Using 150mm lens for enlarging med. format?

Christopher Colley · Jan 30, 2005

Greetings! I recently acquired an Omega D-II and it didnt come with any lenses but it came with 2 lens boards, one the flat one and one 4" cone.

I have a 50mm lens for printing 35mm now and it just barely works for printing a 6x6 but with very little working room (about 6 inches) and it needs a big stack of books to set the easel on to even bring the image high enough to fit onto an 8"x8" print.

I also plan to to enlarge 4"x5" sometime soon. I was wondering how the working conditions and possibility of using a 150mm lens (with either the cone, or flat lens board) would be for enlarging both 4x5 and medium format negs? I would like to keep the 50mm lens for only 35mm and maybe use the 150 for medium format and 4x5.

If I were to use it im guesing id have to push my enlarger unit really high, I normally wouldnt print any larger than 8x10, rarely 11x14... Would a 150mm lens be acceptable for printing medium format (up to 6x7) and 4x5?

Nick Zentena · Jan 30, 2005

The 150mm is the natural lens for 4x5. It'll work just fine. For 6x6 you'll be limited in the max size of print and like you guessed will have the head up high. In short it'll work. But if it was me I'd keep my eye out for a used Nikon 80mm lens. It won't cost much. While you're looking just use the 150mm. It won't be ideal .

Tom Duffy · Jan 30, 2005

Christopher,
I don't have a medium format lens, and print my 6X4.5 with a 150mm lens. My enlarger, a saunders 4550XL, must be at full height to make an 8x10, with no cropping possible. With the price of used lenses comming down, I'm ready to take Nick's advice.
Take care,
Tom

rbarker · Jan 30, 2005

Another option would be to get a 135mm lens that has sufficient coverage for 4x5 for use with the 4" cone. That would lower the head position a bit for both 4x5 and medium format compared to the 150mm lens. An 80mm (or thereabouts) lens in a flat lens board for medium format would still be ideal, of course. But the 135 might give you a little more flexibility than the 150.

Ian Grant · Feb 3, 2005

Christopher

I have a few spare 105mm Shnieder enlarger lenses, you can have one if you cover the cost of postage. They cost me nothing. Would be far better for Medium Format & cover up to 6x9cm

They came on a lens turret assembly from a professional labs Durst printer/enlarger, I was given the lot so I could remove & use the 135mm for my 5"x4" enlarger.

blackmelas · Feb 3, 2005

I have an Omega D-3 with 50mm on a flat board, and a 135mm on a 4" cone. With the 135mm, I can cover a 4x5 well and enlarge a 6x6 to just under 11"x11" with the top of the enlarger head touching the ceiling.

Check out Harry Taylor at http://www.classic-enlargers.com/ . Harry was very helpful and knowledgable about Omegas and his service was fast. I've ordered an 80mm with a 1 1/2" cone for more flexibility with my 6x6's. I'll let you know how the product is as soon as I get it in the next week or so.
James

modafoto · Feb 3, 2005

I use an 80 mm lens for 35 mm work which is great. So a 150 for med. format should be ok.

MSchuler · Feb 3, 2005

I set up a darkroom about six months ago using an Omega D5 that came with cheap 75mm and 50mm lenses. I got a Schneider Componon-s 135mm lens because I couldn't easily get close enough to print postcards or small test prints and it has worked wonderfully for full-frame medium format prints. The only downside is forgetting to change the condenser location when using a shorter lens.

Mark_Minard · Feb 3, 2005

modafoto said:
I use an 80 mm lens for 35 mm work which is great. So a 150 for med. format should be ok.

Yes, it'll work, but working distance will become an issue. I use a 100 Schneider for 6X6 and my enlarger head is higher than I like. I should probably just use the Deardorff 8X10 I bought in 2000, and make contact prints!

blackmelas · Feb 4, 2005

blackmelas said:
Check out Harry Taylor at http://www.classic-enlargers.com/ . Harry was very helpful and knowledgable about Omegas and his service was fast. I've ordered an 80mm with a 1 1/2" cone for more flexibility with my 6x6's. I'll let you know how the product is as soon as I get it in the next week or so.

