The 45MXT motorized chassis provides a sturdy foundation for this classic enlarging system. The longtime standard of the darkroom craftsman, the 45MXT chassis has a triangular truss reinforced, twin g...
Summary I own two of these enalrgers now and have owned at least one for more that 15 years. Beseler 4x5 Enlargers are by far the most user friendly enlargers ever made. They are also very versatile. I have three heads for mine. A color head, Condenser head and a Coldlight head. I also have all of the negative carriers for it as well. The lense boards are easy to pop in and out and changing formats is a snap! With the Condensor or Coldlight head you can tilt the head back for wall projection, (It won't tilt back with the color head attached). You can easily make 16x20. enlargements right on the baseboard and used parts like negative carriers and lens boards are easy and inexpensive to buy.
Strengths Easy to operate. Lots of parts and accessories still avaliable at reasonable prices.
Reviewed by Tiffany Willis
, Intermediate
, from Beaufort, NC, USA
Price Paid $0.00
Photography Experience 6-10 years
, Fine Art
Summary I really love this machine. I have used many
differnt brands of enlargers at the school
I attend but this is one I will fight to get
to its easy to use and easy to to mulitple task
with. If I were to start my own darkroom
this would be the first thing I would buy
Strengths I love the motorized chassis it makes it a breeze
to adjust your print size quickly. i like to easy
to use color adjustment knobs, it makes it very
simple to do color corrections. And I also love
stablity, it has to be a tough machine to put up
with some of the dumb students that come and go
everyday into the lab and just dont have any
respect for these costly machines. I know that the
rest of the enlargers we use in the lab have to
be aligned once or twice a semester(4 semesters in a
year); where this giant is only aligned, MAYBE once
a year. So that should tell you something
Weaknesses it doesn't have a rotating head to do
wall projections but if you don't need
that then this is a great piece of machinery
Reviewed by Melvin Bramley
, Intermediate
, from Canada
Price Paid $400.00
at Private purchase
Photography Experience 11-20 years
, Outdoor
Summary I will keep this enlarger only untill a good deal on a European or Japanese enlarger comes along. "MY" Beseler is just too finicky!! I expect to go into my darkroom & make prints without worrying if the alignment is OK. I could do this with the Durst.
Strengths Versatile, Will not be outdated. Many options available
Weaknesses Goes out of alignment all to easily. Poor design of negative carriers. Light leaks
Similar Products Used Durst M301 Beseler 23c
Customer Service Not required. This unit is so basic adjustments & repairs can be made without assistance.
Reviewed by DAN
, Intermediate
, from SEATTLE, WA USA
Price Paid $1100.00
Photography Experience 6-10 years
, Fine Art
Summary I BOUGHT ONE OF THESE BECAUSE BOTH COLLEGES THAT I WENT TO HAD THEM IN THEIR DARKROOMS, AND IF THE 45MXTS CAN STAND UP TO VIRTUALLY THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS ABUSING THEM THEN I WANTED THAT KIND OF ENLARGER FOR MY OWN DARKROOM. IT IS SOLID, HEAVY AND IS NOT SUBJECT TO VIBRATION. IT IS AN OLD DESIGN, BUT ONE THAT IS A PROVEN WORKHORSE. NOTHING FANCY, JUST RUGGED. A BUDDY OF MINE TOLD ME THAT WHEN HE WAS IN THE MERCHANT MARINE, THEY HAD ONE ONE HIS SHIP, WALL MOUNTED. I GUESS "ROBUST" IS THE WORD.
Strengths SOLID CONSTRUCTION ADD-ONS READILY AVAILABLE
Reviewed by Chad Puerling
, Expert
, from El Paso, TX
Photography Experience 21+ years
, Outdoor
Summary A solid performer with smooth operating controls. This is one massive piece of machinery. A great enlarger to buy used. You can save a lot of money and since its design hasn't changed much in a long time, parts are easy to come buy. For just being a couple of flat pieces of metal with a hole cut in them, the negative carriers and lens boards are expensive.
Strengths Well built and fully adjustable. Handles film up to 4x5. The motor makes this a breeze to use when changing print sizes. I can't imagine using this behemoth without it
Weaknesses Setting up this enlarger is a big task but once done, it's solid. Don't plan on moving this giant.
Similar Products Used As a teacher I've used a lot of enlargers and this is one of the best. Beseler 23C series Omega 45 series Omega C76 Meopta Axomat II Nikkor color enlarger
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