The superb Saunders 670 VCCE's that I use will not print 6x9 negs. And print 6x9 negs is what I'm jonesing to do. I have an old Beseler 23 C II and coldlight head that will not do V/C paper without a ton of hassle. I've been offered a new color (dio) head for the Beseler for $250. I've never used that type of head. So; 1) How easy is it to dial in the contrast? With the Saunders I don't pay attention to the paper type selector switch or to the contrast dial number..my print either needs more contrast of less contrast so I dial accordingly. 2) I've never seen any of the Saunders enlargers I've used go out of alignment. Is this true of the Beseler? 3) Anything else I should know about the Beseler or about color heads? thanx...jim

-- Jim (p645n@hotmail.com), April 06, 2001

Answers

I've had a Beseler 23CII with the Dual Dichro S (S means it has internal voltage stabilization built in) for about 6 years and it works fine. I haven't seen any alignment problems, but then I've never broken it down and moved it since I initially set it up. It works the same with VC paper as any colorhead, by using the yellow and magenta filtration to vary contrast. The instruction manual gives filtration settings to approximate paper grades for several common papers. One thing I like about it is that it is well constructed (very few plastic parts).

-- Larry Rudy (ljrgcr@cetlink.net), April 06, 2001.