Enlarger for making large prints

APO lenses. Beyond 16x enlargement it will be almost required.

frotog said:

I'd advise against horizontal enlargement. Hanging your paper from a wall introduces a whole host of new problems you do not want to get involved in.

With a Rodenstock G or the metal barreled nikkor 63mm 2.8 you will get excellent results. In fact so excellent that photo dorks from near and far will rush in to speculate whether or not it qualifies as a "fine print" or merely a "work print". Regardless, victory will be yours as making a mural sized print is often something that most photo dorks just dream about out loud on forums such as this.

I've yet to see a compelling mural print of mush.

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frotog, could you elaborate a bit more on the problems that you had to face when hanging a piece of paper from a wall? The pics below show what I did and, yes, it was done with a Rodagon-G (50mm @f4-5,6) and, yes, the image basically consists of ultra-sharp grain even at the very edges (from a 400 ASA Agfa 35mm colour negative) and, yes, handling the paper and taping it to the wall requires some effort, but...

Frotog is correct about the vertical enlarger column problem.
It limits the width of your print size.

I had one of those blunderbuss Durst 138's.
Sold that 150 pound tank and its stack of condensers (one stack for each film format).
Replaced it with a homemade unit from a modified 5x7 monorail camera.
Made the same mistake... a vertical column...

I replaced that with a 4x5 Beseler bolted to the wall.
The counter below it has slide-out shelves at various levels.
While not "mural size", I can enlarge to 32 x 48" easily.

Some visual hints from my darkroom here:
http://www.classicbwphoto.com/classicBWphoto/Darkroom.html

Regarding wall projection and paper handling...

A couple of years ago I wall projected 8x20 negatives using my 8x20 camera.
The easel was a sheet of plywood covered with 26 gauge painted metal.
Buy the painted metal from any sheet metal (HVAC) contractor.
The metal is steel, and magnets really like that stuff...

I made a series of magnetic ledges and magnetic knobs to hold the paper.
I used whiteboard markers to sketch out paper placement on the easel.
Wall projection is not fuss-free, but it can be done.

Reinhold

My photo website: www.classicBWphoto.com
My photo equipment website: www.Re-inventedPhotoEquip.com

frotog said:

However, if printing from a small neg. definitely invest in a rodenstock g series lenses. No other lens can compare at mural sizes.

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Awesome, super, great info, bravo.....where in the hell do you get these lenses, that are no longer made and seem to not come up on a search?

Specifically a 105 5.6?

PKM-25 said:

Awesome, super, great info, bravo.....where in the hell do you get these lenses, that are no longer made and seem to not come up on a search?

Specifically a 105 5.6?

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B&H currently has the 90mm Schneider HM. I'd use that.

ic-racer said:

B&H currently has the 90mm Schneider HM. I'd use that.

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What would I gain in using that lens over my current 90 Apo Rodagon?

PKM-25 said:

What would I gain in using that lens over my current 90 Apo Rodagon?

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Not easy to answer because Rodenstock and Schneider don't have easily accessible MTF curves at the same magnification.

I don't see the 90 Apo Rodagon on the Prograf/Rodagon web page. However if it is like the Apo-Rodagon-N 80 it is claimed to have a 2-15x range and 10x optimum. The Schneider website does not make a similar claim, but they show you an MFT curve at 12x that looks like an optimum. I suspect it is still very good at 20x like the Rodagon-G.