Introduction
Testrite is still in business; they make "visual display products." I believe they manufactured enlargers which were branded under other names, but I haven't been able to verify it.
Quick Comparison
| Fotolarger 100 DC |
4 x 5 |
19 x 23 |
Diffusion |
Rack & pinion |
No |
Parallelogram |
3 |
|
| Fotolarger A1 |
6 x 9 cm |
13 x 17 |
Diffusion |
|
No |
|
|
|
| Fotolarger BII |
6 x 6 cm |
16 x 22 |
Diffusion |
|
No |
|
3 |
|
| Fotolarger C |
2-¼ x 3-¼" |
n/a |
Double condenser |
Bellows |
No |
Single post |
|
|
| Fotolarger E |
2-¼ x 3-¼" |
16 x 22 |
Diffusion |
Rack & pinion |
No |
Single post with parallelogram |
3 |
|
| Fotolarger E2 |
2-¼ x 3-¼" |
19 x 23 |
Diffusion |
Rack & pinion |
No |
Single post with parallelogram |
|
|
| Fotolarger Junior 1 |
35mm |
9 x 12 |
Double condenser |
Rack & pinion |
No |
Single post |
|
|
| Fotolarger Junior 2 |
2-¼ x 3-¼" |
13 x 17 |
Diffusion |
Rack & pinion |
No |
Single post with parallelogram |
|
|
| Fotolarger Merit III |
2-¼ x 3-¼" |
16 x 19 |
Diffusion |
Rack & pinion |
No |
Single post with parallelogram |
|
|
| Zenith 35 |
35mm |
14 x 19 |
condenser |
|
No |
|
3 |
|
Key
Era: It's nearly impossible to get actual production year spans; I've provided this simply to give an idea of when an enlarger was in production.
Focusing:
- Bellows means that the lens stage is connected to bellows that expand and collapse, and the bellows are typically moved via a wheel using friction (as opposed to using rack & pinion gears).
- Helical focusing means a collar around the lens is turned, and the lens housing is threaded so that the lens moves up and down.
- Rack & Pinion means that the lens stage moves up and down via a knob that turns gears.
- Tube means that the lens is set into a tube that moves up and down (as opposed to bellows).
Autofocus: not to be confused with what we think of as autofocus today; these enlargers don't focus themselves. What they do is offer a sort of tracking control so that once the image is focused, it stays in focus as you change the elevation of the head for cropping.
Column: all columns are assumed to be vertical unless oblique is noted. Oblique columns (i.e. angled forward) are nice at higher head elevations because the image won't expand back across the column post when the head is at the top of the post. On smaller enlargers this wouldn't be a problem, but at larger magnifications (and with lenses with shorter focal lengths), this can become a concern.
References
- Modern Photography magazine, October 1962
- Modern Photography magazine, February 1965
- Darkroom Photography magazine, Vol 3 #5 (September 1981)
