BEOON the Leitz Copy Stand

Thanks for the detailed response. Not that I don't agree — I can't take the any position since I don't have a Focotar to try — but I find that at f/11 the DR Summocron works great on the BEOON, but then I haven't shot any brick walls.

Also, I wonder whether you've tried the DR Summicronon extensively at f/11, since you've indicated that it suffers from diffraction, but from what I've read about this on a full-frame sensor, and from my own trials, this is not the case.

In any case, I wonder why the corners should be soft with the DR Summicorn at f/11
Click to expand...
DR and normal 50's..just aren't designed to have total corner sharpness..they are not flat field...and the corners never really get totally sharp..no matter how much you stop them down..its only when you compare it to a real flat field lens..that you can see whats really going on there..
I remember using my DR with Tech Pan years ago on a regular basis..and I think if memory serves..around 5.6 to f8 was best overall..amazing really..but..that was for scenics..
As far as enlarging lenses..the El nikkors are good..and should work fine if they fit..and even a longer 60mm el Nikkor or similar.. may be better for corner sharpness..on the BEOON that is.
I believe the Focotar 2 is a process lens..and made for optimum performance on the Focomat..at wide open or close..as diffraction sets in real fast at f8 or below..you can see this clearly thru a grain magnifier..
I once compared an El nikkor 105mm to my Focotar 2 100mm..and an older Leitz 100mm..the El nikkor and the Focotar 2 were real close..the older Leitz 100mm..wasn't in the same league..the Focotar 2 was best..but not by much..
I never had the chance to try the famed Apo El Nikkor enlarging lens..but I hear they were the best ever made..and very expensive..
Here is something to try with your DR...
Just put the BEOON on a thin table cloth...make sure it is flat and in focus..you will see the threads real well..and take a pic at every lens opening...and look at it on your computer screen..magnifying the corners..you will see how your lens behaves at every F stop..you may be surprised at what you see..
 
I tried my 60mm R macro and it worked just fine..I forget now what combination of ext rings I used..as this was a year ago..but it works..I'll check tomorrow to see what the details are..
 
OK..
I did a quicky test of the Focotar2 @ F5.6...and the DR Summicron @ F11..on the BEOON..
The upper right magnified portion is the extreme corner...and the focus point was the center of the 35mm frame (not shown)..both were sharp in center..but the DR was not as flat field as the Focotar..
OK..so..if you focus on the corner..then the center is out on both lenses..and if you focus on the center..the corners are out...but to different degrees..
But..I wonder..how a Schneider or Rodenstock APO would do..? As I don't own these lenses..
OK..
Guess which is which...!

 
First one is the DR? 🙂

Thanks for these. Very helpful.

I'm going to pick up an El-Nikkor 50/2.8N. They seem to be well praised.

Do i need any retaining rings or anything of that sort to mount on the BEOON?
 
I used an EL Nikkor 50mm f4 (much cheaper than the f2.8) at f8 and all seems good, focus the lens at f4 is plenty enough then stop down to scan. You can see all the samples in my flikr using it vs 2 years ago i was using a flat bed V600 Epson. It's night and day when scan using the BEOON. works well w BW, for color I have a real hard time removing the orange mask.
Another tip, I tape the bottom of the stand to stop the scratching of negatives, i scratched a few so i know this works!
 
Ok, so this is weird. I got the El-Nikkor 50/2.8N in the mail today and shot some frames using A+D (with an ltm>M adapter).. its no longer 1:1 🙁

wth?

26997896690_92bcd198fb_c.jpg
 
yeah, i tried that but then oddly i couldn't focus.

Does this mean that the El Nikkor isn't truly a 50, but instead something wider?
 
Maybe best to use 1 or more 39mm filter rings (w/o glass) for "fine tuning" the specific lens to the BEOON...or if you are using an A7 or similar..one of those close focusing adapters to bring the cam closer or further away by increment.
 
Yes, or simple spacers like o rings can fine-tune. My setup uses ABCD and an LTM adapter but part of the extra length is due to the Negatrans.
 
Jhausler said:
Ok, so this is weird. I got the El-Nikkor 50/2.8N in the mail today and shot some frames using A+D (with an ltm>M adapter).. its no longer 1:1 🙁

wth?

26997896690_92bcd198fb_c.jpg
Click to expand...

The same thing happened when I used my 50mm APO-Rodagon, which otherwise works just fine. As I recall, I ended up using A+C, and in comparing it with my 50mm Summicron v4 stopped down to f11, the results weren't that much better. Also, it was easier to nail focus with the Summicron, at f2, before stopping down. Finally, I can leave it mounted, and use it to copy MF without switching lenses.

By the way, there's a portfolio of old shots, including some performance photos of T-Bone Walker, Lightnin' Hopkins and Mama Thornton, copied form the negatives this way on my site [Performances 1966-1972]. The shots actually end up looking better than the vintage prints, since I have more control over tonal values. Most of these were from shots on pushed Tri-X and some HP5. They're still grainy, but I feel that the grain is [mostly] acceptably sharp to the edges. In fact, it's easier to get these focused, due to the very grainy nature of the original negatives [mostly processed in Acufine, as i recall].
 
well.... using C+D or A+B+D (which appears to be the same thing), i can get closer to 1:1, but i can't lower the stand enough to focus. BEOON wants it's lens at infinity and i'm assuming that enlarger lenses are focused for much closer?

i put it on my M9 and fired some shots away.. i can't tell what the focus point on this is.

Emile, do you get 1:1 with your Fotocar? or do you end up cropping
 
Emile, do you get 1:1 with your Fotocar? or do you end up cropping
Click to expand...
With the Focotar 2 and an A7 w/close focus adapter at full extention...I get 1 to 1 with a little bit of the mask showing on 3 sides..and the bottom side mask edge hardly showing at all.
This is with Rings C & A and 2 screw to M mount adapters on either side...1 for cam and 1 for lens.
 
Emile - BTW, can the Focotar 2 be focused to infinity? Frankly, I remain skeptical about the Focotar 2 having obviously better edges than the DR Summicron on the BEOON, for the same reason that I wrote earlier: the BEOON was made for copying negatives and slides and Leitz was also selling Focotar lenses at the time — if the results were so much better with the Focotar it's a no-brainer that Leitz would have stated that the results with the Focotar were at least somewhat better. In this way they would have sold some Focotar lenses to people who only shot slides and had no enlarger, and also to some people who shot negatives but did not print themselves. Your response was, essentially: that was then, this is now.

While the DR Summicron is not a flat field lens at f/2, it doesn't have any corner problems at the f/11 aperture recommended in the Leitz BEOON manual. If I could see credible tests shots with both lenses...
 
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