Practical to convert an Omega B22 enlarger to a copy stand?

[PhilBurton]

If I want to do DSLR scanning for my 127 (yes, 127) and 120 format negatives, is it practical to convert a B22 enlarger with condenser light head?

The camera setup would be a Nikon D3 + Nikon 55 mm f2.8 Micro Nikkor.

Phil

 

[runswithsizzers]

Post #6 of <this thread> shows a Saunders enlarger head being used to help copy film with a digital camera.

 

[David Brown]

If you can find the part, Omega actually made a T-mount adapter for the B22. One takes the lamp house off, and the adapter mounts on the negative stage. With the proper T-mount body adapter, practically any SLR can be mounted to make this an excellent copy stand, using enlarging lenses.


http://store.khbphotografix.com/Copy-Camera-Adapter-for-Omega-B22-B66-B600-and-C700-Enlargers.html

 

[Kino]

If I want to do DSLR scanning for my 127 (yes, 127) and 120 format negatives, is it practical to convert a B22 enlarger with condenser light head?

The camera setup would be a Nikon D3 + Nikon 55 mm f2.8 Micro Nikkor.

Phil

Do you want to retain the lamp house as the light source? The adapter mentioned above will turn the enlarger into a good copy stand, but it would require removing the lamp house and placing it under the enlarger head and rigging a negative carrier to hold your negatives.

 

[PhilBurton]

Do you want to retain the lamp house as the light source? The adapter mentioned above will turn the enlarger into a good copy stand, but it would require removing the lamp house and placing it under the enlarger head and rigging a negative carrier to hold your negatives.

No I don't want to retain the lamp house as the light source. Heck, I might even sell that part off. All I want is that adapter.

Phil

 

[Kino]

Your lucky day...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Omega-Came...963640?hash=item2162876eb8:g:tboAAOSwe41dgnqC

 

[PhilBurton]

Do you want to retain the lamp house as the light source? The adapter mentioned above will turn the enlarger into a good copy stand, but it would require removing the lamp house and placing it under the enlarger head and rigging a negative carrier to hold your negatives.

So that specific part is just not available. But here is what I'm thinking. I can buy a lens mount on eBay for say $10+, US. So I buy that part, and then I go to a machine shop and have them fit a female Nikon mount. The really expensive part is if I would need a 105 mm Nikon Micro Nikkor. That might require approval from my "Chief Financial Officer."

 

[PhilBurton]

Your lucky day...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Omega-Came...963640?hash=item2162876eb8:g:tboAAOSwe41dgnqC

Kino,

Amazing, since I myself checked eBay not two hours ago, and I didn't see that listing. No matter, I have already bought it. With shipping, $17. A lot cheaper than buying a lens mount and then having it modified at a local machine shop. Now I just need to find the right lens adapter. I have to wade through the usual pages and pages of Amazon listings for stuff I'm not interested in. (I hate, hate, hate, the Amazon search function.)

 

[Kino]

Kino,

Amazing, since I myself checked eBay not two hours ago, and I didn't see that listing. No matter, I have already bought it. With shipping, $17. A lot cheaper than buying a lens mount and then having it modified at a local machine shop. Now I just need to find the right lens adapter. I have to wade through the usual pages and pages of Amazon listings for stuff I'm not interested in. (I hate, hate, hate, the Amazon search function.)

I am not getting where you are going with this: 105mm macro nikkor?

The adapter is designed to mount your camera in place of the lamp house so you can use the existing bellows and enlarging lens for macro work.

From the KHB site:

"By removing the lamp house and installing this Copy Camera Adapter to attach your camera body, you can turn your Omega B-22, B-66, B-600, or C-700 enlarger into a copy camera. Enlarging lenses from 50mm to 90mm focal length can be used to achieve a wide range of magnifications and reductions. The two holes at the rear of the adapter plate fit over the locating pins at the rear of the negative stage. The knurled screw is then used to secure the adapter in position. The kit includes the adapter plate, securing screw, T-mount adapter ring, and instructions.


Note: A T-mount, available elsewhere, is required to mount your camera body to the adapter... "

Enlarging lenses are designed for doing flat-field work, whereas the Macro Nikkor is less specialized in that regard. They are great performers, but not designed specifically for flat-field work.

I would encourage you to simply buy an inexpensive T-Mount adapter and do some testing with a good 50 to 90mm enlarging lens before sinking a lot of money into a Macro Nikkor, unless you are just trying to find a way to justify the lens to the significant other!

