A good enlarging lens

I would but $50 can get me some good film, paper and chems!

Ektagraphic said:

I don't have any other lenses. I just got into darkroom. Is the Schneider more sharp.

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Sample variation within the brands, and condition and care during the lens' life will determine which one is sharper, but most likely they will both be very similar.

Matt

I'd buy the Schneider, German lens design is superb, Japanese lens design is to different criteria but still excellent ;D

Ian

The quality of prints will depend way more of enlarger alignment, exact focusing and good easel (paper flatness) than either of these lenses. At least for the start.

If the Schneider is a Componon-S, I would go with it. Just make sure that it doesn't have internal haze.

What lenses to do you personally use Ian?

Mainly Schneider, I have 4 Componon S lenses, 80mm, 135mm, 150mm (Vivitar branded) and 300mm, a few plain Componon's 50mm, 105mm, 135mm, and a 75mm Comparon. Three Rodagon's 150mm, 210mm and a 240mm. All these German lenses are excellent performers.

I also have an 80mm Komuranon and 50mm & 80mm Minolta Rokkor's and some odd Japanese lenses, cheap ones sold under various names.

Yes it sounds like rather a lot but in fact only 3 were bought new, the Vivitar & Minolta's and they lasted 25-30 years they had very heavy use in a commercial darkroom and all now suffer from slight scratch marks from poor cleaning. The rest came mainly with second-hand enlargers, and then around 4-5 years ago I was visiting a friends pro-Lab for work and spotted an enlarger in a skip, when I asked if he had a spare 135mm lens he gave me two turrets full of Componon's off Durst roll-head printers, 6 or 7 lenses on each I gave all the spare Componon's away free here on APUG

Ian

Ektagraphic said:

What if it doesn't say, or if it is not the 39mm Leica screw mount?

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The Beseler enlargers take lens boards which have holes for the lenses. As an example (*I* do better with pictures to look at), here is a "starter kit" that Beseler lists for a 23C:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/4565-REG/Beseler__75mm_Beslar_Lens_Kit.html

As noted elsewhere, you can do as well for a lot less than that. I recently picked up (for a 45M) a 39mm lens board for $10 and a 50mm El Nikkor mounted in a lens board for $32.

The 39mm lens boards are very common. Beseler also sold/sells some with other bores. And some sites have unbored boards available for machining to custom needs.

I'd also go the Schneider - mine is a joy to work with; an older version so it doesn't have illuminated f-stops, but that's not really important to me. It's the optics that count, and both my lenses meet this criteria beautifully. (Rodenstock 50mm f2.8 illuminated f-stops, Schneider 105mm f 3.5)