Autofocus 4"x5" Enlarger

Introduced: 1959
Discontinued: 1973

The D4 ushered in the era of the colourhead. Previously all colour enlarging had to be accomplished by changing colour filters in a filter drawer - a time consuming process - so a head in which the filtration could be changed by simply adjusting a dial was quite a time-saving concept. 

In hindsight one might question whether it was necessary to have a separate designation for what appears to simply be the colourhead version of the D3, but in fact, the two chassis are different. It was necessary to beef up the D3 chassis to properly accommodate the sheer bulk of the original Chromega lamphouse. 

By the time the Super Chromega D Dichroic lamphouse was introduced, the sales of autofocus enlargers were already in decline, and since the new lamphouse was much more compact, it could easily be mounted on the D3 chassis, making the D4 redundant, so it was subsequently discontinued. As with the D3, the D4 was never sold in an XL version.

The D4 does have one lingering legacy, however.  When it was introduced, Omega felt that additional reflection suppression was required for colour printing, so a new series of sandwich type negative carriers was introduced. The new carriers had white upper and black lower plates. Eventually, the new style replaced the plain brushed aluminum type sold for the condenser enlargers, and these same carriers (later all black) remained in production for the D5.

Used Advice: Only units with dichroic heads should be considered as worthwhile.  Check that autofocus tracks and lensmounts included will meet your needs.  The column and lifting levers are different than other D series enlargers, so servicing may be cost prohibitive.

Enlargers

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