M Carter
Member
Just my .02, but if you want to know how your lens/lenses perform, at large or medium print sizes and at which apertures they excel - just do a dang test. You'll know in an afternoon. Many of us are using older gear without any info on its history of use (or abuse), some from an era when sample variation could be a factor. In my case, large lith prints with very long exposures, I've found enlarger alignment is what truly matters - I print with Nikkor 80 and 105's wide open for lith at 20x24, same with 135 Comp-S. No issues with softness/etc. But I have a Versalab and adjustable lens boards, such a great combo...
As for glass carriers, at heart they're 2 pieces of glass with a hinge, and potentially some sort of tab or shape that loosely registers them to the enlarger; I've made them for the 67C by butchering an unused 35mm carrier and cutting it open and adding some tape. I own a Beseler factory 4x5 glass carrier (MXT) and now I use a Radeka setup, but in all cases I've never needed ANR glass - YMMV of course, but heck, with 3D printing available, you could make a nice setup or hire some geeky kid to do the modeling for you.
As for glass carriers, at heart they're 2 pieces of glass with a hinge, and potentially some sort of tab or shape that loosely registers them to the enlarger; I've made them for the 67C by butchering an unused 35mm carrier and cutting it open and adding some tape. I own a Beseler factory 4x5 glass carrier (MXT) and now I use a Radeka setup, but in all cases I've never needed ANR glass - YMMV of course, but heck, with 3D printing available, you could make a nice setup or hire some geeky kid to do the modeling for you.