Enlargement lens threads

I've been kinda watching lens on evilbay. I noticed a couple listings for Lieca (M39 I think) threaded lenses. Are these a different thread then others? El-Nikor or Omegatron(sp?) for example?
I'm looking for a 90-105mm lens. the way things are, I just might go buy one rather than continue with feepay.

39mm is pretty much the standard for enlarger lenses, though 25mm aren't uncommon either. Recently I got a Hobson-Cooke that had a 30mm mount - great lens but a pain to get mounted.

Joe

Some older Schneider Componon 105mm were 40mm - one to watch out for as it won't fit any standard thread...

Most others are 25mm or 39mm, except the really big ones.

I have done really well on eBay. Keep on the lookout for the 105mm Nikkor, or a Rodenstock Rodaton or Schneider Componon-S. Older Componons will have a 25mm thread, but most lenses in this range will be 39mm. Expect to pay in the neighborhood of $200 for one of these lenses new. EBay can often be in the range of $50 for a decent used one.

I figured the M39 was a standard thread, I was just thrown off by the guy calling it a Lieca thread. Thanks for clearing that up!

L (not M) 39 came to be standard for enlargers as the idea with the original Leicas was that you used the same lens on both the camera and the enlarger. You still can.

David.

Some of the older Janpol lenses, and the Russian Vega lenses made on the same pattern (with color filters inside the lens) have M42 thread, the same as my Super Takumar and Auto Rikenon lenses.

I've received lots of e-mails suggesting products for the enlargement of various body parts, but never for the enlargement of lens threads.

The so-called Leica thread (M39) is pretty common for older, slower enlarging lenses, but many of the newer, faster lenses use larger threaded sections, as necessitated by the faster apertures. Whether these can be used on a specific enlarger depends on how its lens boards are designed. Most have separate threaded inserts to accommodate various lens threads.

rogueish said:

I've been kinda watching lens on evilbay. I noticed a couple listings for Lieca (M39 I think) threaded lenses. Are these a different thread then others? El-Nikor or Omegatron(sp?) for example?
I'm looking for a 90-105mm lens. the way things are, I just might go buy one rather than continue with feepay.

Click to expand...

Hi !
As far as I know, enlarging lenses come in 25 mm thread (for really small lenses, often of East Europe origin, or old German ones)
39 mm Leica thread for everything else that fit....
Bigger ones where 42 mm thread (I had a 150 mm Schneider lens with this thread) The "accepted" standard for lenses in the 150 mm focal lenght seems to be 50 mm thread. Above that size, they are not threaded. If you can take a look at an EL Nikkor ad, or a Schneider or Rodenstock web site. The mechanical information is here....
Of course one can find some odd threads made to increase specialized parts sales .....

Having just fought this battle-

My 50mm Nikkor has 39mm and this appears to be the standard.

I got a 105mm Componon cheap, but without the board or ring. So, I started the search for these. I read that the other standard was 25mm, and that my lens should be that size so I ordered a board and ring. Nope, didn't fit. Turns out, the lens takes a 32mm (or 32.5mm?) thread. I got a board off of eBay. Looks like a random piece of aluminum, painted black, with an irregular hole gauged into into it. With some filing, I expect to make the lens fit. I have a ring in the mail, and I hope this ends the problem. If that works, I will have spent more on the rings/boards than the lens. I will also have spent way too much time hunting it down.

As noted above--there are some 25mm lenses. I have a board for a 23C and a ring if someone needs it.

Matt

I just had a lesson from the school of hard knocks regarding lens mount sizes. I bought a Bogen 22A enlarger on E-Bay. It uses the standard 39mm thread size lens. It came with a 50mm lens (focal length) already mounted in the enlarger. The first time I tried to make prints with it, I couldn't get the size of the image to fill my 8x10 easel, even with the head at the top of the column. I knew that the Bogen 22A had the capability of making 11x14's, even cropped 11x14's. I called two local camera shops and they gave me possible causes that ranged from condenser elements in backwards to a problem with the bellows. I didn't really buy any of them. I took the lens out and it turned out that I had a 25mm thread size lens mounted in a 39mm thread size adapter and the adapter was mounted in the enlarger. I wondered if the extra space that the adapter added might have been the problem with my image size. So, on a hunch, I got back on E-Bay and found a Voss 50mm lens with the 39mm thread size and bought it. I mounted the lens directly into the enlarger and it works fine. I can now make enlargements as big as the column will allow, larger than 11x14. The adapter was the problem. Stay away from them!!!!