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The B22 was perhaps the most popular of
all the Omega medium format enlargers. It had a long production run
and thousands of them were sold to schools, clubs, other institutions
and home darkroom enthusiasts due to their solid design and
construction, and reasonable price. The column, offered in standard
and XL length, was a box aluminum extrusion with the counterbalance
spring mounted on the top of the column. The condenser head followed
the design of other Omega products of the time.
The B22 was
not sold in component form since, until the last few months of its
production, the condenser lamphouse was the only head available for
that chassis. Early in 1974 the Chromega B Dichroic Lamphouse was
introduced on the B22 as the Chromega B22 Dichroic Enlarger, but
within a few months the B22 was replaced by the new B66. Since the
Chromega B Dichroic head was designed to fit the B22, it was a popular
retrofit.
At the same
time that the Chromega B Dichroic head debuted, the existing series of
B22 negative carriers were discontinued. The older 35mm carrier for
the B22 would not work with the colorhead unless the vertical pins
were removed. The new set of carriers were spring-hinged, rapid shift
design, with black bottom plates, and became the standard carriers for
the B66, B600 and B635, and are listed with those enlargers. The same
carriers remained in production for the C700 enlarger.
The B22 was
frequently sold as a kit with lenses and negative carriers. Kits with
35mm carriers and 50mm lenses also included the supplementary
condenser. Late production B22 columns were finished in black.
Used Advice: A very popular
model on the used market as all common parts are available new or
used, and the enlarger is easily serviced. |
