought about that. Interesting thinking. I think that would be possible but exposure times would be loooong...
I just got a 80 years old enlarger, and it's very rusted. What products did you use to clean the parts?
I just bought an Opemus 4. What is the difference between? I see a lot if info about the 3 model but not the 4. Any thoughts?
thank you very much.
Welcome 🤗
Need of enlarger picture will develop? 7:24
Is this a 4x5 enlarger? It looks like medium-format.
Yes it is medium format elarger. My goal is to get Durst 1200 or 138
It's 6x6cm enlarger.
@@keithpage8672 Yes indeed!