Possible Omega II setup for medium format?

wasabifish · Apr 3, 2009

One of my neighbors has kindly asked if I would like to have his enlarger. It is a Omega DII enlarger, mounted on a 17.75" x 27" easel board, and it includes a 4x5 negative holder, 4x5 condenser, and a Elgeet Apos 127 mm, f 5.6, Colorstigmatic lens. I do not do any large format printing, and I'm wondering if this setup will work for my 6x6 medium format (black and white) work once I buy a 6x6 negative holder.

Thanks.

bdial · Apr 3, 2009

You have a very nice neighbor.
It will work fine, though you would probably want a shorter lens, which will also require a flat lens board rather than the cone that it's likely equipped with now.
The good news is that those bits, and the carriers are plentiful and fairly cheap on ebay.
With the 127 mm lens, the head will need to be fairly high to get an 8x10 or an 8x8 from a 6x6 negative. A shorter lens, say a 75 or 80mm will give you better magnification. These are considered "normal" for enlarging 6x6.

For medium format, that enlarger is designed to use a smaller condenser too, but it's not necessary.

Dan Henderson · Apr 3, 2009

I found that a 105 mm lens works best on my old D2 for 6x6. I also bought the medium format condenser set but have since gone to a cold light head so no longer use it.

wasabifish · Apr 3, 2009

So how important it is that I have a medium format condenser? Will it degrade the tone separation or contrast of the print significantly?

bdial · Apr 3, 2009

Not having it won't degrade anything, except the light output. The light will be spread across a 4x5 negative area, rather than being concentrated for the smaller negative. Consequently, your exposures will be slightly longer than they would otherwise be.

David Brown · Apr 4, 2009

I wouldn't bother with the condensers. Get the proper carrier, lens and lens mount and you're good! As said, an 80 or 75 will do. I often use the 105 myself, but it depends on how big you want to enlarge. Whatever you get, most of us will recommend a 6 element Schneider, Rodenstock or Nikkor. They are plentiful on the used market and not too expensive.

ic-racer · Apr 4, 2009

wasabifish said:
One of my neighbors has kindly asked if I would like to have his enlarger. It is a Omega DII enlarger, mounted on a 17.75" x 27" easel board, and it includes a 4x5 negative holder, 4x5 condenser, and a Elgeet Apos 127 mm, f 5.6, Colorstigmatic lens. I do not do any large format printing, and I'm wondering if this setup will work for my 6x6 medium format (black and white) work once I buy a 6x6 negative holder.

Thanks.

Should work fine, but your maximum print size will be limited. Eventually you can get an 80mm lens and appropriate condenser but you won't need those right away. Also, if the 4x5 carrier is glass, you can use that for 6x6 and start printing right away.

(The most fun step after a purchase like this is not looking for the 6x6 stuff for the enlarger, but looking for a 4x5 camera)

archphoto · Apr 4, 2009

Oeps........................... grin, grin

Possible Omega II setup for medium format?

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