New enlarger lens.. worth my time/money?

[f/stopblues]

I enrolled in a basic photography class coming up this fall at the local community college, basically so I could get A) a few credits easily and B) regular, chemisty-provided darkroom access. I used to print regularly when my friend went to another college here in town, but she has long since graduated, so no more fun.

Here's my question: The equipment they have is exactly what you'd expect for a community college, although the basic setup is nice. My main concern is the enlarger lenses they have. I've spent a lot of money on glass for my cameras and it seems a waste for my images to pass through a coke bottle on its last journey before the paper. Do you think it'd be in any way worthwhile to buy a decent enlarging lens and board to carry in with me? Just swap it out before I start for the day.. I don't know 100% of what this would involve, so I wanted to get your opinions on the matter. Any other things to watch for so I can squeeze the best performance out of this equipment?

Thanks guys!

Chris

(BTW, I just confirmed the purchase of my very first rangefinder.. a Canonet QL17 IIIG! Seems like a great way to get my feet wet. Thanks all for the advice!)

 

[Honu-Hugger]

Hi Chris,
It's just that easy -- get the lens you want and a board that is compatible with the enlarger you intend to use (or you could even mount your lens on their board -- the lens mount shouldn't be too tight, but in a college darkroom???). Nikkor's, Fuji's, Componon's, etc. can all be found reasonably priced at the auction site.

P. S. I forgot to mention that I did the exact thing you've proposed when I printed in the college darkroom -- brought my own lens with a compatible board.

 

[photodog]

I'd worry more about enlarger alignment than the quality of the lens. I took a class at the local community college a few years ago and the lab enlargers had Nikkor lenses. Set up your own darkroom if you can, it's a buyer's market for enlargers and darkroom gear.

 

[wyk_penguin]

I agree with photodog. Set up your own darkroom. There are just too many variables when you have to share your darkroom with other people. Dirty lenses, wet table-tops, misalignment..... (just to name a few), not to mention not being able to use your own chemistry.

P.S. Once I went to a darkroom with autofocus enlargers (Focomat), so if you see any of these, forget about mounting your own lens.

 

[ray_g]

I'm going that route and am in the process of setting up my darkroom. With the prices nowadays, you can't go wrong. I just bought someone's darkroom setup, and am waiting for the shipment to arrive. In the meantime, I got a good deal on another enlarger locally. So now I have 2 35mm enlargers. If you think you want to go this route, let me know. I will only be keeping one.

 

[f/stopblues]

Ah, yet another thread that ends with me looking at my bank balances 🙂 I'm going to set up a darkroom in the near(ish) future. I'm a big mess of indecision though, cause I shoot 135, 6x6, and am starting 4x5. That's a whole new topic of research I'll be hitting Border's for soon.

I was thinking for this deal it could be a good compromise to keep me happy for a while. I have so many unprinted negs at this point, it's obscene. Is there a way to check alignment on those enlargers? If they're off, can they be realigned? I should say that it's not terrible in the college darkroom.. It's kept clean, the enlargers didn't appear to be ancient, and the counters and floors are rigid and clean. After all, I could just keep the lens for my own darkroom afterwords. It sounds like I have my mind made up, but I'm considering all you guys are saying 🙂

Good advice so far though! I appreciate everything!

Chris

 

[Doug]

These days a good enlarging lens is pretty low in price, and therefore even more worthwhile than in the past! I too took my own enlarging lens to the college darkroom before I set up my own darkroom again. Wouldn't hurt to take a carpenter's bubble level and check the alignment of the school enlargers... then maybe you'd know which one(s) to favor for your own work!

FWIW, you can even use a good camera lens for enlarging... I had a lensboard drilled and tapped so my Pentax screw-mount 50mm f/4 Macro lens would fit. As I recall, it worked fine!

 

[Honu-Hugger]

I think it would be wrong to presume the school's enlargers are out of alignment; it is possible but not necessarily likely. My enlargers and all that I have worked with have tilt adjustment in the head; as with the "taking" lens the enlarging lens compensates for depth of field by stopping down. Alignment is easily determined by using a grain magnifier; if the grain is sharp at various points around the printed area then the alignment is good.

 

[titrisol]

ABSOLUTELY YES!
Get a decent enlarging lens, Nikkors, Schneiders, etc are very good!

I enrolled in a basic photography class coming up this fall at the local community college, basically so I could get A) a few credits easily and B) regular, chemisty-provided darkroom access. I used to print regularly when my friend went to another college here in town, but she has long since graduated, so no more fun.

Here's my question: The equipment they have is exactly what you'd expect for a community college, although the basic setup is nice. My main concern is the enlarger lenses they have. I've spent a lot of money on glass for my cameras and it seems a waste for my images to pass through a coke bottle on its last journey before the paper. Do you think it'd be in any way worthwhile to buy a decent enlarging lens and board to carry in with me? Just swap it out before I start for the day.. I don't know 100% of what this would involve, so I wanted to get your opinions on the matter. Any other things to watch for so I can squeeze the best performance out of this equipment?

Thanks guys!

Chris

(BTW, I just confirmed the purchase of my very first rangefinder.. a Canonet QL17 IIIG! Seems like a great way to get my feet wet. Thanks all for the advice!)

 

[Stephanie Brim]

You're lucky the community college has a darkroom...the one here doesn't even have one. 😀

But yeah, I'd buy one. Especially if you're thinking of a home darkroom any time soon.