MEOPTA AXOMAT ENLARGER & Accessories - $90.00. Solidly built 35mm Meopta Axomat 5 film enlarger. Condenser type, above lens filter tray with glassless negative holder. Securely fixed to timber base support. Meopta Axomat range Enlarger Instruction Manuals. $6.85 Buy It Now or Best Offer 16d 10h. Meopta Axomat 5 Schwarz & Weiss. Meopta Axomat 5a Black & White, Robust and Compact, enlarger TheAxomat 5 enlarger allows image restitution. Swivelling the head by 90° provides wall projection.
The 80mm lens is more useful for medium format negatives, a 50mm lens is ideal for 35mm negatives. It's just the angle of coverage, if you have the 'wrong' lens for your negative size you either have too narrow or too wide an angle which means that the enlarger head is either excessively high or low - high is bad as the column can vibrate, low is bad as it's awkward. You might get some funny distortions, although I'm not sure. The 'correct' lens gives you the right angle of coverage for your neg. I used to have an old Meopta, crude but built to last. I have the 105mm version of the Anaret lens, never used as I don't have any negs big enough! The lens seems ok, it looks better than the cheaper meopta ones at it has 8 curved aperture blades whereas the real cheapies have 4 square blades (such as the Belsar, which I also have).
I assume the 80mm Anaret will be of similar design to the 105mm, in which case I would suggest the 80mm will be a decent lens. AU$100 is around £40, it sounds extremely good value, I paid around £80 about 4 years ago for an Axomat, which isn't as high in the range as the Opemus (I think the Axomat is limited to 35mm negs, mine certainly seems to be). You can pick up a 50mm lens cheaply, in fact you could probably get more for the 80mm lens (if you sold it on) than you would pay for the equivalent 50mm lens.
Hi Everyone, I've been offered a Meopta Opemus 5a' Enlarger. So far I've found that when it was made it had the following spec: Lens: Anaret 4.5/80. Condenser lens: two-lens of 105 mm diameter. Lamp: opal max. Enlargement: max.
6.2x onto the base plate. Weight: 9.3 kg. Years of production: 1982-84.
I would be using it with 35mm negs (B&W) of course and was wondering if anyone has experience with this make - opinions would be welcomed. I guess I could get it for around £25.00. Kind regards Tony. My first enlarger - ah, you never forget your first love - was an Opemus 6x6, most likely the direct forerunner of the machine you're talking about. Very sturdy with a focusing device. They used to be around 100 pounds sterling in the seventies so this price you will have to fork out is a laugh. Buy the thing!
If it is in good working order. The lens is not bad either although it meant for 6x6 negs. For 35 mm film a 50mm lens would be a better choice. You will need some filters if you want to do printing on VC paper. Regards Hans. Meopta Opemus 5a Enlarger Update Just a quick update and to thank Hans and John for your kind advice. I am now the proud parent of a Meopta Opemus 5a Enlarger.
When I arrived with the seller I found that it was fitted with a colour head and a 50mm Meogon Lens. It can be rotated either on the baseboard 180 degs as well as through 90 degs for wall projection. The neg holder is adjustable for 35mm up to 6x6. Whilst I was there I also picked up a transformer; timer and easel. Due to the colour head and other goodies I happily offered £55.00 for the lot which was happily accepted. It's going to need a little time invested giving it a clean but other than that it looks perfect.
Many thanks once again guys Tony. Hans, Well (hic!!) there is that advantage of course. Finding it was a colour head did throw me on what to offer, but as he was so happy with the offer I don't feel quite so guilty:confused: Before you and John replied I wasn't sure if I should touch it as it's a new one on me.
I've had a good look over it and it's exactly what you and John said it would be ie very sturdy and the focusing is surprisingly very smooth. In fact I would go as far as to say that it feels better than ones I've used in hired darkrooms and at colleges. I tried a sample focus onto white A4 paper just to check for sharpness and it's spot on. After I've given it a good clean I'll try some test prints then it's Selenium toning experiments here I come with negatives developed in Rodinal of course LOL Kind regards Tony. John - Thanks for the pointer, I've given the split line focusing system a try and that part works a treat. Maxby - Think after all night playing (got to bed at 3am LOL) I have the hang of the colourhead. An upgrade on the lens looks like a good idea.
This is going to sound like a typical newby question now The only thing I have not been able to get is an even light accross the paper. In landscape the left and right sides of the image has light fall-off. Any advice would be very welcome as always Nearly forgot to say my son who will soon be 14 yrs got to print his first picture last night. Looks like I'm in trouble with my wife again as he's now also hooked on traditional darkroom. He even said 'this is much cooler than using PS' Kind regards Tony.
Hans / Ole, Many thanks for your help here. I have the dome lens board with the dome upwards. What I am finding is that when I set the negative carrier for 35mm I have a straight edges nearest and furthest from me, the left and right sides do not have straight edges and this is where the light fall off is.
As an experiment I held an old Zenit 58mm lens in the dome and found I could just about make out the straight edges on the 2 sides. Light fall off was not as bad. I've cleaned all the glass and lenses except the one in the colour head, as I've not been able to work out how the get it out so far without taking the whole head apart.
I am missing the drawer for correction filters, but nothing I have read in the manual or online seems to suggest that this is significant. Kind regards Tony. Hello Hans, Looking at the website and the 2 manuals that I got with it, everything looks right. I found that the top of the light chamber wasn't seated properly and have corrected that which has increased the light output. Halogen lamp is as snug as a bug in the proverbial rug. I tried another experiment with the better light output using the 58mm Zenit lens. Wide open I get an almost perfect 35mm image.
However if I close it down a couple of stops then the soft edges come back. Sounds like I may be using the Zenit lens stuck on with blue-tak until I can try another lens, but my brains getting as fuzzy as the edges at the moment Kind regards Tony.
Hi Hans, Never even thought of checking the lensboard with all the screws I've been taking out and putting back Just checked it and it looks good. Happily the negative holder only goes in one way, but did check frosted glass above and clear glass below which they are. Bedding the top of the condensor has at least given me the outline of the 35mm edges with the mask. Fuzziness is still there with the Meopta lens, but I am getting suspicious of the lens now. I tried the London shop but they only came up with the idea's we have already tried here ie bulb being bedded and dirt in the condensor. Must admit the Durst down the road from me is getting tempting, but the part of the image I'm printing with the Meopta is beautiful.
So fear not I'm not giving up just yet Many thanks for your help on this one, two (or even more) heads are much better than one and chatting about it is stopping me using it as an historical doorstop LOL Kind regards Tony.