Matériel · 2026-09-04

Second-Hand Enlargers: Choosing Between Durst, Meopta, LPL, and Kaiser Without Getting Burned

Setting up a darkroom almost always starts with the same question: which enlarger to buy, and what's a reasonable price to pay? The used market is full of machines that spent twenty or thirty years in serious labs and can still produce beautiful prints today. But there's also plenty of incomplete gear, badly stored for a decade, or just plain wrong for what you actually want to do.

This guide doesn't pretend to cover every brand. It focuses on four names that come up regularly on the second-hand market: Durst, Meopta, LPL, and Kaiser. Each has its strengths and its specific pitfalls.

Decide This Before You Start Looking

Two decisions need to be made before you browse a single listing.

Negative format. If you're only shooting 35mm, the choice is straightforward and the market is wide. If you're working in medium format (6×6, 6×7, 6×9), you need an enlarger designed for it, with the matching condensers or diffusion head and negative carriers. Buying a 35mm enlarger when you're aiming for 6×6 with the idea of "upgrading the accessories later" is a bad plan. Format-specific accessories are getting harder to find, and they sometimes sell for more than the enlarger itself.

The Models, One by One

Qualitative positioning of the four models by maximum negative format and typical used price. Bubble placement is approximate — refer to price ranges in the text.

Durst M605: the reliable classic, but only if it's complete

The Durst M605 is an Italian-built enlarger, solidly made, designed for 35mm and 6×6. You find it mainly in two versions: colour (dichroic head with CMY filtration) and black-and-white with a condenser. The mechanics are well executed. The column is rigid, head movement is precise, and the original components have aged well as long as they were stored properly.

Prices seen on the French-speaking used market (Leboncoin, eBay): roughly 50 to 150€ for a complete, working example with lens included. A colour M605 with a functioning dichroic head can go a bit higher.

Meopta Magnifax 4: the underrated Czech workhorse

The Magnifax 4 is built in the Czech Republic, and its reputation comes mainly from its dense, almost brutally solid construction. It's a diffusion-head enlarger, maximum format 6×9cm, with a 100W bulb. The column is on the short side for a medium-format enlarger, which limits how big you can go with prints if the column is straight rather than tilting, but stability is excellent.

For anyone starting out who wants to print 6×6 negatives, this is often the best value on the used market. Accessories (negative carriers, diffuser panels) are still findable, and the online community is active enough to answer technical questions. The diffusion head is forgiving on dust, which makes day-to-day printing easier.

Prices typically fall between 80 and 200€ depending on condition and what's included. With a good Meostigmat or Meotar lens in solid shape, you'll be at the top of that range.

LPL 6700: the Japanese option for serious medium-format work

The LPL 6700 is a Japanese enlarger built specifically for medium format up to 6×7. Construction is careful, the diffusion head gives consistent results, and the negative carriers are well thought out. You find these mostly from lab clearances or estate sales from photographers who worked in 6×6 or 6×7.

Its real strength is that it was designed for medium format from the ground up, not adapted from a 35mm chassis. The column is tall enough for large prints, and the head is thermally stable, which matters during long printing sessions.

Its weak point on the used market is proprietary accessories. Specific negative carriers and replacement diffusers aren't stocked by the usual suppliers anymore. You find them on eBay, sometimes shipped from Japan, or through community 3D-printed replacements that are starting to circulate for certain parts. That's not a dealbreaker, but factor it in before buying an LPL without a negative carrier.

Prices generally run between 100 and 300€ depending on location and condition. That's more than a Magnifax 4, and for regular amateur use the quality difference doesn't always justify the gap.

Kaiser VP: the one you can still buy new

Kaiser deserves a separate mention because it's one of the very few brands still making enlargers. The VP 6005 (up to 6×6) and VP 9005 (up to 6×9) are still in production and available from specialist retailers in Europe, new around 1,800–2,000€.

On the used market, Kaiser VP units do come up occasionally, and that's genuinely interesting: these are recent, German-made machines, with parts still available and actual after-sales support. If you find a VP 6005 used in good condition around 600–900€, it's worth serious consideration. Just don't confuse the Kaiser VP with older, lower-end Kaiser models that sometimes get listed cheap; they're completely different animals.

What to Check Before You Hand Over Any Money

Whatever the model, here's what to go through systematically, ideally in person, before paying.

Six points to inspect on any second-hand enlarger before purchase. The silhouette is schematic and not to scale.

The column. It needs to be straight and rigid. Lay a straightedge along it if you're not sure. A warped column produces prints that are soft in one corner, and that's very hard to correct. The defect is usually invisible in listing photos.

The condenser or diffuser. On a condenser model, look carefully for cracks, internal condensation rings, or any cloudy deposits. On a diffusion head, confirm the diffusing material isn't cracked or yellowed. Either problem directly affects light quality.

The bellows. On models that have them, stretch the bellows in a darkened room (or angle them toward a direct light source) and check for any light leaks. A small tear can be patched with black gaffer tape, but general deterioration throughout the bellows is a bigger problem.

The enlarging lens. This is often where things fall apart. A good darkroom lens (Rodagon, El-Nikkor, Componon-S, Meostigmat) runs 60 to 200€ depending on focal length and condition. Look for any haze on the elements, fungus (the spider-web pattern), or any sign of decentering. In many cases the lens has more impact on final print quality than the enlarger itself.

Head-to-baseboard alignment. Bring a small spirit level if you can. The head needs to be perfectly parallel to the baseboard. Misalignment gives you prints sharp on one side and soft on the other, and correcting it sometimes requires shimming or adjustments that not every enlarger makes easy.

The focus mechanism. Run it through its full travel. It should be smooth with no excessive play. Stiffness or a jerky feel usually points to old dried lubricant or worn rails.

What the Market Actually Looks Like

On platforms like 2ème Main (Belgium), Leboncoin, eBay.fr, and forums like Rangefinder Forum and Photrio, the picture is fairly consistent. The Durst M605 and Meopta Magnifax 4 are the most common finds, mostly from estate sales or closed amateur labs. The LPL comes up less often, particularly in France and Belgium; you sometimes have to look toward the UK or Germany to find one in decent shape. Used Kaiser VP units are rare but worth setting up an alert for.

Going Further

If you're starting from scratch, seriously consider putting money into a quality enlarging lens even if the enlarger itself is modest. A Rodagon 50mm f/2.8 or El-Nikkor 50mm f/2.8 for 35mm, or a Rodagon 80mm f/4 for 6×6, will make a more visible difference to your final prints than switching from a Meopta to a Durst.

For accessories around the enlarger, the Gralab 300 timer and the Ilford EM-10 (enlarger exposure meter) are two used investments worth tracking down, sometimes for a few dozen euros, and both genuinely change how you work.

Finally, if you're thinking about a colour enlarger, first ask yourself honestly whether you actually want to print colour in the darkroom, because RA-4 chemistry needs more equipment and temperature control. A lot of photographers buy a colour enlarger purely to get the dichroic head for variable-contrast black-and-white printing, which is a perfectly sensible reason.