Enlarging 6x7 negative with 135mm lens.....pros.....cons....

[harlequin]

Dear APUG Members,

According to my chart, to enlarge 645 negs 75/80
To enlarge 2 1/4 square negs, 80 mm
To enlarge 6x7 negs recommended is 90 mm
To enlarge 6x9 negatives the 105 is recommended

I am on a limited budget and can obtain an el nikkor 135mm lens in good condition
And mount it on board for 23c.

I think this is a sharp contrasty lens, other than getting a smaller print on baseboard vis a vis the 90mm lens
Are there any drawbacks from using this combination?
As this lens is for 4x5 originally, it seems to be more common on used market than 90mm, what say you....


Thanks!

Harlequin

 

[MattKing]

It won't be ideal, due to the limited size of maximum enlargement, and due to the fact that you will often be using it for magnification outside the range it was designed to be optimized for.
It may also have a smaller maximum aperture, which makes for less brightness when focusing and composing.
But it will probably work competently, and allow you to make lots of moderate size prints while you wait to find something more ideal.
FWIW, most of my printing of 6x7 is with a 105mm lens, which may be a better alternative as they are fairly close to 90mm lenses but tend to be easier to find.

 

[Vaughn]

I used a 4x5 enlarger and a 135mm lens to enlarge 2 1/4 square negs. Uses the sweet spot of both the lens and light source. Edited to add: Enlarged to 15x15 on 16x20 paper.

Your enlarger needs to be able to handle longer lens -- might not work on a Beseler 23C, for example. I was on an Omega D5-XL. Its condensors could be positioned for various focal length lenses.

 

[Patrick Robert James]

Back when I started printing I was young and didn't have money for lenses. They weren't cheap like they are now. I needed something for 35mm and medium format so I bought a Schneider Componon-S 100mm. It worked perfectly fine for 35mm.

I use a 135 all the time for medium format. Like Vaughn states, works great. The only limitation is the size you can print, but most people aren't printing huge anyway.

I have a whole bunch of six element enlarging lenses that I need to sell if you are interested in one. The mediium format ones are 85-105. Even have a last version Nikkor. If you are interested, send me a pm...

 

[Oren Grad]

It won't be ideal, due to the limited size of maximum enlargement, and due to the fact that you will often be using it for magnification outside the range it was designed to be optimized for.

The 135 El-Nikkor is specified for 2x-10x.

 

[Maris]

Me too. I use a 135mm enlarging lens on an Omega D2V enlarger for 6x6, 6x7, 6x8, 6x9 negatives and have done so for years. I've standardised on 8x10 paper and all these negatives project well on it either full frame or moderately cropped. Another advantage for me is that the lens is higher from the paper and I can get my head and grain magnifier in there easily. And I like it that the lens f-stops are conveniently at eye level.
It's a bit of a conjecture but I think that just using the centre of the lens' image field ( rather than edges or corners) captures its sharpest performance. The enlarger's illumination, when adjusted for a big negative, is superbly even when covering small negatives. The only downside is not being able to do huge enlargements but I don't do those anyway.

 

[ic-racer]

I usually only use my 105mm for 6x9 when making a big enlargement. Otherwise, for my usual small size (6x9" image on 8x10" paper), the head is too close to the baseboard, maybe I'll hit my head on it. So I use the 150mm most of the time. For you the 135mm will be fine as long as you are making small prints.

 

[Eric Rose]

I use a Nikkor 135mm EL for all my prints up to 11x14. After that I pull out an 80mm or 90mm depending on neg dimensions.

 

[Tom Kershaw]

Using my MG500 system, longer lenses can give a bit more flexibility with exposure time, especially when dealing with small prints on faster papers.

 

[halfaman]

I did some years ago 8x10'' prints from 6x7 negatives with a 150 mm Componon-S lens. Beside the obvious problems coming from the column heigh the results were stunning. I purchase later a 105 mm Rodagon lens and stop using that lens.