Intrepid new compact enlarger

MrDrizz

MrDrizz

Messages
1,788
Name
Mark
Edit My Images
No
So the good folks at intrepid are to bring out a new compact enlarger.

Seen a few videos now and it looks a neat bit of kit.

No idea on price.

Blog ppst
intrepidcamera.co.uk

How to Set Up the Intrepid Compact Enlarger

Set up your Intrepid Compact Enlarger for 35mm and 120 film: mounting, alignment, negative carriers and making your first print.
intrepidcamera.co.uk intrepidcamera.co.uk

SFLAB video
View: https://youtu.be/m9JvY7P9GlA
 
Last edited:
That might be the sort of thing that tempts me back into darkroom printing (when we move house)

I wonder what the price will be?
 
looks good but would need a decent stand to insure it was completely square to the print frame. As not many people will have such a thing, they should offer one.
I would not care to lash it up to a tripod.
 
Terrywoodenpic said:
looks good but would need a decent stand to insure it was completely square to the print frame. As not many people will have such a thing, they should offer one.
I would not care to lash it up to a tripod.
Click to expand...

I’ve had their original enlarger kit for a while now and although recently attached it permantly to a surplus field camera and in turn attached to a modified enlarger column , it was used on a tripod for quite some time and produced prints upto 12x16 with no major difficulties ensuring that all was square.

This new version looks like it may be even easier to use.
 
Asha said:
I’ve had their original enlarger kit for a while now and although recently attached it permantly to a surplus field camera and in turn attached to a modified enlarger column , it was used on a tripod for quite some time and produced prints upto 12x16 with no major difficulties ensuring that all was square.

This new version looks like it may be even easier to use.
Click to expand...

Though my career I have had numerous large format enlargers. some wall mounted and others free standing. I have found that they have all needed considerable fettling to ensure everything was perfectly square. the best have had the ability to swing all the stages, light, neg carrier, lens and base board. to correct images. but what was most important was to ensure that they had absolutely accurate zero settings, relative to the column. Most small enlarger have no means of adjustment and must be used just as they come. which is often not that accurate.
 
His adaption of the focus knob seems sensible in the circumstances.
However the Focussing threaded rod seems slightly on the short side. and I would prefer it to be slightly longer than the support runners with a knob both above and below the head..

Mind you I would not use an enlarger mounted so low . I like to stand straight up a majority of the time, in which case the lower position of the focus knob would be the most convenient. but in his situation the top position seems very sensible. The added cost of fitting two knobs would be marginal and add to the attraction for many people.

An alternative way of using it would be as a horizontal enlarger. which can be very convenient. And was the way I used a large Durst laborator 138s to make 3 meter square enlargements. but the intrepid could equally be mounted on a table stand(box) and the print frame on another box structure or the wall. Early enlargers were made to be used this way. As were large graphic arts process cameras.
 
Last edited:
It all seems a bit of a lash up to me. If I was going to print ever again I think I'd make a determined effort to get another ProLab 54 like the one I used for several years. Never the slightest doubt about the neg being parallel to the baseboard with that!

Omega Prolab 45 enlarger and Nova processor.jpg
 
Personally I won't back it since I have a good darkroom setup already and I have access to a colour/LF lab, but it's great to see Intrepid filling in the gaps and making analog photography a mor attractive proposition, regardless of the shortcomings. As great as my Leitz V35 the DeVere 504 at the lab are, finding things like neg carriers is a pain and when you do it's often super expensive. With this enlarger you can just buy direct, and I can see Intrepid making more holders/masks to accommodate panoramic negs, or slightly enlarged gates to save you from filing out a carrier. The timer/LED controller is something that was only found on Heiland systems which are in excess of £1K. I want to see show good the head is for multigrade, it might even replace the Ilford heads if it's good enough.
 
Much as I fully understand the preference and reasoning for dedicated enlargers of yesteryear for some of you guys , the fact remains that many of you don’t intend going back to wet printing, so in reality you’re never actually going to use an intrepid enlarger kit.

The intrepid kit is never going to come upto pro lab style enlargers but you know, some of us don’t need to hold our noses in the air about what we have / had, do/ done.

There is a serious resurgence of togs of all ages who have for whatever reasons not had the darkroom experience.
Intrepid have come forward with an outfit that anyone can adapt to and have opened the world of wet printing to anyone who has a yearn to try it.

Negative comments about the comparisons of what you have had blah blah blah would be tolerable from folk who have actually used the intrepid gear. For those of you haven’t, perhaps best not to burst the balloon of those who have, or indeed take the balloon away from them that may wish to have a play !
 
Asha said:
Negative comments about the comparisons of what you have had blah blah blah would be tolerable from folk who have actually used the intrepid gear. For those of you haven’t, perhaps best not to burst the balloon of those who have, or indeed take the balloon away from them that may wish to have a play !
Click to expand...
For the purpose of information: are you saying that people who don't think the Intrepid system looks like a good buy should not be allowed to voice their opinion?
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
For the purpose of information: are you saying that people who don't think the Intrepid system looks like a good buy should not be allowed to voice their opinion?
Click to expand...

Oh FFS , here we go .......

Would appear from your words that expressing my opinon isn't accepted by you :thinking::thinking:

OK the Intrepid enlarger kit is, like all Intrepid cameras, inferior quality, difficult to operate correctly and in a word totally CRAP!

I know without doubt the the cameras MUST be poor because I have Chamonix, Canham and Walker Titan equivalents to compare with!!!!!!.

