Apo lenses

[Melvin J Bramley]

Are there any benefits to using Apo lenses for enlarging?

 

[AnselMortensen]

Optimal when printing color.

 

[MattKing]

The Apo lenses designed for enlarging tend to be the best that the manufacturer makes/made.
If you are making colour enlargements they protect against problems with chromatic aberration. Notionally, one could conceive them being advantageous for multigrade work as well.
They are designed with larger enlargements in mind, and rated for a wider range of magnifications.
You are more likely to see a difference in the results between them and other high quality lenses if you are making prints with high levels of magnification. Small prints don't really reveal big differences.
When they were sold new, they were very expensive. They still are actually - just not marketed as enlarging lenses.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

To see any improvement you need to use a glass carrier for the negative, use the lens 1 stop down from full open, and have an obsessively aligned enlarger like a rectifier.

Apo lenses were frequently used on process cameras. The sort of 12ft long cameras where everything locks down to a cast iron track. The lenses are 300mm and up, though, so unless you shoot ULF these Apos are not really useful.

I bought an Apo Rodagon, but I couldn't see any improvement over my El-Nikkor. The Apo is back in it's box and in a storage cupboard - can't really say where. I was thinking of putting it in an Leitz Valoy, which has a 1/2 glass carrier and holds aligment really well (certainly when compared to my Beseler MX-something-or-other).

 

[Philippe-Georges]

A well designed, built and well looked after (!) Planar type lens will do for about 95% of the traditional B&W dark room work.
A Rodagon, Componon or EL-Nikkor will suffice in most cases, even for colour printing.
Apochromatic corrected lenses were originally meant for repro cameras in the printing industry, delicate close-up work (laboratory) and fine electronic circuit board printing.
Then, as it is in business, it was introduced in the more traditional dark room environment...

But if you feel the urge (and can afford), then go for it, these Apo lenses are stil the best!

 

[Hilo]

I bought an Apo Rodagon, but I couldn't see any improvement over my El-Nikkor. The Apo is back in it's box and in a storage cupboard - can't really say where. I was thinking of putting it in an Leitz Valoy, which has a 1/2 glass carrier and holds aligment really well (certainly when compared to my Beseler MX-something-or-other).

Nicholas, I assume with this 1/2 glass carrier you mean the 3x4 or the 4x4 carrier? These being 35mm negative carriers from Leitz.

Actually, these should only be used with the Focomat Ic. Because of the added 2mm thickness of the glass, the head of the Valoy II gets pushed upwards by 2mm on the front side only. You can clearly see this from the side. It causes misalignment. See picture.

Contrary to the Valoy II, the Focomat Ic has a condenser that's held down with a spring and simply moves upwards 2mm when this 3x4 or 4x4 negative carrier is used.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

To see any improvement you need to use a glass carrier for the negative, use the lens 1 stop down from full open, and have an obsessively aligned enlarger like a rectifier.

Apo lenses were frequently used on process cameras. The sort of 12ft long cameras where everything locks down to a cast iron track. The lenses are 300mm and up, though, so unless you shoot ULF these Apos are not really useful.

I bought an Apo Rodagon, but I couldn't see any improvement over my El-Nikkor. The Apo is back in it's box and in a storage cupboard - can't really say where. I was thinking of putting it in an Leitz Valoy, which has a 1/2 glass carrier and holds aligment really well (certainly when compared to my Beseler MX-something-or-other).

I believe that; EL-Nikkors are really hard to beat!

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

Nicholas, I assume with this 1/2 glass carrier you mean the 3x4 or the 4x4 carrier? These being 35mm negative carriers from Leitz.

No, l was refering to the Valoy's use of the bottom surface of the condenser lens as a pressure plate holding the negative to the carrier.

 

[Hilo]

No, l was refering to the Valoy's use of the bottom surface of the condenser lens as a pressure plate holding the negative to the carrier.

Thanks. Now I understand and what you say makes sense.