If you can find a 100mm Enlarging Ektar, and you have a good, sharp negative, and are careful, you should be able to enlarge up to and including 16 x 20 black and white. If you can't, the problem will be the photographer, and not his/her equipment. Kodak Enlarging Ektars are vastly underrated, especially for Black and White.........Regards!The camera has a 100mm Ektar lens. I want to make up to 16x20 black and white prints. The enlarger is a Beseler 23CII. The carrier is anti newton ring glass. I thought about an Ektar 100mm because the camera lens is 100mm and is also an Ektar but I read that it has only 4 elements and that is not enough to print super sharp 16x20 from 6x9. Please advise. Thanks.
The Wollensak lenses are excellent and very cheap. The last Raptar versions are great. CHECK CLOSE FOR FUNGUS AND HAZE
Buy through Ebay. Look at pictures. Make sure the seller knows what they are selling. A newer 6 element lens like a El Nikkor or Rodagon will cost more but are more likely to be sold by someone that knows what's good and bad. If you see spots or trails in the glass that's likely a fungus. Little dust specks are normal.thats hard to do on ebay. what do you advise?
a 100mm or slightly shorter 6-element enlarging lens should work great.The camera has a 100mm Ektar lens. I want to make up to 16x20 black and white prints. The enlarger is a Beseler 23CII. The carrier is anti newton ring glass. I thought about an Ektar 100mm because the camera lens is 100mm and is also an Ektar but I read that it has only 4 elements and that is not enough to print super sharp 16x20 from 6x9. Please advise. Thanks.
I have a couple of the Wollensak 90mm enlarging Raptars, one still NIB. They were designed specifically to enlarge 6x9 format and are excellent up to 20x24 in my experience. Again, actual enlargement quality is solely up to the photographer. I'm open to letting one go, I only have one retaining ring, so mounting is up to the new owner. These are 29mm mount.
is 29mm mount uncommon? Will it be hard for me to find a retaning ring?29mm mount?
Yes.is 29mm mount uncommon? Will it be hard for me to find a retaning ring?
Isn't there only one version of the Wollensak Raptar ? If not then please advise how to differentiate them.... The last Raptar versions are great. ....
Yes.
Maybe.
Also consider looking for a blank board, and a local machine shop who can drill a hole for you.well im going to need a 29mm ring nut because i took Rick A up on his offer of a mint new in box coated Wollensack Raptar 90mm that is specifically designed for 6x9 negs. I will also need a Beseler lens board with the right size hole.
You are correct. I don't think the last versions were anything special ,but the Graphic Raptars in black barrels with red lettering look awesome. These all had the Wolcoat lens coatings. I have Commercial Ektars and Ilex lenses, I'm no expert on LF lenses but the Americans made nice lenses.Isn't there only one version of the Wollensak Raptar ? If not then please advise how to differentiate them.
Or are you referring to the 'PRO Raptar' which is a completely different lens being 6/4 construction (the 'Raptars' are 4/3)?
There is also a series of 'Graphic Raptars' but despite trying I've never found any documentation about them. I suspect they are just 'Raptars' but rebranded for some unknown marketing reason.
Did the 3 1/2 inch lens come with a flange? This is good info, thanks for posting.Although the thread OD is close to 29 mm, that’s not likely the actual design diameter. All of the Wollensak lenses I own or that I have measured for others have fractional-inch diameters and some integer number of threads per inch using 60° Unified V-thread as verified with my Lufkin thread-pitch gage.
For example, my162 mm f/4.5 Enlarging Raptar has 2” x 30 tpi thread.
Several Kodak and Wollensak enlarger lenses (both brands made in Rochester, NY) that I have measured have 1- and 3/8-inch x 30 tpi mounting threads.
My Wollensak 3 ½” f/4.5-32 Enlarging Velostigmat has 1- and 3/16” diameter x 40 tpi thread. It measures 1.1837” diameter, or 0.0038” smaller than the nominal diameter for assembly clearance.
A focal length of 3 ½” is essentially the same as 90 mm. Both the 3 ½” Velostigmat and the 90 mm Enlarging Raptar were made by Wollensak. It seems likely that both of these lenses of about the same size from the same maker would use the same thread. This is uncertain without an actual measurement of the lens in question. 1- and 3/16-inch x 40 tpi flanges or retaining rings are about as scarce as hen’s teeth now in 2019.
I’ve never encountered a 29 mm thread on any enlarging lens. Old (very old) Schneider 50 mm Componon lenses had 29.5 mm x 0.40 mm pitch thread according to some old Schneider data. See column C in the Componon data in the following link.
https://www.schneideroptics.com/info/vintage_lens_data/enlarging_lenses/enlarging.pdf
I have a very old Wirgin Wiesbaden Gewironar 1:4.5 7.5 cm enlarger lens with 29.5 mm x 0.5 mm pitch thread.
It’s often the case that folks use a ruler to “measure” an unknown thread diameter. Doing it this way is only an estimate. A proper measurement of a male thread must be done with a micrometer caliper with 0.001” or 0.02 mm resolution.
The thread pitch must be measured with a thread-pitch gage. It’s important to realize that the actual diameter of male thread is usually somewhat smaller than the nominal diameter due to the necessary assembly clearance.
Yes, most likelyYes.
Maybe.
Durst Neonon lenaes are excellent!What Hilo said - and there are Nikkor & Durst Neonon ones that are just as good too.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?