Bogen Enlarger

Y

yashicatex

Member
Local time
6:21 PM
Joined
Mar 21, 2006
Messages
13
Hi everyone. I bought a Bogen 6/35 mini enlarger and I was wondering if these lense that came with this enlarger are any good. The lenses are a E Lucky 3.5 / 50 and a Voss 75 MM 3.5. Are these lenses of good quality? Would I have to get better lenses? I plan to use 35MM and MF negatives. What lenses would be a better choice for this enlarger?
 
You would need to check the mounting, but Rodenstock Rodagon, Scheider, or Nikkor EL would be good choices. Get the modern versions. Make sure the lens has 6 or more elements - both Rodenstock and Scheider have an economy 4-element design.
 
I don't know about the Lucky other than I think it's a very inexpensive (i.e., cheap) Chinese lens. The Voss has been around for a long time, and is not that great. Often camera shops sold inexpensive enlargers with very cheap lenses as an entry point.

In addition to the Schneider and Rodenstock suggestions, Fujinons are excellent as well. All of my enlarger lenses Fuji. Of course, if you want to be du jour here on RFF, get an Elmar enlarging lens. :D Likely a mismatch for this enlarger, but if you have to spend your money in enlarging gear, the lens is the place to spend it.
 
I agree. The lens is what makes the enlarger. I looked on ebay and there are some Nikkor El but how do I find out if these will fit my enlarger. Is there some way to cross reference the Voss and Lucky serial numbers with the Nikkor, Schneider or Rodenstock. The Voss serial# 16275 and the Lucky serial#83903 both are made in Japan. Also which Nikkor, Schneider or Rodenstock would you recommend?
 
yashicatex said:
Also which Nikkor, Schneider or Rodenstock would you recommend?
Click to expand...

The six element models for 35mm format are:
EL Nikkor 50/2.8
Rodenstock Rodagon 50/2.8
Schneider Componon S 50/2.8

All these lenses are 39mm screw mount. They are all good the Nikkor is a bit too sharp and contrasty for my taste and my personal favorite is the Rodagon. I'm not too sure about the Schneider sample I have because it has the least sharpness and contrast.

Joseph
 
Yashicatex: As implied above, nearly all enlargers take the 39mm Leica thread mount. Just doublecheck that and you should be good with nearly any enlarging lens you find with respect to the mount.
 
I had that enlarger before. It is nice and compact. I put a Nikkor 50mm F2.8 EL in it, it just screws right in and was a big improvement vs the Voss lens. The Elucky lenses I have seen looked like rebadge Voss lenses. Try the lenses you have first, then get the Nikkor, they are really cheap now and there are several versions of it all cheap to buy. This was a great enlarger to use if you had to make your darkroom temporary as I used to. You can carry it with one hand. I assume you have both negative carriers.
 
The Bogen enlargers are very good amateur enlargers.
I have a Super B22A and after bolting it to a desk I can produce 16x20s of good quality.
Mine came with the Voss 50mm lens, and It is OK for small enlargements, but if you want something better look for an EL Nikkor or a good Shneider. The enlarger has a 39mm leica screw mount JFYI
I worked with a Wollensak Raptar ducktaped to it for a while, what a fantastic lens!

The guys have already told you which are the best models of those lenses.
 
I bought a Bogen 635 way back in 1976. I am very pleased with it. At the time, anticipating that accessories might be hard to find later, I bought every lens carrier I could get my hands on. It paid off as I now have them for 4X4, 16mm 110, 126, 35mm, 35mm slides and 6X6 etc. It's a good enlarger.

Mine came with 50mm and 75mm Voss lenses. I didn't like them and as soon as I could afford to, I replaced them first with Vivitars and later with El Nikkors. I bought the 50mm/4 El Nikkor and the 75mm/4.5 El Nikkor. I am very happy with them. The only non-Nikkor lens I use is a very short FL Prinz lens (25mm?) I bought it for subminiature work, which I seldom do. Most of the time 16mm film doesn't enlarge well enough to need a 25mm lens. The 50 works fine because all you really want is a 5X7 print anyway.

I strongly recommend that you get the best lenses you can afford now. Don't waste time and paper on junk.

-Paul
 
On ebay I am looking at a Rodenstock Rogonar S 105mm, an EL Nikkor 50 F4, Schneider-Kreuznach Componar 1:4.5 50mm. How good are these? The Leitz/Leica FOCOTAR 50mm f4.5 $290 on ebay that 5 times more than what I paid for the enlarger. I don't think so.
Thank for the advise guys. This cleared up a lot of question I had. Now, I need to build a darkroom.
 
The 105 is too long, why not try what you have first as a baseline? I recommend these lenses: nikkor 50mm F2.8, nikkor 75mm F4. Easy to find, cheap to buy, excellent quality.
 
For the Bogen 635, you probably don't need a lens longer than 75mm or 3 inches. That would be for 6X6 negatives, the max the enlarger can handle. That will allow you to make 11X14's on the baseboard without reversing the column.

I also use the 75mm for 4X4 negatives

If you are using 126, 35mm, full frame or half-frame, you will probably want a 50mm or 2 inch lens. The 75mm will work, but you may have trouble making enlargements above 8X10 or doing even moderate crops.

If you use the enlarger for subminiature work like Minolta 16, or 110, you may want to look for an even shorter lens.

The shorter lenses will not adequately cover the frame sizes of the larger film sizes, so don't bother trying to use a 50mm lens for 6X6 negatives.

The Bogen has 39mm thread, and the does not have an interchangeable lensboard. That's important if you end up with one of the more antique enlarger lenses with a different mount.

-Paul
 
Bogen Enlarger

Hi Paul. I just bought a Rodenstock Rodagon 50mm f2.8 on ebay now this should be adequate for 35mm film . I am also looking Schneider-Kreuznach f4 80mm 4/80 lens on ebay. What do you think of this lens?
 
Last edited:
The 50mm Rodagon is designed for 35mm coverage, so you should be fine there. For MF it won't cover unless it's way over-designed.
 
I have used a Schneider 80/4 and it was an excellent lens. The Rodagon and Nikkor EL 80mm lenses are also fine - used both of those as well.
 
yashicatex said:
Hi Paul. I just bought a Rodenstock Rodagon 50mm f2.8 on ebay now this should be adequate for 35mm film . I am also looking Schneider-Kreuznach f4 80mm 4/80 lens on ebay. What do you think of this lens?
Click to expand...

The Rodagon is an excellent lens!
The Schenider 80/4 should be very good for MF

great buys!
 
Guy. I want to thank you all for the advise. Its good to see that the art of developing your own film and negative is alive and well in this age of digital cameras and photoshop photography.

Thank guys and keep on clicking!!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom