Beseler 45MXT

Review Date
October 29, 2009

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Reviewed by
ecarme , Professional

Price Paid
$0.00 at From Friend

Photography Experience
11-20 years , People

Summary
I own two of these enalrgers now and have owned at least one for more that 15 years. Beseler 4x5 Enlargers are by far the most user friendly enlargers ever made. They are also very versatile. I have three heads for mine. A color head, Condenser head and a Coldlight head. I also have all of the negative carriers for it as well. The lense boards are easy to pop in and out and changing formats is a snap! With the Condensor or Coldlight head you can tilt the head back for wall projection, (It won't tilt back with the color head attached). You can easily make 16x20. enlargements right on the baseboard and used parts like negative carriers and lens boards are easy and inexpensive to buy.

Strengths
Easy to operate. Lots of parts and accessories still avaliable at reasonable prices.

Weaknesses
None that I can think of

Similar Products Used
Omega D2 Omega D5 Fuji C45

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Review Date
March 9, 2002

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by
Tiffany Willis , Intermediate , from Beaufort, NC, USA

Price Paid
$0.00

Photography Experience
6-10 years , Fine Art

Summary
I really love this machine. I have used many
differnt brands of enlargers at the school
I attend but this is one I will fight to get
to its easy to use and easy to to mulitple task
with. If I were to start my own darkroom
this would be the first thing I would buy

Strengths
I love the motorized chassis it makes it a breeze
to adjust your print size quickly. i like to easy
to use color adjustment knobs, it makes it very
simple to do color corrections. And I also love
stablity, it has to be a tough machine to put up
with some of the dumb students that come and go
everyday into the lab and just dont have any
respect for these costly machines. I know that the
rest of the enlargers we use in the lab have to
be aligned once or twice a semester(4 semesters in a
year); where this giant is only aligned, MAYBE once
a year. So that should tell you something

Weaknesses
it doesn't have a rotating head to do
wall projections but if you don't need
that then this is a great piece of machinery

Similar Products Used
Omega
Beasler 23
Durst

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Review Date
July 15, 2001

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 3 votes

Reviewed by
Melvin Bramley , Intermediate , from Canada

Price Paid
$400.00 at Private purchase

Photography Experience
11-20 years , Outdoor

Summary
I will keep this enlarger only untill a good deal on a European or Japanese enlarger comes along. "MY" Beseler is just too finicky!! I expect to go into my darkroom & make prints without worrying if the alignment is OK. I could do this with the Durst.

Strengths
Versatile, Will not be outdated.
Many options available

Weaknesses
Goes out of alignment all to easily.
Poor design of negative carriers.
Light leaks

Similar Products Used
Durst M301
Beseler 23c

Customer Service
Not required. This unit is so basic adjustments & repairs can be made without assistance.

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Review Date
December 1, 2000

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Reviewed by
DAN , Intermediate , from SEATTLE, WA USA

Price Paid
$1100.00

Photography Experience
6-10 years , Fine Art

Summary
I BOUGHT ONE OF THESE BECAUSE BOTH COLLEGES THAT I WENT TO HAD THEM IN THEIR DARKROOMS, AND IF THE 45MXTS CAN STAND UP TO VIRTUALLY THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS ABUSING THEM THEN I WANTED THAT KIND OF ENLARGER FOR MY OWN DARKROOM. IT IS SOLID, HEAVY AND IS NOT SUBJECT TO VIBRATION. IT IS AN OLD DESIGN, BUT ONE THAT IS A PROVEN WORKHORSE. NOTHING FANCY, JUST RUGGED. A BUDDY OF MINE TOLD ME THAT WHEN HE WAS IN THE MERCHANT MARINE, THEY HAD ONE ONE HIS SHIP, WALL MOUNTED. I GUESS "ROBUST" IS THE WORD.

Strengths
SOLID CONSTRUCTION
ADD-ONS READILY AVAILABLE

Weaknesses
FOCUSING IS COARSE BUT ACCEPTABLE

Similar Products Used
OMEGA D5

Customer Service
NONE

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Review Date
October 30, 2000

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Reviewed by
Chad Puerling , Expert , from El Paso, TX

Photography Experience
21+ years , Outdoor

Summary
A solid performer with smooth operating controls.
This is one massive piece of machinery.
A great enlarger to buy used. You can save a lot of money and since its design hasn't changed much in a long time, parts are easy to come buy.
For just being a couple of flat pieces of metal with a hole cut in them, the negative carriers and lens boards are expensive.

Strengths
Well built and fully adjustable.
Handles film up to 4x5.
The motor makes this a breeze to use when changing print sizes. I can't imagine using this behemoth without it

Weaknesses
Setting up this enlarger is a big task but once done, it's solid. Don't plan on moving this giant.

Similar Products Used
As a teacher I've used a lot of enlargers and this is one of the best.
Beseler 23C series
Omega 45 series
Omega C76
Meopta Axomat II
Nikkor color enlarger

Customer Service
Never used.

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