Intrepid Compact 35mm/120 Enlarger
Could this compact enlarger herald the second coming of home darkroom printing? Matt Parry takes a look
The Intrepid Camera Co, known for its affordable large format cameras, has now taken on the challenge of making darkroom printing accessible to a new generation of lm photographers with the launch of its compact, feature-rich enlarger. The system comprises of a compact head, control unit and a series of negative carriers. The enlarger head is built around an LED light source which, thanks to advancements in LED technology, generates an even spread of bright light that is capable of creating fantastic prints.
The enlarger is designed to print both 35mm and 120 lm and negative carriers have been created to cover 35mm and most 120 formats including 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7, and 6x9. There will also be an option to purchase carriers that allow lm borders to be scanned/printed.
The brains of the enlarger
The innovation applied to Intrepid’s enlarger is not solely limited to the use of LED lighting but also in how it is controlled. The accompanying control unit serves as the exposure timer and focus light but also lets you switch between colour and black & white printing as well as negative scanning, all at the push of a button. Signi cantly for black & white printers it has the option to dial in 00-5 contrast control in ½ steps without the need for above or below lens variable contrast lters. This means you can take full advantage of Ilford’s
Multigrade papers as well as easily utilise techniques such as split grade printing.
For colour printers, the cyan, magenta and yellow dials let you quickly and simply alter the colour balance of your prints and
ne tune your nal results without the need for lters or a dichroic head. Another nice feature of the control unit is the integrated safelight which emanates ample light for a small darkroom. A USB port allows for future rmware updates with Intrepid already hinting at plans to implement F-stop printing and other features into the timer.
It is worth noting that the buttons and dials on the control unit are not labelled. However, after ve minutes of use I did not
nd this an issue, as operation is very easy and intuitive even for those new to printing.
What else will you need?
The main compromise of this compact device versus traditional enlargers is the lack of an integrated base board and column, and the stability that this provides. Instead, the enlarger has been designed to be used with a tripod or copy stand, with a standard ¼in thread on the enlarger head for easy mounting. For testing I used a Negative Supply copy stand but as many photographers already own a tripod, they are a great option that requires no additional investment. Whatever you use it is essential to carefully level the enlarger head and easel prior to printing to ensure sharp prints.
The practicalities of using a copy stand or tripod do limit the print size to a maximum of 11x14in, which should be plenty big enough for most people. Intrepid says the light source is actually bright enough to print much bigger or even project onto a wall for horizontal printing. The enlarger does not come bundled with a lens but takes M39 thread lenses which are easy to come by and will allow you to select the lens most applicable to the format you are printing (generally 50mm for 35mm negs, or 80mm for most 120 sizes).
The enlarger is available for pre-sales orders from 20 July via the Intrepid Camera website. The rm is also relaunching its existing 4x5 Enlarger either with or without the new control unit, for £200 and £140 respectively. Both have expected production times of eight weeks following the pre-sale. See intrepidcamera. co.uk/t/productcategories/darkroom.