I have one of these and am pretty happy with it, though I'm by no means a printing expert, and don't print that much colour. I think it's a good option if you are very short of space, and probably mostly focused on B&W. I've made a few tweaks to mine... - marked off the 100 point on the pots with a white gel pen - stuck a couple of rubber bits on the start button and safe light button to make them easiest to find in the dark - reversed the focusing knob to be on the top instead of the bottom - I use it on a tripod at present, but yeah, I really want to find a cheap stand with a raise/lower knob. I'm happy enough with my results for colour, at least I can get sensible results, but I have found +/- 2 to be quite large adjustments. For black and white it is fine, though Lena Besonova has pointed out that it can't quite get you to a true grade 5, I haven't found that to be a real problem though. I'd really like them to add an f-stop printing mode (in fact, I've considered grabbing a second timer to have a go at reflashing it myself). Thanks for the disassembly, I hadn't got up the nerve to do it myself yet :D
This is an amazingly comprehensive review for the color printing process Aleksandr, one that only you could produce nowadays ;-) Many thanks and keep it up!
I would love to see more, if it is worth it Id love to buy new so I know what I buy works. Right now I have a durst m301 for black and white. Id like to get something that can do color and has abiliry to run medium format for the future.
I’ve got enlargers all setup and am not looking to change it up, but have friends who mention wanting to grab one of these. Going to send them this in the future for a straight forward review on it. And always am down for some tinkering on equipment for content, your jobo stuff was particularly enjoyable!
Great review! I also have an old Durst 605 enlarger and was thinking of something modern to acquire but probably will keep it for now. Btw, I was looking for that copy stand cause it is quite cheap relative to what's on the market out there, and now seeing it on your video gave me confidence to buy it and use it for scanning the negatives instead of the tripod!
This copy stand is really good and from the company what making some stuff for microscopy, so i was sure from the beginning it will worth the price. At least it's million times better then competitors from scanning setups and twice cheaper.
Brilliant review, I considered buying their devere 504 kit, but looks like the product still needs some refinement. But for its price point it’s great value for a new enlarger product.
I could comment on my negative opinion of the Intrepid "parts of an enlarger". The LED light panel and controller were a good idea, poorly executed at first, but it now seems to be nicely refined. Price for what you get is ridiculous, but as the saying goes, "There's one born every minute." However, before you rush out to find a 3-D plastic cutter to adapt your Durst, note that Durst sold an accessory in the form of a stainless steel bar, threaded on each end, which was designed to replace the enlarger head and mount a camera, in effect turning the enlarger column into a deluxe copy stand. It would adapt this and many others Durst enlargers. They used to continuously available on ebay for about $15. You still see them occasionally now.
I know about it and was on the hunt for a year, it’s not worth it. “Used to cost” is a good description and good luck to find it less then 100 Eur ) Stand cost 60 eur and it’s second one from your enlarger
Thanks for the in depth review. I was thinking about Intrepid, I like the idea of supporting new darkroom products, but the color controls are worrying. I think I'll go with LPL or Durst... Btw, have you tested it for B&W prints?
I haven't had the chance to test it yet, and I might not be able to provide a thorough evaluation since I'm not currently involved in black and white printing or photography. However, I believe it should be simpler to use. One potential concern is whether you can achieve the full contrast spectrum when using VC paper with the LED setup they have.
