Do I need an enlarger if I get a starter kit? The kit says it has everything to process photos,but im just a little confused on this. Thank you

A darkroom acessories kit generally will cost you about $50 USD..... If it includes an enlarger the cost will be a lot more than that.... anywhere starting in the range of $350 or much more.... If you have a link available I can take a quick peek.....

I am, therefore I create.......
--- michelleamarante.com

The site is called Wolfcamera.com . The kit costs about $72.

Found it..... definitely not an enlarger included with that, and IMHO overpriced to boot..... Cut & paste from the website... This handy kit contains all the necessary equipment needed for processing black & white or color films. Chemistry is not included with this kit. Consists of 1 graduated cylinder 300 ml., 1 graduated cylinder 500 ml., 1 universal developing tank body, 2 multi-format auto-feed spirals for developing tank, 1 set of 3 developing trays 8X10, 1 print squeegee, 3 print tongs, 1 set of film clips, 1 stirring paddle, 1 straight thermometer. Back to Top Contents: 1 graduated cylinder 10.5 oz / 300 ml. 1 graduated cylinder 17.5 oz / 500 ml. 1 universal developing tank body 2 multi-format auto-feed spirals for developing tank 1 set of 3 developing trays (for up to 8 x 10 inch prints) 1 print squeegee 3 print tongs 1 set of film clips 1 stirring paddle 1 straight thermometer. You still need to buy chemicals... ie. developer, fixer, stop.... What you have is enough to develop film but not make prints.... for that you would need to buy an enlarger and also print developer and print paper. My recommendation: darkroom starter kit Or better yet: Enlarger Kit Adorama or B&H Photo both have good reputations and good prices....

I am, therefore I create.......
--- michelleamarante.com

Btw..... you would still need to buy chemicals and paper... keep in mind the acessories all 3 of these kits come with are standard, but not good quality, good enough for the newbie to get their feet wet... if you get into it seriously you will want to upgrade with better stuff eventually.....

I am, therefore I create.......
--- michelleamarante.com

thank you so much for all of your help :)

From the site: Contents: 1 graduated cylinder 10.5 oz / 300 ml. 1 graduated cylinder 17.5 oz / 500 ml. 1 universal developing tank body 2 multi-format auto-feed spirals for developing tank 1 set of 3 developing trays (for up to 8 x 10 inch prints) 1 print squeegee 3 print tongs 1 set of film clips 1 stirring paddle 1 straight thermometer. I'd guess an enlarger would be wanted, unless you are using large format film and are making contact prints. It sounds like your best investment could be signing up for some night classes in darkroom. As for this kit, it strikes me as somewhat expensive for what you are getting. For trays, graduates, clips, squeegee (use a sponge!), try a kitchen orc hardware store. You'll get a better deal. Really the only thing "special" you need for developing film is the tank & reels.

[Cross-posted with 'chelle.] I agree with everything she said!

Does anybody know if going with a used enlarger would be a good idea?

Wow that's pretty steep!!! OK. Maybe I'm baised because I am a chemist so I see this stuff all the time. Here are some suggestions for gurilla photo labs. Plastic bottles can be sturdy water bottles and measureing devices. Just Mark on the bottle the volume levels. that interest you the most. Buy a plastic measuring picture try to get one with mL and oz measurements on it. If it goes to 250 mL that will be fine. If it does not have mL measurements no problem. You may have to calculate them. Here is the conversion. 30 fluid oz. = 1 mL 1 Cup = 0.24Liters 1 teaspoon = 5mL You will probable need to buy a real thermometer. In stead of film clips you can use clothes pins attached to wire hangers. For weights on your film try using rebent paperclips with pennied taped to them. You will have to but the development cannisters though. For basins. Well any plastic container will do OR you can use a box lined with a sealed plastic bag. Print tongs can be any tongs with a rubber tip. Personally I used tweezers coated with modeling rubber! A stirring paddle! ( Just pick something plastic and able to give good agitation. ) Make sure you buy a surfactant or photo flo and some rubber gloves. When you want to remove the water from you film add photo flo to your final rinse then use two fingers to squegee your film. It's not perfect but it's pretty good. For me the biggest cost in making the darkroom was the chemicals. The plastic stuff was pretty cheap. Except for the development cannister and the spools. I hope this helpes. Hey anybody did I stear Crazypenguin wrong anywhere? Bsteph

Nope Brian you did good! I use a dishpan to hold my rinse water.... and clothes pins.... a plastic spoon works just as good as the stirrer, which was useless to me.... The other thing I just thought of was a timer..... you'll get a dinky little digital thing.... Frankly not good.... an egg timer might suffice, but I can't work that way... I invested money in a digital timer for the enlarger, that will turn the enlarger on and off precisely.....

