Continued-Kaiser Enlargers, by Bob Meier (Return to begining of article)

The AF version
Next, I set up the second enlarger—a Kaiser VME 7005 AF System V Autofocus. It had a light source for variable contrast black-and-white printing that allows you to dial in any degree of contrast from 0 to 5, while compensating automatically for constant exposure.

I quickly became a convert to this light source for variable-contrast printing. The contrast control was precise, yet wide-ranging: the lowest and the highest contrasts available were greater than with a dichroic head. You can dial in the exact degree of contrast you want and repeat it exactly at a later printing session.

Figure 1. Variable Contrast Head, #2 Contrast Setting, ƒ/4, 22 sec.		Figure 2. Variable Contrast Head, #3 Contrast Setting, ƒ/4, 22 sec.
Figure 3. Variable Contrast Head, #4 Contrast Setting, ƒ/4, 22 sec.		Figure 4. Variable Contrast Head, #5 Contrast Setting, ƒ/4, 22 sec.

However, the constant exposure feature was the real kicker. You can see this for yourself in Figs. 1–4: with the same aperture and the same number of seconds of exposure, I was able to print the same negative from #2 to #5 contrast, all with appropriate densities. That opens the way for quickly and efficiently trying different contrasts on a print (or within a print) without recalculating the exposure time for every contrast change.

This is an excellent light source. Its only drawback is that it is dimmer and slower— the exposures were about twice as long as the equivalent prints made with the dichroic light source.

The autofocus was another treat. Once calibrated, it works instantly, silently, and flawlessly. As the enlarger lamphouse is moved up and down the column the image just gets larger and smaller. With autofocus, it always stays in perfect focus. Because defocusing and refocusing also changes the size of projected images, getting the exact degree of enlargement you want is much faster and easier with an autofocused image.

The initial calibration involves moving the head to the top of the column, then to the bottom, the middle, and finally back to the top. At each step, you manually focus the image, then push a button on the control box. Each time you turn the system on for a printing session, you have to move the head all the way to the top and then back down to where you want it.

As long as you use the same lens, easel, and negative carrier configuration, that’s all you have to do. However, if you change any of those, then you have to go through the calibration procedure again. I enlarge 35mm and 2 1/4 negatives regularly, and use three different easels for different borders. Each time I changed one of these variables, I had to recalibrate. Then, I made some postcards that had a very low degree of magnification that was outside the autofocus range, so I had to focus the lens manually. That, of course, negated the calibration, so I had to recalibrate again when I went back to printing 8x10s. I quickly tired of recalibrating, and concluded that this type of autofocus system is best for those who print the same format with the same lens onto the same easel all the time.

Other features
The transformer’s black box and the autofocus control box take up a sizable amount of space on the counter, which is regrettable but unavoidable. A minor oddity I noticed is that the transformer, which is in its own black box, causes a brief delay between the time you hit the start button on the timer and when the light goes on. I came to think of it as a one-beat delay and got used to taking it into account in my timing of test strips. Both enlargers include a built-in horizontal bubble level and a built-in red filter above the lens, usable with graded black-and-white papers. There is also a filter drawer above the negative stage for 8x8 cm filters, and a swing-away filter holder under the lens.

HP Marketing sent along several Rodenstock Apo-Rodagon enlarging lenses for me to use with the Kaiser enlargers. They gave brilliant results, especially the 50mm ƒ/2.8 and the 80mm ƒ/4 I used most. Side-by-side comparison prints with the Apo-Rodagons and my own El-Nikkors showed a slight, but definitely discernible, advantage in contrast and sharpness in favor of the Rodenstocks. They complement the high quality of the Kaiser enlargers very well.

In summary, the Kaiser enlargers are high-precision, high-quality tools that do the job they are designed to do extremely well—better, perhaps, than any other enlarger I have used. Their limitations are a result of their European design heritage and do not present impossible obstacles. The good qualities far outstrip the limitations I encountered. If their capabilities are suitable, I highly recommend them to both the occasional darkroom worker and the professional.

Robert Meier has been a fine-art photographer since the ’70s and has exhibited and published widely (see his portfolio in Darkroom User magazine 1997/4). Since 1985 he has run Photo Marketing Labs, a custom B&W lab. His work concentrates on man-made environments and the results of people’s lives, but usually without people present.

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