Saunders enlarger and Schneider lens question

[What About Bob]

Good day everyone.

My LPL Saunders C6600 enlarger arrived today from eBay. I also purchased a Schneider 80mm F4 Componon-S lens to go with this enlarger. I have heard good reviews on this lens so I thought to grab one at KEH. Glass looks really nice and I am so very excited with getting back into doing print work after being away from analog photography for so long.

I am really not sure how the set up for the Saunders enlarger is with lenses. I could not locate the company online to get more information about how to connect the Schneider lens to it and I came up dry with Google searching.

The specs for the Schneider lens mentions that it takes a 43mm lens cap and that the back is a 39mm thread. I went to measure my rings that I had for my two old lenses, an El-Omegar 50mm lens and a Fujinon-ES 75mm lens that went to my old Omega B66, and converted the inches to millimeters and I appear to have 44.5mm rings. These are too big for the back of the Schneider lens.

I am feeling that I may be in need of an extra piece to mate this lens to this enlarger? The Schneider lens I bought at KEH didn’t come with any rings, nor did it come with any lens caps. I’m thinking that standard push-type caps should work fine?

If anyone would know the missing piece needed that would be super.

 

[AgX]

I have not come across a Schneider lens cap other than a plain push-on type.

But of course you can use a screw-in cap. These seem rare, but you could use a filter instead.
Or a snap-in cap.

 

[What About Bob]

Thanks AgX

I will give that a go.

 

[GregY]

I'm pretty sure, (like other enlargers) you need an LPL lensboard to mount your lens on... http://store.khbphotografix.com/LPL-Lens-Mounts/

 

[bdial]

According to KHB, the 6600 has a built-in threaded lensboard (39mm), so you shouldn't need any retaining ring, just screw the lens into the enlarger. link
I never use lens caps with my enlarging lenses. When the lens is mounted in the enlarger, it's not prone to collecting dust since it's facing downward, and enlarging lenses get less handling in general than camera lenses. I keep my lenses in re-usable food containers from the grocery store when they aren't mounted. Since the 6000 doesn't have a removable board (apparently), you could store the lens in the bubble case if it came with one. If you didn't get a bubble case, Rubbermaid, Glad or similar food container jars work well, and come in lots of different sizes.
As for lens caps, as AgX says, I've never seen any Schneider cap that wasn't a simple, plastic push-on cap usually embossed with their logo. New ones are available, or often camera shops have drawers full of random used ones.

 

[ozphoto]

Only 1 of my Schneider's came in a "bubble" container, that the lens screws into - hence no rear lens cap. As @bdial said, the front ones have Schneider on them, but any 43mm lens cap should fit or, as previously suggested, store in a Glad bag or another suitable container (the Sista system is a good one - they come in a variety of sizes.)

The 105mm Schneider I have is a much smaller, older version that I picked up online - no "bubble" just its original box and front "push on" cap.

And the 150mm has no box or push on cap at all, but I found an old Canon cap that fits perfectly and I use a Schwarzkopf Styling Gel container that I cleaned up to store it; works perfectly!

 

[What About Bob]

The lens just keeps turning. It doesn't screw in. Hmmm. Maybe the back of the lens isn't 39mm?

I do have the bubble wrap that came with the lens. KEH did a great job on packing this lens.

Good to know I don't have to worry about caps that much. That does relieve me and save me more money.

 

[ozphoto]

The lens just keeps turning. It doesn't screw in. Hmmm. Maybe the back of the lens isn't 39mm?

I do have the bubble wrap that came with the lens. KEH did a great job on packing this lens.

Good to know I don't have to worry about caps that much. That does relieve me and save me more money.

I had to get a retaining ring for my 105mm to fit because it was a smaller thread (I have an LPL as well).

 

[What About Bob]

Here is the lens I bought: https://www.keh.com/shop/80-f4-componon-s-39-mt-lens-1.html

 

[ozphoto]

Here is the lens I bought: https://www.keh.com/shop/80-f4-componon-s-39-mt-lens-1.html

That's odd as it is a 39mm thread and that model is definitely a 39mm Leica thread. Just out of interest, sometimes the lens has a ring attached - my 50mm f2.8 did and I had to remove it to attach to my 7700.

 

[ozphoto]

And in case you need an instruction book:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jhzebjm7h6jzoe9/LPL_6600.pdf?dl=0

 

[What About Bob]

ozphoto

HOLY COW! YOU ROCK!

Yes, there was a ring in the back that I had to remove. Once I removed it, the lens screwed right in there.

Thanks!

 

[ic-racer]

 

[ozphoto]

Great! Glad it was something easy - have fun!

 

[What About Bob]

Thanks AgX, GregY, bdial, ozphoto and ic-racer for all of your help.

 

[What About Bob]

Thanks ozphoto for the manual.

 

[markbau]

I believe capping your enlarger lens is VERY important, yes it faces down so wont collect dust as much but we use chemicals in the darkroom that emit fumes which can attack the coating on lenses. My advice would be to always cap your enlarging lenses.

 

[ozphoto]

eB** has several for sale:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_udlo&_udhi&_ftrt=901&_ftrv=1&_sabdlo&_sabdhi&_samilow&_samihi&_dmd=1&_ipg=200&_fosrp=1&_nkw=43mm schneider lens cap&LH_PrefLoc=2&_sop=15&_clu=2&_fcid=1&_localstpos&_stpos&gbr=1&_zpclkd=1

And a generic one from Germany:

https://www.ebay.de/itm/Universal-A...204848&hash=item5d8a0f952e:g:vnYAAOSw6EhUP5nG

 

[MattKing]

And if you are stuck for an enlarging lens cap, food/Saran wrap and a rubber band will probably do the job.
Don't lose that 39mm retaining ring. It can come in very useful if you upgrade your enlarger.

 

[AgX]

Concerning caps, I take any I come across, as lenes I buy mostly have none.
Heliopan offers a wide range of push-on caps from 15-120mm.