This forum is becoming increasingly like many others which I avoid as I don't waste my time mingling with !?*!,/:#...............Perhaps time it's time for me to follow in the footsteps of Gaz!
 
Anyone wish to purchase a complete darkroom setup including ( dare i say) an original b&w INTREPID enlarger kit .??

Used but in VGC

Photos available on request ( not wet print ones though)

Price negotiable ( in fact given how carp it is, I'll pay the purchaser to take it away!)

Collection only .......From France!
 
Asha said:
Would appear from your words that expressing my opinon isn't accepted by you
Click to expand...
I neither wrote nor implied any such thing. What puzzles me is that you seem to be in agreement with my opinion.
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
I neither wrote nor implied any such thing.
Click to expand...

Si tu dit!;)

AndrewFlannigan said:
What puzzles me is that you seem to be in agreement with my opinion.
Click to expand...

Vraiment??.......c'est bizzare quoi, je voir pas ca!

Before you state the obvious about TP being a UK forum, it is open to the worlds population and i can type quicker in in what is now my everyday language than in English:)
 
Asha said:
i can type quicker in in what is now my everyday language than in English:)
Click to expand...
J'aurai ce que tu bois! (Blame Google Translate if it doesn't make sense)
 
My guess is £300 without lens.
 
MrDrizz said:
It has built in levels.
Click to expand...
As a head and focus system it seems very practical. However while levels might help in setting up. It is likely to be a pita when changes sizes on a tripod. It really needs a column system that you can set up accurately.
The led lighting system and controls seem an excellent idea. And the sze compared to conventional systems ideal for amateur use, where space and size is a premium.

I find the touchiness of some people here rather strange and very hard to understand. Most comments that I have seen about this enlarger head seem to be to the point, and perfectly acceptable.
 
MrDrizz said:
I'm actually more interested in the control panel.
Click to expand...
That's the thing that got me interested as well, since I can't see how it changes the filtration of the lightsource. I've got a VC head on my enlarger and it's very much a physical change by dial on the head, whereas this looks as if it is doing it electrically and remotely? :thinking:
 
MrDrizz said:
I'd be interested if it came in under 200 notes.

I'm actually more interested in the control panel.
Click to expand...

I’m sure it’ll be over 200 not just with the seperate channel contrôler but the (presumably) different led system in the light source along with the bellows etc
The original kit requires the use of a field camera.
 
Peter B said:
That's the thing that got me interested as well, since I can't see how it changes the filtration of the lightsource. I've got a VC head on my enlarger and it's very much a physical change by dial on the head, whereas this looks as if it is doing it electrically and remotely? :thinking:
Click to expand...

I'm guessing it's using an RGB LED panel, which can be set to any combination of colours electronically.
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
It all seems a bit of a lash up to me. If I was going to print ever again I think I'd make a determined effort to get another ProLab 54 like the one I used for several years. Never the slightest doubt about the neg being parallel to the baseboard with that!

View attachment 310316
Click to expand...

Whilst that ProLab 54 enlarger looks great, it's also huge, expensive and not made any more (I assume) so doesn't make much business sense. It also makes little practical sense for someone who wants to try out printing for the first time, without needing a dedicated fixed space or a big investment., hence you're probably not the target market for the Intrepid enlarger.
 
Thinking about the Intrepid enlarger kit versus a 'Pro' enlarger, it comes to me that those who manage to obtain decent prints using such an inferior kit ( as seems apparent in the eyes of some!) , must have a skill that is superior to those who have to have everything 'ready made' perfect with their 'Pro' enlargers.

In the same way ,using a personal example, obtaining a darned good negative from my Intrepid 5x7 whose standards have to be squared / levelled up by eye and bubble levels must mean that I have , and use , exceptional skills when using that camera because the Canham T657 has the ability to locate its own verticals etc.
The latter costs approx 10 times the price!

It's not the gear that counts, it's the person operating it that does it justice. ;)
 
does anyone know if it can be used for colour printing or is it only aimed at black and white.
Are the led colour adjustments complete, accurate and consistent enough for colour.
 
Terrywoodenpic said:
does anyone know if it can be used for colour printing or is it only aimed at black and white.
Are the led colour adjustments complete, accurate and consistent enough for colour.
Click to expand...

According to the details, it’s suitable for both colour and B&W, by using the LEDs to adjust the colour balance from the controller.
 
It seems just as useful as a colour adjustable light source and film holder for digital copy work.. I do not know what else is out there for that.
Nor do I know how accurate the led colour source is.
Led lights for shooting in the studio do not often make up a complete spectrum.
It will be interesting to hear how well it works in practice. But it looks good.
 
Well I've taken a punt on it.

Being able to do colour and 120 will be a big step up for me as I only have a basic 35mm enlarger.

I don't think £250 (for my version) is that bad a price considering it has a full set on contrast filters build it.

And I can see projecting onto a wall for some large print.
 
Last edited:
Rather than starting a seperate thread, and assuming that @MrDrizz has no objection , I thought this may help one or two newbies in darkroom practices.
Happy to delete i

It’s hardly anything exciting nor difficult to think up but perhaps like me you sometimes struggle to line up verticals / horizontals of the negative image on the easel prior to exposing for your print.

This is nothing more than the rear side of a dud print .
On it is a grid ( distances between lines is of your own preference) which , when the sheet is situated in the easel , makes it easier to line up the verticals of the projected image.

Alternatively of course, the grid lines could be drawn directly onto the easel , if it is white, with a permanent marker.


5E5672B8-50EA-41C0-838C-F1062FF58DDE.jpeg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top