Gnome Alpha De-Luxe Questions

[LeeJames]

Hi Everyone I inherited my father's Gnome Alpha De-Luxe enlarger which I remember making prints within the attic when I was 12, the enlarger works fine but has a wray 4" lens with a from f8 aperture. As I am using 35mm negs and want to print 8x10 with it I was wondering if anyone knows which brand of lens I could use, and the thread size I may need for it as I am thinking the thread is not a regular size? Any info about this enlarger and its lens size would be greatly appreciated. I can still work with teh 4"/100mm lens but I am sick of the enlarger being stuck to the ceiling lol

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

You will find it hard to go wrong with any of the 6-element 50mm/f2.8 big-3: Rodenstock Rodagon; Nikon El-Nikkor; Schneider Componon.

The 6-element 50/2.8 lenses made by (or at least badged by) the big camera makers will also be good choices.

There are also 4-element 50mm/f4.0&2.8 offerings: 50/4 El-Nikkor; Rodenstock Rogonar-S; Schneider Comparon. Preformance of this range of lenses is perfectly adequate.

And there are 3-element offereings: Rodenstock Rogonar; Schneider Componar; Isco Iscotar. OK for casual use where you aren't too critical.

When you change lenses you may need to change the condensers. I don't know if the Gnome's are adjustable or if you would have to purchase a new set for 35mm use.

I'm sure there are very good 4&6-element lenses from the UK lens makers. I'm not familiar with them, though, as they almost never cross the Atlantic.

 

[MattKing]

Welcome to Photrio.
Gnome enlargers appear to have been very popular in the UK, but not so common in other parts of the world.
A Google search indicates a few links from here on Photrio, and more on UK based FADU (Film and Darkroom User).
Particularly important facts like the thread size for fitted lenses would likely come from some of our UK based members, or the membership on FADU.
Otherwise, Nicholas Lindan's post above is full of good info.

 

[LeeJames]

I hope this isn’t a daft question now which has sprung up from your comment but inside the bowl of the enlarger is square piece of opaque glass is that the condenser? Because when I was looking at a replacement lense I saw one advertised on eBay that came with condensers that looked like lense attachments in style and I was then thinking where on earth do they fit and why is there not one fitted with my 4” Wray lens? I know the machine in question is exactly how it was when I was a child because I had to go up and get it down the system hadn’t been used in 4 decades.
My question therefor now 1. Is the opaque piece of glass the condenser? If not why do I not have one yet the enlarger still prints fine? Where does the condenser fit? Many thanks both of you already for answering my previous question

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

I think you mean 'Opal' glass, rather than 'Opaque' (if it is the latter the whole thing is a bit of a non-starter).

Opal glass is not a condenser. The condenser is one or more large glass lenses that go into the bottom of the lamp housing after removing the opal glass.

With opal glass the enlarger is called a 'diffusion enlarger' as the light is, well, diffuse. The opal glass is meant for use with 6x6/6x9cm negatives. With the opal glass it will take a longer time to print from 35mm negatives than it would if the enlarger had condensers. A diffusion enlarger will give slightly softer prints but this can be compensated for by using a contrastier grade of paper.

 

[LeeJames]

Wow that was amazingly quick reply. I remember printing 35mm prints with this enlarger exactly as it is but we always used small paper sizes like 5 x 7 but we definitely used 35mm and some slide negatives as well. No medium format though. So my choices are raise it up and use it as it was so I can print 8x10 or buy a 50mm lens. I heard that the gnome thread is not M39 which was my main concern but it seems that there are plenty of Wray 2”/50mm vintage lenses so hopefully the thread is the same as the Wray 4”/100mm that I have fitted now.