Enlarging Lens opinion

RichardJack · Oct 9, 2016

hi,
I plan on getting back into my darkroom for B&W developing and printing only. I don't intend making an new purchases, but I'd like to hear your opinions anyway.

For 6x6 negatives: 75mm f4 El Nikkor N
80mm f5.5 EL Nikkor N
80mm f5.6 Schneider Componons S
105mm f5.6 EL Nikkor N (for 6x7)

For 35mm negatives: 40mm f4 El Nikkor N
50mm f2.8 El Nikkor N

I'm using a Omega D2V condenser enlarger and a Omega B color head/diffusion enlarger. I have a drop counter and can easily make 16x20" prints, working height is not an issue.
My concern is corner to corner sharpness and image quality. For 8x10" and smaller prints would I get better results using a longer lens, 75-80 for 35mm?
I'm aware there are some great APO lenses out there now but which of these would you consider to be the best choice?

Thanks in advance.
Rick

Leigh B · Oct 9, 2016

I do everything from 35mm through 4x5 using a Beseler 45MXT.

All of my enlarging lenses are Schneider APO-Componon HM types.
I have all focal lengths from 45mm through 120mm.

I think they're definitely the best available.

- Leigh

Paul Howell · Oct 9, 2016

I have the Schneider 80 mm and do no have any issues with corner to corner sharpness at F8 to ll. For that matter my Wollensak 75mm is very sharp even at 5.6. For 35mm I use a Wollenak 50 4.5 or Schneider 60 5.6, have never used Nikon, by all accounts great lens. I plan on returning to color printing at which I time I may invest in couple of APO lens.

Johnkpap · Oct 9, 2016

All your lenses are fine, Nikon El-nikkor are some of the best lenses ever made !!

Don't get hung up on having APO "Magic bullet" lenses you will only see a difference enlarging 35mm above 16x20 and you will only see it ...maybe ....using a magnifying glass.

If you are doing color separation work for a offset printer......or poster size prints in color, then APO lenses may be required for this sort of work.

Spend your money on paper chem and film

Johnkpap

Leigh B · Oct 9, 2016

Johnkpap said:
If you are doing color separation work for a offset printer......or poster size prints in color, then APO lenses may be required...

When I bought the lenses I was doing Cibachromes using an additive (RGB) head.
The APO correction for RED was critical to the quality of the resulting prints.

I currently use an additive (GB) head for variable-contrast B&W printing, so the RED correction is irrelevant.
But it's still nice to know the lens quality is there.

Also, I'm a resolution freak in all formats (100 lp/mm), so I want the best available optics.
You'd be amazed how much detail can be resolved in ACROS 4x5, then transferred to a 16x20 print.

- Leigh

ic-racer · Oct 9, 2016

The 75mm El-Nikkor is a 4 element lens; I have never used that lens, all my EL-Nikkor lenses are 6-element. I'm guessing that lens will be good for 4x5" and 5x7" prints based on my experience with other 4-element enlarging lenses I have used.

No matter what lens or enlarger, a grain focuser the can 'see' the corners of your projected image takes huge amounts of guesswork out of making corner-to-corner sharp projection prints.

Svenedin · Oct 9, 2016

I think people worry far too much about enlarging lenses. Of course, it makes no sense to take good photographs on capable equipment and then use a poor enlarging lens but many of the mid range enlarging lenses are very capable. I used a Schneider Componar-S 50mm for 35mm and an 80mm for 6x6 for years back in the early 1990's (these are 4 element). In those days I would sometimes project on the floor to make poster sized prints and they worked fine. I still have them and use them sometimes. The only reason I moved "up" to the Componon-S (6 element) was the handy lever for switching between fully open and preset aperture (and a good deal on the price). I don't make huge enlargements these days, maybe 12x16 maximum (and rarely). I really can't tell the difference from the prints. I did buy a 105mm for 6x7 but I mainly use the 80mm and I've never noticed edge sharpness problems or light drop off. My enlarger is a Kaiser diffuser/condenser with mulitgrade head. Prior to that I used a condenser with filter drawer (with the same lenses).

