Used Nikkor enlarger lens sold for $3000 on e-Bay

gr82bart · May 24, 2009

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130302389333

Seriously?!?

Regards, Art.

jolefler · May 24, 2009

Holy Moly....

Guess I'll stick with my cheapo Schneider-Kreuznach lenses.

Jo

WGibsonPhotography · May 24, 2009

I'll have to remember this in case I ever find one of those lenses at a yard sale or the photo flea market in nearby huntsville

E76 · May 24, 2009

Supposedly the Apo Nikkor is the one of the rarest and best enlarging lenses ever made, so I can understand why it went for the price it did—not that I'd ever pay that much for one.

David A. Goldfarb · May 24, 2009

It's an Apo El-Nikkor. That's what they cost.

Christopher Walrath · May 24, 2009

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9000/4.6.0.167 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102 UP.Link/6.3.0.0.0)

Whose lens was it and was it signed?

Rick A · May 24, 2009

Is that lens made of solid gold/ Does it use rare earth elements? does it set up and make perfect prints on its own? I dont think I have 10% of that in my entire darkroom, and I have three enlargers and five Schneider lenses!!!! I guess i should be selling not buying ---- SHEESH

Fotoguy20d · May 24, 2009

I wonder how much of the $40+ in shipping is for insurance...

bdial · May 24, 2009

Why it's special is mentioned in the thread about Ctein's test of enlarging lenses. The APO 105 is not your garden variety enlarger lens.
Even when your garden grows Schneiders and Rodenstocks.

Whether it's worth it in practical terms is a whole different argument. It wouldn't be to me, but that's obviously not the case for some ebay buyer.

Jeff Kubach · May 24, 2009

It must be one hell of a lens. No way I can afford it!

Jeff

darinwc · May 24, 2009

hmm I think I have one shoved in a junk drawer somewhere..

darinwc · May 25, 2009

No really I do have one (its not in my junk drawer though)
I could sure use some $ for some other gear, do you think if I put my 105mm APO EL NIkkor on ebay it would go for anything close to that?

Michael Finder · May 25, 2009

I love it! The defence rests. No more questions Your Honour. Canon et al, eat your hearts out! Makes me feel warm and fuzzy about my el-nikkors (not quite the APO's though). Cheers Michael.

bill spears · May 25, 2009

I'd love to know if it'd be possible ..... perhaps using scientific testing - to determine where this lens excels in image quality over another prime quality 6 element enlarging lens ?

I have an almost new Scnieder 150mm APO which i bought on fleabay for a giveaway price a while ago. Have never used it though as I need a differrent lens mount for the Devere. Be interesting to do some tests.

archphoto · May 25, 2009

Acording to a thread here, I can not find it, the new price was $ 7000,- and extremly rare so this price is actualy prety good.
It seems to be designed for NASA and is color fully corrected. Nikon stoped making them about 5 years ago.

Peter

RobertV · May 25, 2009

OK let's try for my rare 2,8/80mm Meogon lens from Meopta produced in Prerov (Special KGB product).

For 3000,- I am selling it. Completly color corrected and an aperture of 2,8 where even Rodenstock or Schneider-Kreutznach doesn't have an equivalent.

jelke · May 25, 2009

RobertV said:
OK let's try for my rare 2,8/80mm Meogon lens from Meopta produced in Prerov (Special KGB product).

For 3000,- I am selling it. Completly color corrected and an aperture of 2,8 where even Rodenstock or Schneider-Kreutznach doesn't have an equivalent.

KGB product?
i just bought a minty 2,8/80mm meogon lens for 30...

RobertV · May 25, 2009

i just bought a minty 2,8/80mm meogon lens for 30...

A few years ago I bought it for KCz 850,- including the label: KGB approved by Зинченко exchange strickly forbidden. :rolleyes:

Ed Sukach · May 25, 2009

Once upon a time...

While walking down Mass. Ave. in Cambridge I was accosted by an enterprising type, who, so stereotypically it was nearly hilarious, opened his great coat to display a number of wristwatches (? ..or ?) pinned to its lining.

Accoster: Man, I'm selling these watches.

Me: Oh yeah? To who?

A: To you.

M: No. Won't happen.

I have to wonder ... Not that I would have the slightest doubt about the absolute integrity of each and every transaction on "The bay" ... but...

bobwysiwyg · May 25, 2009

Before I would wish for such a lens, I would first wish for the ability to discern the difference in print quality between it and the lens I now use.

Michel Hardy-Vallée · May 25, 2009

As David said above, the price for that lens is right. Obviously, in one's kitchen makeshift darkroom setup, where the enlarger head is not always aligned, and where prints do not go beyond 8x10 in B&W, the real payoff would be negligible.

But if you were to print colour, to make giant enlargements, dye transfer matrices, colour separations for an art magazine, and so on, then the payoff in precision would probably reveal itself.

In his test (published in Post Exposure), Ctein measured that the corner falloff at optimal aperture was 0.1 stop, and visible distortion was 0%. This was the only lens with no measurable flare, and no detectable aberrations of any type, nor decentering.

So in other words, it means that this is a lens for which QC is outstanding. A professional lab, a pre-press shop, or something similar would have seen it as an investment to avoid any potential trouble further down the line.

Even considering those factors, Ctein says that he did not need it to make excellent colour separations for dye transfer! So I guess very few people really need the ultimate in quality.

BTW, 3k$ is the price of a new Summicron ASPH. I suppose if you're willing to spend that kind of money on the lens you use for your negatives, then you should spend proportionally on the lens you use to print these precious shots...

dougjgreen · May 25, 2009

Michel Hardy-Vallée said:
In his test (published in Post Exposure), Ctein measured that the corner falloff at optimal aperture was 0.1 stop, and visible distortion was 0%. This was the only lens with no measurable flare, and no detectable aberrations of any type, nor decentering.

Why on earth would flare be an issue for an enlarging lens?

Alex Bishop-Thorpe · May 25, 2009

dougjgreen said:
Why on earth would flare be an issue for an enlarging lens?

The lens is also certified 100% dinosaur proof. Just because it's unlikely doesn't mean it couldn't happen...

Joking aside, wow. Nice to see there's still this sort of appreciation out there for a top of the line lens. Very informative thread too.

wiltw · May 25, 2009

bdial said:
Why it's special is mentioned in the thread about Ctein's test of enlarging lenses. The APO 105 is not your garden variety enlarger lens.
Even when your garden grows Schneiders and Rodenstocks.

Whether it's worth it in practical terms is a whole different argument. It wouldn't be to me, but that's obviously not the case for some ebay buyer.

Ctein even says he isn't quite sure why this lens is needed (he doesn't use any true APO lens (which this APO El Nikkor is) for his critical work. And while he describes it as one of the most perfect enlarging lenses made with no abberations, and 'true APO' without longitudinal chromatic abberations (like other APO lenses) yet it suffers from greater diffraction (due to its maximum f/5.6) than other enlarging lenses that have f/4.

Michel Hardy-Vallée · May 25, 2009

dougjgreen said:
Why on earth would flare be an issue for an enlarging lens?

Flare = lessening of contrast in projected image = crap.

Flare-causing light in this situation is BEHIND the lens, not before.

Used Nikkor enlarger lens sold for $3000 on e-Bay

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Used Nikkor enlarger lens sold for $3000 on e-Bay

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