Your thoughts on Enlarger Lens

[BILLC]

I have used a 75mm nikkor for 6x6 for over 30 years with good results. I would like an 80mm nikkor but rover keeps out bidding me.
Bill

 

[Finder]

Scheider, Rodenstock, or Nikkor six element designs are all good. Get the modern black barrels as the older versions are not always coated.

 

[rover]

I have used a 75mm nikkor for 6x6 for over 30 years with good results. I would like an 80mm nikkor but rover keeps out bidding me.
Bill

No more, mine is in the mail, you can have the next one.

 

[venchka]

One note on El Nikkors: Avoid the 75mm lens.

Guilty, your Honor! I apologize. I too READ more than one person's derogatory opinion of the Nikkor 75mm lens. I have no first hand knowledge of the lens' performance.

I have owned and used Schenider enlarging lenses for 35mm and 6x7. I was very pleased with both of them.

I promise not to parrot internet opinions ever again! Thank goodness I ignored all of the Konica M mount lens bashing on the internet. If I had believed any of that I wouldn't now own a very nice 28mm M-Hexanon lens.

 

[BILLC]

If it was a direct equation then how do they make a 15mm lens cover a 35mm frame? Their is more going on here than I can hope to understand.
Bill

 

[rxmd]

There is no direct equation. Focal length and image circle are only indirectly correlated. There are some "WA" (wideangle) enlarger lenses that have a shorter focal length, such as the WA-Rodagon 40 (for 35mm, where you'd otherwise need a 50) or the WA-Rodagon 60 (for 6x6, where you'd otherwise need 80). Leica's Focotar 40 falls in this category, as well as some of the Agfa Colostars that were used in minilabs.

Their circle of coverage is larger than their focal length would suggest, which is one of the less-known defining characteristics of a wideangle lens; normally we don't pay attention to this, unless we shoot large format where a 90mm Super Angulon that covers 4x5 (inches) is somehow special vis-a-vis a 90mm Tessar that barely covers 6x9 (cm).

The advantage of such a lens is that you don't have to crank the enlarger head as high as with a "normal" lens for the same paper size.

Enlarger lenses with very short focal lengths (35 and below) are usually meant for smallish formats, anything from 127 and APS down to 8x11mm Minox film. Most of these don't cover 35mm (I don't know any that do).

Philipp

 

[retrocam]

There is no direct equation. Focal length and image circle are only indirectly correlated. There are some "WA" (wideangle) enlarger lenses that have a shorter focal length, such as the WA-Rodagon 40 (for 35mm, where you'd otherwise need a 50) or the WA-Rodagon 60 (for 6x6, where you'd otherwise need 80). Leica's Focotar 40 falls in this category, as well as some of the Agfa Colostars that were used in minilabs.

Their circle of coverage is larger than their focal length would suggest, which is one of the less-known defining characteristics of a wideangle lens; normally we don't pay attention to this, unless we shoot large format where a 90mm Super Angulon that covers 4x5 (inches) is somehow special vis-a-vis a 90mm Tessar that barely covers 6x9 (cm).

The advantage of such a lens is that you don't have to crank the enlarger head as high as with a "normal" lens for the same paper size.

Enlarger lenses with very short focal lengths (35 and below) are usually meant for smallish formats, anything from 127 and APS down to 8x11mm Minox film. Most of these don't cover 35mm (I don't know any that do).

Philipp

So is that the reason why some manufacturers recommend the 75mm for 6x6 and the others recommend an 80mm? My enlarger is a 670xl VCCE (C7700 in other countries). The manual lists 75mm for 6x6. The column has a scale (height) for the 75mm on the left side and for the 50mm on the right side. I think I really just have to try which lens (75, 80, 90) will work for me. I am quite short... so I don't want to crank the head way up. Hopefully, I could upgrade to a better enlarging lens in the future.

And yes, my name is Annie.

 

[ddutchison]

If you are using a condenser enlarger, the condenser itself will also effect light fall-off at the edges of the image. Perhaps that may be why different manufacturers recommend different lenses. Yours recommends a 75, but anything longer will also work.

Unless you plan to use the scales engraved on the column of your enlarger, I'd tend to waver towards the 80mm lens - given a choice where all else was equal.. All lenses, no matter how good, are slight darker, and slightly softer at the edges of their fields - and as Philipp explained - the 80mm is using more of it's central area to form an image with a 6x6 neg. than the 75mm. The difference in column hight between the two for the same magnification is negligible.


As to the "truth" about the 75mm f4 El Nikkor, I have to say that my experience with it is much the same as the other people here, it's just fine with 6x6, in fact I'd say it's very good.

It is a 4 element design, and I expect that this has more to do with it's poor reputation than its actual performance. Used within it's limitations (always at f8, and for 11"X11" or smaller enlargements) I don't see any great difference between it and my 80mm Rodagon. Maybe we have another "sleeper" here.