Ron789 · Oct 9, 2016

Those are all excellent lenses. Even the EL-Nikkor 75mm F/4 produces excellent prints up to 12x16 (I have one and made test prints comparing it with other lenses).
You may notice some difference between the Schneider and the Nikkors: Nikkors tend to give a bit more contrast; some people love that, others find the images from Nikkor lenses too "harsh". Images from German lenses (Schneider, Leitz) tend to be a bit "smoother". But the differences are in fact quite minimal. All those lenses you have are capable of producing superb prints.

RichardJack · Oct 9, 2016

Thanks, I was suspect of the 75mm, it seems the "cheesiest" of all. My Componons is an early version it served me well when I was printing color, most of my Nikon's were purchased when film gear took a dive on EBay. I think they all were about $15 each. I have not wet printed since 2003 when I went digital, just bought up those EL Nikkors for a rainy day. Never tried them. My 105mm produced some wonderful macro images when used on my Nikon PB6 bellows. I bought a Coolscan 9000 to replace my darkroom, but it's just not the same.
Thanks for your input so far.
Rick

ac12 · Oct 9, 2016

The 40mm may be too short for 35mm. I would use the 50/2.8 for 35mm.
For 6x6, I would try the 3 lenses (75 and 80s) and see which one you like.

Is the Schnieder a COMPONON-S (the different names are so similar), if so I would be inclined to use that one.
But sometimes staying with an all Nikkor line might make things look more similar.

mshchem · Oct 10, 2016

I went nuts buying enlarger lenses when people started selling 600 dollar Rodagons and Every other lens for pennies on the dollar, last lens I got was a 240mm Companon -S perfect glass 65 bucks plus shipping.
I have used 50mm, 63mm, 80mm, 105mm, 135mm, 150mm El Nikkors all fabulous, currently I seem to have a love affair with Rodagons. One lens I used for 2 decades and still admire greatly is a Wollensak Graphic Raptar 161mm used it for 5x7 and 4x5.
Yes the 75mm and 50mm f 4 El Nikkors are 4 element lenses, but they are Damn nice glass even if they ain't very sexy. My first good enlarging lens was a 50mm f4 El Nikkor, in the bubble with the genuine 34.5mm Nikkor lens cap. In 1972 I probably paid close to 40 bucks for that lens .
Oh and somehow I've ended up with 5 Beseler 4x5 enlargers .
Best Regards Mike

RichardJack · Oct 11, 2016

Hi,
My Schneider is a Componon S, years back I had a Comparon (something like that) which came with a Durst enlarger. It was OK, nothing special. I've read about the 63mm El Nikkor, that is supposed to be one of their best if not their best. My 40mm was designed by Nikon for 24x36 for a maximum print size, but I tend to agree and think the 50mm must be better. When new I think it was almost twice the cost of the 50mm. I hope my enlarging paper is still good, I have about 20 boxes of sealed 100 & 250 sheet paper and many 11x14. They were throwing it away at work when they switched to digital 10 years ago. They surplused the Hasselblad's and Nikon's for a scrap price, being the government we were not allowed to touch it. That really hurt. All the darkroom equipment was tossed, all we got was film, paper, and chemicals.
Thanks for all the replies.

mshchem · Oct 11, 2016

RichardJack said:
Hi,
My Schneider is a Componon S, years back I had a Comparon (something like that) which came with a Durst enlarger. It was OK, nothing special. I've read about the 63mm El Nikkor, that is supposed to be one of their best if not their best. My 40mm was designed by Nikon for 24x36 for a maximum print size, but I tend to agree and think the 50mm must be better. When new I think it was almost twice the cost of the 50mm. I hope my enlarging paper is still good, I have about 20 boxes of sealed 100 & 250 sheet paper and many 11x14. They were throwing it away at work when they switched to digital 10 years ago. They surplused the Hasselblad's and Nikon's for a scrap price, being the government we were not allowed to touch it. That really hurt. All the darkroom equipment was tossed, all we got was film, paper, and chemicals.
Thanks for all the replies.

