Making prints with 70mm enlarger lens

thisispants · Aug 15, 2010

Hi,

I recently bought a cheap ($10) old enlarger from a garage sale.

It has a 70mm lens and it only has a medium format negative carrier....

Which is all fine except I only really shoot 35mm film. Is it possible to make a decent print from a 35mm negative with a 70mm enlarger lens? I understand a 50mm enlarger lens is ideal for a 35mm negative.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Poohblah · Aug 15, 2010

Yes, but you might find your enlarger head won't rise high enough to get large enlargements, and you may not be able to focus properly on the small enlargements. Try it and see.

fotch · Aug 16, 2010

It will work, give it a try. Probably need to make or modify the negative carrier to handle 35mm so it doesn't curl to much.

Steve Smith · Aug 16, 2010

I use an 80mm lens for 35mm negatives normally but I don't often print larger than 12" x 16".

Steve.

Jesper · Aug 16, 2010

70mm is not a problem.
The negative carrier might bee. Make sure that you can get the negative flat, and try making some kind of frame (cardboard or foil will usually do) to cut out the light from outside the negative.
Everything should work just fine.

Making prints with 70mm enlarger lens

thisispants

Poohblah

fotch

Steve Smith

Jesper

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