Upgrade patterson enlarger lens

[avandesande]

I bought a crap patterson enlarger, looks like early 80s vintage. I am pretty happy with it but the three element lens is not very sharp. I was thinking of picking up a used El Nikkor 50 2.8. Will this make much of a difference? Does anyone know if the patterson will take a 39mm(thread size) lens? This seems to be the standard for a 50.

Thanks

 

[mikeg]

The El Nikkor 50mm 2.8 is an excellent lens, I'm sure that you'll notice a difference. Not sure what the thread on the old Patterson enlarger is, but I'd be surprised if it wasn't 39mm. Unscrew your existing lens and measure it, the 39mm refers to the diameter across the screw thread.

Cheers

Mike

 

[jimgalli]

Another sweetee is the Vivitar VHE series lenses. These can be sleepers especially in the 50mm size. They were 6 element Schneider lenses. Another sleeper series of lenses are branded Beseler Color Pro. Those were Computar 6 element.

 

[avandesande]

Thanks. Some times measuring threads can be tricky so I wanted to make sure. The other suggestions are good ones, I will have to do 'ebay analysis' tonight.

 

[Zathras]

I bought a crap patterson enlarger, looks like early 80s vintage. I am pretty happy with it but the three element lens is not very sharp. I was thinking of picking up a used El Nikkor 50 2.8. Will this make much of a difference? Does anyone know if the patterson will take a 39mm(thread size) lens? This seems to be the standard for a 50.

Thanks

You might also want to consider the Rodenstock Rodagon. I have an older one and it is a superb lens.

Mike Sullivan

 

[srs5694]

What sort of Paterson enlarger is it? The only Paterson enlargers I'm aware of are the PCS series (PCS2000 and PCS2500), which are identical to the Philips PCS series (PCS2000 and PCS130). I wouldn't describe these as "crap," unless of course yours has simply seen better days. This series definitely takes standard M39 enlarger lenses. FWIW, there's a Yahoo! group devoted to these enlargers, with manuals in the files section. I've also got a scan of another manual for them that's not on the Yahoo! group; tell me if you're interested in seeing it.

FWIW, my Philips PCS130 came with a Nikon El Nikkor 50mm f/4 that's not too great. This is a 4-element lens; the f/2.8 is a 6-element lens that's much better. I'm currently using my Philips with a Russian Industar-96U f/3.5. I don't know how this lens would compare to the likes of an El Nikkor f/2.8, Rodenstock Rodagon f/2.8, or a Schneider Componon f/2.8, but the Industar is much better than the El Nikkor f/4.

 

[Ronald Moravec]

My Phillips 2000 2 1/4 square and Phillips pcs 130 are very fine machines and I use them next to Leica enlargers and see no diffeence in final result.

Perhaps they need alignment? I had to elongate the mounting holes on the small one to level the head left to right as there was no provision made for user alignment and it was WAY off from the dealer.

The 6x7 PCS 130 is able to have the head and lens stage rotate for perspective control which is why I purchased it.

 

[dylder]

I used to have a late 70's small patterson enlarger ... Not real fancy but did a nice job. Chrome pole that screwed into the base, lens was on a plasic screw that was used to focus. Bought it from the Sears catalog. The lens used was standard 39mm thread on it.

 

[avandesande]

You nailed it, I guess I had my age off by a few years. Crude but it works.

I used to have a late 70's small patterson enlarger ... Not real fancy but did a nice job. Chrome pole that screwed into the base, lens was on a plasic screw that was used to focus. Bought it from the Sears catalog. The lens used was standard 39mm thread on it.

 

[Paul Sorensen]

Another sleeper lens to keep an eye opn for is the Minolta Rokkor X enlarger lens. I have an 80mm that is very nice and they tend to be a lot less expensive than the Nikkor, Rodenstock, and Schneider lenses. One thing to look out for is the fact that Nikkor, Rodenstock, and Schneider all make or made lower quality lenses as well. The Rodenstock Rodegon and Schneider Componon are the ones you want. Nikkor lenses are not as well labeled, they don't have a "cheap" model name like Schneider and Rodenstock. Be aware that many older Componons have a 25mm thread which is probably too small for your enlarger.

 

[avandesande]

I went with the nikkor, stills seems like the best value of the bunch (except for maybe the russian lens)

 

[Trask]

Gene Smith printed "Minamata" with a Minolta enlarging lens -- pretty good endorsement.