Like every great state or federal project everything gets scrapped. It happens at every university too. You can always try a little anti fog agent in the developer for the paper .I can't remember but I think the Companon is 6 element and the 'ron is 4?
Just get started
Best Regards Mike

DREW WILEY · Oct 13, 2016

The 75/4 El Nikkor stinks. But for 35mm film, you employ only the center of the optic, so it makes an excellent bargain lens for this limited purpose. It might be decent for 645 too. Otherwise, you can barely cover 6x6 without some corner unsharpness; so any 6x6 neg needs to be well centered in your carrier. Their conspicuously better lens is the 80/5.6. I really prefer longer than "normal" lenses anyway. My favorite is the 105 Apo Rodagon. It works well up to 6x9, and the difference in subtle texture or microtonality in the print versus conventional enlarger lenses is apparent. Color printing is a different subject, where it can sometimes be nice to have something with a little less contrast.

Luis-F-S · Oct 13, 2016

Try them all but I really doubt you'll see much- if any- difference.

outwest · Oct 13, 2016

Back when I set up my darkroom I purchased a couple of dozen enlarging lenses in different makes and different models and even multiples of the same model. I used Ctein's test regimen and the differences were quite striking in some cases and detectable in most - even among different samples of the same model. Some were lenses I had used for some time and thought were pretty good until I compared them with others. Ended up with a nice stable - different focal lengths, different makes. If you want to try to have good ones you must test.

Ronald Moravec · Oct 14, 2016

40 is probably a wide angle for 35mm, supposedly works on V35. Wide angle tend not to work with condensers, only diffusion. Have two, 45 Schneider and 40 focotar for V35. Both are superb on diffusion, not worth beans on condensers and I tried them on many of each. Can`t explain. Do not give up if yours only works on condenser.

flavio81 · Oct 14, 2016

RichardJack said:
For 6x6 negatives: 75mm f4 El Nikkor N
80mm f5.5 EL Nikkor N
80mm f5.6 Schneider Componons S
105mm f5.6 EL Nikkor N (for 6x7)

For 35mm negatives: 40mm f4 El Nikkor N
50mm f2.8 El Nikkor N

All those lenses are great lenses. For 35mm you could use the 50/2.8 Nikkor, it is very reputed. I own one but have not tried it yet.

For 6x6 the EL-Nikkor-N and the Componon-S are highly regarded, even more the latter. I'd pick the 105 just so in the future you can do even 6x9 if you like. Otherwise pick the 80.

I think all the lenses you've listed are more than good enough and the alignment of your enlargmenet and your technique will matter a bit more.

Neil Poulsen · Nov 7, 2016

I would give the nod towards the 105mm El Nikkor for medium format, and maybe one of the 80mm's or the 50mm f2.8 El Nikkor for 35mm. I like to go a little larger than normal for enlarging.

During the period of time when enlarging lenses became really inexpensive, I managed to pick up all Apo Rodagons for enlarging. (50mm, 105mm, 180mm, and 240mm (process).) It's all good and well to have Apo lenses. But to get their advantages, you need to have a very well adjusted enlarger (all planes parallel, etc.) and use glass negative carriers.

But even if, say, your not using glass negative carriers, it's still possible to get very nice results with the above lenses. Do your best though, to make the easel, lens, and negative planes all parallel.

ruilourosa · Nov 8, 2016

I´ve got an array of enlarging lenses, from the cheesiest to apo. I like nikkor but the differences from nikkor to apo componon hm to apo rodagon to meogon to rokkor, even to anaret s are very very slim specially up to 40x50 (from 35mm). in larger formats i have fewer lenses but they all seem nice, from 135mm nikkor to 150 and 180 componon and a 210 rodagon and even a 240 g-claron for 8*10! use the ones with 5 or six elements and you will be fine! use glass carriers and align your enlarger!!

see Ctein book and Barry Thorton book

one surprise were the meopta czech lenses: cheap and quite good, anaret being very good and meogon being excellent!!!!! i have several and they are very good!!!

stop 2 to 3 stops down

i use durst enlargers and glass carriers from 35 to 8x10

Enlarging Lens opinion

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