Something like this should work: https://www.ebay.com/itm/VIVITAR-T-...111008&hash=item5444bbd31c:g:PM0AAOSwXEdaandS

 

[PhilBurton]

I am not getting where you are going with this: 105mm macro nikkor?

The adapter is designed to mount your camera in place of the lamp house so you can use the existing bellows and enlarging lens for macro work.

I actually have the Nikon PB-2 Bellows (and the slide copier that goes with the PB-2). Only issue is that my D3 won't mount on the PB-2 due to the protruding prism housing. So I could use some kind of extension tube to get enough extra spacing so that the D3 will mount properly. Now with that setup, I can probably use my old 50 mm El Nikkor lens to do the actual copying. But I need this setup to scan some 127 format (from my childhood) and 120 format negatives, in other words, less than 1:1 copying. I'm afraid that the minimum distance between the lens and the focal plane will be too much for say an 87% or a 60% magnification.

From the KHB site:

"By removing the lamp house and installing this Copy Camera Adapter to attach your camera body, you can turn your Omega B-22, B-66, B-600, or C-700 enlarger into a copy camera. Enlarging lenses from 50mm to 90mm focal length can be used to achieve a wide range of magnifications and reductions. The two holes at the rear of the adapter plate fit over the locating pins at the rear of the negative stage. The knurled screw is then used to secure the adapter in position. The kit includes the adapter plate, securing screw, T-mount adapter ring, and instructions.


Note: A T-mount, available elsewhere, is required to mount your camera body to the adapter... "

understood.

Enlarging lenses are designed for doing flat-field work, whereas the Macro Nikkor is less specialized in that regard. They are great performers, but not designed specifically for flat-field work.

I would encourage you to simply buy an inexpensive T-Mount adapter and do some testing with a good 50 to 90mm enlarging lens before sinking a lot of money into a Macro Nikkor, unless you are just trying to find a way to justify the lens to the significant other!

Good point. Forget my idea about the 105 mm Micro Nikkor. I just took a look at eBay. Here is what I found. My question is: how do I know if any of these lenses have the right screw mount for my B-22 enlarger:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-IN-BOX...a088:g:mC8AAOSwXXBdoPb~&LH_ItemCondition=1000
https://www.ebay.com/itm/75mm-F3-5-...c310:g:95MAAOSw1S9dLYF-&LH_ItemCondition=1000
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Schnid...1837:g:O~UAAOSwY3tbT16e&LH_ItemCondition=1000

I have plenty of time before I would need to use this setup, so I can easily set up a search on ebay and get the right lens.

Something like this should work: https://www.ebay.com/itm/VIVITAR-T-...111008&hash=item5444bbd31c:g:PM0AAOSwXEdaandS

 

[Kino]

The B22 can take any enlarging lens that has a retaining ring with the right lens board. "Miniature" formats tend to need a recessed lens board to make reasonable sized enlargements, so it looks like the

421-006 Recessed Lens Mount - 32.5mm hole
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...t=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_osacat=0&_odkw=nikon+f301

421-007 Recessed Lens Mount - 25mm hole
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...LH_TitleDesc=0&_osacat=0&_odkw=omega+421-006+

boards are what you should be using

Again KHB has a lot of information on their website; even if you don't purchase from them, it is a valuable resource.
http://www.khbphotografix.com/omega/Enlargers/B22.htm

Look on pages 8 & 9 of the B22 manual for their recommended enlarger lenses. Of course, these will be older lenses, but you should be able to use this information to compare them to more modern lenses and make a choice.
http://www.jollinger.com/photo/cam-coll/manuals/enlargers/omega/Enlarger Chassis B-22.pdf

Good luck!

 

[PhilBurton]

Kino,

Thank you so, so, so much for these links. The B22 manual alone was worth the price of admission. (I just renewed my subscription for another year.)

I think at this point I should probably step back and make a pile of all the enlarger-related items I have, including the Copy Camera Adapter I just bought. Then I'll do some quick measurements and see if I do need another lens of if my 50 mm EL Nikkor is sufficient. To be clear, I'm not intending to use the B22 to copy 35 mm slides and negatives. For that I have my Nikon 5000 enlarger.

It may be a while before I post again on this topic, because I'm about to start a high priority project for probably two months or longer.

Phil