It was only one week from payment across the Atlantic to my door. Cheers to Harry... and the USPS! My new El Nikor 80mm covers a 6x6 and then some. I can project to 24" square-- more than I need.
James

stinkjet · Mar 15, 2005

modafoto said:
I use an 80 mm lens for 35 mm work which is great. So a 150 for med. format should be ok.

It'll be OK if you don't mind having the enlarger head at max elevation to do an 8x10 print. NO it's NOT OK. Sorry to be a kill joy, but for cryin' out loud, just get an 80mm from someone.

stinkjet

Eric Rose · Mar 15, 2005

I quite often use a 135mm lens but 150 is a bit long IMHO.

André E.C. · Mar 15, 2005

I use El Nikkors 50 and 75mm, for 35mm and MF!
Seems perfect to me.

Cheers

André

Phillip P. Dimor · Mar 15, 2005

I use a 135mm Fujinon EX for 645, 66, 67 and 4x5 on my Omega D2.
If I want to print 11x14's or larger, I need to use a Nikkor 80mm enlarging lens.
I like using a longer lens though, more even illumination I believe..
Also my Nikkor lens might be a dog because the Fujinon lens blows it away..
Just my $0.02...

Nige · Mar 15, 2005

Phillip P. Dimor said:
Also my Nikkor lens might be a dog because the Fujinon lens blows it away..

I inherited a 90/5.6 Fujinon EX with an enlarger purchase and reckon it's as good or better than my 80/4 Schneider. Not much info about them around, it's probably meant to cover 6x9cm but I put it in my 4x5 enlarger and couldn't see any falloff. Never made a print though.

Phillip P. Dimor · Mar 15, 2005

Nige, The Fujinon EX series are their top-of-the-line enlarging lenses with EBC coating.
I believe 5 elements but I could be wrong. Truly excellent lenses!

wildbill · Mar 15, 2005

I use a 135mm componon-s on a D-II for both 4x5 and 6x7. It allows a 16x20 print on the baseboard from 4x5 and 11x14 prints from 6x7 negs. You'll need to get a 2 1/2 inch cone for the 135mm though.

George Papantoniou · Apr 1, 2005

Some fime printers opt for enlarger lenses longer than the "normal" lens for each negative size. You see, the lens coverage circle in this case will be far larger than the surface of the negative and you avoid to use the lense's "problematic" peripheral part which is subject to aberrations (astigmatism). Using the center part of the lens will give you better image quality...
If you print a 6x6 neg with an 80mm and a 150mm lens of the same quality, the second one shall give you the best results. You still have to resolve the max magnification problem. If your enlarger head is too high, vibration might cause you problems, so be careful...

photobackpacker · Apr 1, 2005

In the early days of my photographic experience (30 years ago) conventional advice was to use the same size enlarging lens as the film format's "normal" lens. When I was setting up my darkroom 25 years ago, there was a lot of "new" advice encouraging the use of a lens slightly longer than that for printing. The logic was that you will rely less on the extreme edges of lens coverage and thus will be less likely to suffer the various aberrations that occur as you approach the "outer limits."

Fred Picker, the founder and principle evangelist for Zone VI was a strong proponent of this. In fact, I just dug out one of the old Zone VI catelogs and in it, he list the 80, 100, 135 and 150 as the recommended enlarging lenses for 35, 2 1/4, 2 1/3 x 3 1/4 and 4x5 respectively.

I can't testify to the soundness of this advice and have discovered that Fred tended to get a "wee bit" dogmatic on issues that I now understand are clearly personal preference (like the "perfect proof" concept.) : )

Be that as it may, I print my 6x7 (2 1/4 x 3 1/4) with a 100mm and my 4x5 with a 150mm and feel comfortable that I am not being held back my my equipment. I recall trying to print the 6x7 with the 150 and found that I was at the upper reaches of the enlarger and that exposure times were exceeding my personal preferance.

Once I have satisfied myself that all of my equipment is optimum - I can embrace the philosophy: "We have met the enemy and he is me!"

Using 150mm lens for enlarging med. format?

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