I am, therefore I create.......
--- michelleamarante.com

OH. You I do have an enlarger but I never could get past the contact print stage! Then all of my chemicals died. :-( Yea a timer is a must! Thanks for the advice Michelle!! Bsteph

For film processing, a kitchen "egg" timer, or even a watch with a second hand, works fine. For printing, you'll need an orange safelight. Surprised these aren't in the kit. A used enlarger is a wonderful idea. I just checked ebay, and there are great deals!

Used enlargers are fine - if they're clean and if the lens is worth anything. Typically, someone who is selling a used enlarger once had a darkroom set up in their basement, or in some out building (point being, it's usually not a "set" room inside of their normal living space). This area is bombarded with chemical residue and water - great place for gunk to start growing inside an enlarging lens - especially if someone's let it sit for the couple of years while deciding weather to sell their equipment. Check the enlarger lens closely - see if there's any "growth" inside of it - check to see that the aperture works smoothly without any gunk on the blades. Being that an enlarger is in essence a "projector on a stick", you need something to hold your "slide" - the negative - flat, a concentrated light source and a lens to project the image. If your lens is OK, check the light - if you run across some antiquated dichro head that uses some weird halogen bulb, the bulb may cost twice as much as the enlarger. If the light's OK, check the bellows of the enlarger - check to see if it's brittle or worn or if there's any light leaks. If it's a dichro head (head for color printing with three color dials), check that the internal filtration is clean and smooth. If it a condenser head (standard B&W head), check that the mixing chamber is clean (kind of a cheap feeling box of styrofoam on most enlargers). Also, determine the max size neg and max size print you want to produce. For example, a Printmaker Beseler 35 is a pretty good enlarger, but it will not accept anything larger than a 6x6cm neg and it won't print much larger than 11x14 on the baseboard (it gives you the option of reversing the head and projecting on the floor - what a pain). The same enlarger with a Dichro head does 6x7cm negs. back when I sold these things, they went for about $129.00 at our store (which meant you could track them down for about $89 at a good deal - used ones in good shape would go for $50 or so.....add a bit for the ten years that I've been out of the selling business.) Personally, my favorite enlarger was an old (built like a tank) Omega D2. This (was) a pretty common enlarger, so neg carriers and accessories were pretty easy to find. As far as the "kits" go, they're pretty much a waste of money. They'll get you started, but you'll soon be replacing the components for something more substantial. get a god timer (a Graylab - especially for processing film) - get bigger trays (if you're processing 8x10's, get 11x14 trays - it's a pain to agitate and get 8x10 prints out of an 8x10 tray). Get a good safelight - the safelight color is "safe", so there's no real reason to wander around half blind using a cheesy safelight. Get a decent paper safe - it just beats the heck out of goofin' round with envelops inside of envelops to get to your paper. OK, here I may get some flack - but paint your darkroom WHITE - NOT BLACK. If your darkroom is truly light-tight, there's no reason to paint it black. White paint will only reflect the safelight - which is "safe". Here's a bit of trivia - Ansel Adams used to blow cigar smoke under the enlarger lens to diffuse prints!....Ooops - off topic Get a decent print washer. Prints sitting in a tray of water for 20 minutes doesn't cut it - you need to wash out the chemicals...and from the top (the chemistry sinks). If you're going to be printing on fiber-based paper, get a decent print dryer (but I would recommend starting off with RC papers to get the feel) AVOID the temptation of yanking a print out of the developer early because "it looks good" - let your prints develop for the full duration - otherwise your prints will lack the full tonal range. Ummmm - I guess that's about all that Michelob and me can come up with right now. (OK - this sounds like a bunch of crap to have to adhere to - a tray of Dektol and a tray of Fixer coupled with a homemade pinhole camera will get you hooked for about $12 - expand from there!) Wolf

Now that we have thoroughly confused you... [I cannot find anything "wrong" with any of the suggestions; just some of the priorities may be different...] I still think the best advice is to find somewhere to learn the basics first; a High School class or photo club, Adult Education, "Park Service" or community College classes, a local club or even a friend or neighbor that has gone before. The amount you can spend, the equipment available, and the results you can expect, are unlimited. Personally, I've loved working in the wet (B&W) darkroom. My results, though never World Class, were at least something to be proud of. That being said, personally I would not go back to the wet darkroom, except maybe for special alternative techniques which cannot be achieved in any other way. [Platinum prints. Gum bichromate...] The digital process, for me, opens up greater visions. This does not lessen the value of the traditional techniques. My hat's off to anyone who can turn out a full-range silver print, with no dust spots or wrinkles!

One thing that seems to have been forgotten -- to do your own film processing you need to be in the dark to get the film onto the spool and into the developing tank. Obvious, really... This doesn't need a dark room, there are things called "changing bags" which will do a good job. I've done transparencies, but colour film needs careful temperature control. Once you have developed negatives or transparencies, a film scanner is an alternative to a full darkroom with an enlarger.