Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/11/06

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Subject: [Leica] SaltHill enlarger
From: Mike Johnston <michaeljohnston@ameritech.net>
Date: Mon, 06 Nov 2000 21:26:53 -0600

> Mike, out of curiosity, what do you think about the SaltHill enlarger? The
> idea
> sounded cool (fiber optics, no heat, no vibrations). Is it still made?
> 
> Thanks.


No, it's not. SaltHill's been out of business for several years.

It was a great idea but a sad story from start to finish. I know the whole
story from the inside (Joe Saltzer, President of SaltHill, was the one who
put me together with the _PHOTO Techniques_  job and he remains a friend--in
fact I spoke to him a few days ago). You're right, it was a great idea. Joe
made two mistakes--dealing on a handshake, and designing from good
engineering sense rather than accomodating the known prejudices of the
market. 

Where the idea really would have made sense was in an 8x10 enlarger. Sadly,
the control unit designed for the 4x5 could not be readily adopted for 8x10,
and the volume of the 8x10 enlarger market simply doesn't support the needed
investment.

The few SaltHill enlargers that made it to market will be collector pieces
in the future, once everybody's doing digital and darkroom equipment finally
becomes collectible. <g>

- --Mike