 

[bizarrius]

I have a question and i don't know where to put it.
I just bought a Meopta magnifax4 second hand and the guy gave my 4 lenses with it.
1X meopta 50mm f2.8
1X nikkor 75mm f4
and 2 75mm and 105mm ones.
my question is, i can focus with all lenses except the 50mm
the lens seems to focus only on really small surfaces.
Do i go get a new lens?
Isn't the 50mm best for 35mm prints?
i mean i can focus on A3 with a 35mm negative with the 75mm nikkor but i'd have to put the head on its highest to do that.

 

[ZorkiKat]

I have a question and i don't know where to put it.
I just bought a Meopta magnifax4 second hand and the guy gave my 4 lenses with it.
1X meopta 50mm f2.8
1X nikkor 75mm f4
and 2 75mm and 105mm ones.
my question is, i can focus with all lenses except the 50mm
the lens seems to focus only on really small surfaces.
Do i go get a new lens?
Isn't the 50mm best for 35mm prints?
i mean i can focus on A3 with a 35mm negative with the 75mm nikkor but i'd have to put the head on its highest to do that.

The lens board (actually a rather bowl-shaped looking thing) in the Meopta enlargers is reversible. For short lenses like the 50mm you have to remove the lens board -that's the threaded part where the lens screws on- and remount it so that it cups inwards. The lens board is retained by a large set screw on one side.

By cupping the lens board upwards, the lens gets to be mounted closer to the lens, thereby allowing you to focus even to door-sized enlargements with a 50 or 35mm on your Meopta.

 

[bizarrius]

wow that solved alot!
thank you very very very much.
i am pretty much REALLY new on this and i am trying to find out how to print over reading on the internet. any special instructions on the magnifax 4?

edit:

stupid question: I have to unscrew the glasses and screw the 35mm carriers to print 35mm right?

 

[Wahoo]

I'll post a few photos of ones (makes/brands, not focal length) that I considered quite good.

A particular favorite (for 35mm) of mine were those 63mm Nikon's, even the early ones are very good - bottom pic.

 

[ZorkiKat]

wow that solved alot!
thank you very very very much.
i am pretty much REALLY new on this and i am trying to find out how to print over reading on the internet. any special instructions on the magnifax 4?

edit:

stupid question: I have to unscrew the glasses and screw the 35mm carriers to print 35mm right?

In the Opemus series, the carrier has cropping arms which masked (adjusted) the opening to accomodate everything from full 6X6, 6X4,5, 35mm 35mm half frame and down to 16mm.

If the Magnifax has the same masking carrier, you can use the glass sandwich for all your negatives. The metal masks are useful if you don't want to use glass in the carrier.

Again, you don't have to unscrew anything. The glass inserts are held in place by spring clip retainers. I don't remember it now, but you take the insert off by sliding the glass one way (towards you or towards the hinge) until one end is clear of the retainer clip.

One reminder about the magnifax is that its elevation gear is prone to breaking. Always hoist the head assisted by the other hand whilst cranking with the other. Don't hoist the head by just letting the crank pull it up.

 

[rxmd]

stupid question: I have to unscrew the glasses and screw the 35mm carriers to print 35mm right?

If what you mean is the lens board, then it depends on how many you have. If you have only one lens board, you have to remove it, unscrew the lens, reverse it, and screw in the next lens every time you change from printing 35mm to printing medium format. In the long run you should try and get an extra lens board for each enlarging lens.

If what you mean is the negative carrier, then there is no need to unscrew anything. There are two different negative carriers for the Magnifax: a glass carrier that has moveable masks, and a glassless carrier that takes metal inserts.

What is a bit tricky with the Magnifax is aligning the head and baseboard so that the two are 100% parallel. If they are not parallel, you will get unsharp images and need to stop down the lens to f/16 or more all the time. There are a few standard techniques for aligning them (often involving lasers and so on). The easiest I know is to take two mirrors, one cut to the size of the glass in the negative carrier ("mirror 1") and another ("mirror 2"). Scratch a small hole in the back silver coating of mirror 1 exactly in the center, so that the mirror becomes transparent at that point. Put mirror 1 in the negative carrier face down (you should see light shining through the small hole in the baseboard). Put mirror 2 on the baseboard face up. The idea is that if the head and baseboard are parallel, the light should shine through the hole on the baseboard and be reflected back up into the hole - in all probability they're not exactly parallel, so it will be reflected back and forth and you'll see reflections elsewhere (on your baseboard, in your darkroom, it really is quite obvious). With this setup, you can align the head relatively easily.

One useful accessory is the fine focusing gear. It replaces the normal focusing gear on the enlarger head with a double set of gears that allows much more precise focusing.

Finally, I don't know where you live, but if you live in Europe or a 230V country and have a "Color 3" colour head, its transformer is often wired to 220V. Networks are usually 230V nowadays. The transformer coil has an extra point for 240V instead of 220V, and it's easy to switch the wire. It may increase the longevity of the bulb and fuse a little bit.