If you google for the Lupo M3 you will only find information about a car. It seems this is not a very common brand or model of enlarger.
Lupo is an Italian company that still exists today, they were founded back in 1932 and manufactured equipment for photo studios until the 90s, when they shifted to manufacturing studio lights instead.
I have an M3 enlarger that I use in my darkroom. Why did I get that exact model? Well, because I got it for free. And when it comes to enlargers, my philosophy is that it doesn’t really matter that much. An enlarger is just a camera in reverse, so it is a box with a light in it. And as with camera bodies, it doesnt influence the quality of the end product much at all. The thing that matters the most both when it comes to cameras and enlargers is the lens.
Sorry for the mess
The M3 is basically a copy of the Durst M305, does only 35mm, and for my purposes I think it’s great. Operating it is dead simple, you have a lever to raise and lower it, a knob for setting focus, and well what more can an enlarger really do? Sure you can tilt the head and stuff like that, but who ever does that?
As a lens I use a Rodenstock Rodagon 50/2.8 which I also think is great. As I said, what matters most when it comes to image quality is having a good lens, so if you are just starting out and have a choice, better to get a cheap enlarger and a good lens instead of the other way around.
Now I just need to find an enlarger for medium format.. Just a short post about this for now, mostly because I could barely find anything about the Lupo enlargers online! Write a comment if you have any specific questions about it and I’ll try to answer.