Which lenses to keep ?

Laurent · Jul 13, 2011

Hello all,

I've been lucky enough to get myself an LPL 7700 enlarger with multigrade head.

The enlarger came with two lenses : Rodagon 50/2.8 and 80/4.

I already have 3 Nikon lenses (50, 80 and 135) so I do not need the Rodagons.

My feeling is to keep the Nikons as I like them, and to sell the Rodagon, I just wanted to get your opinion on this, in case I'm heading for a mistake...

polyglot · Jul 13, 2011

The Rodagons are at least as good as the nikkors.

Edit: conversely, you may get more money by selling the Rodagons. They're all good enough that you're probably diffraction limited in normal B&W use so it doesn't matter which you keep; I'm assuming none are APOs.

Jeff Kubach · Jul 13, 2011

Why not keep all of them!

Jeff

perkeleellinen · Jul 13, 2011

Keep the lenses you like and have experience with.

eclarke · Jul 13, 2011

Make a couple of test prints between the Nikkors and the Rodagons and you will know..EC

MattKing · Jul 13, 2011

Confirm first that you don't need esoteric lens mounts for one or more of the Nikkors before you decide upon them.

Some lenses, because of their physical configuration, are harder then others to mount on certain enlargers.

Newt_on_Swings · Jul 14, 2011

Test test test! I remember reading in a published article awhile ago about the large amount of variation of sharpness from one enlarger lens to another, even from the same make and brand.

That said, I like my Rodagons and Componons more than the Nikkors I have used.Things like red light up F stops and stepless aperture switches are a plus and make things easier in the darkroom.

Laurent · Jul 17, 2011

Thanks for your insights. Looks like I will have to test a bit...

One very positive point is that all my lenses are threaded in 39mm, so I can mount all of them.

chimneyfinder · Jul 17, 2011

Hello, Laurent. If all the lenses are in equal condition then there shouldn't be any real difference in image quality up to @ 12 inch print. From there the Rodagons may have a slight edge at bigger enlargements. As said, though, individual lenses may show some variance from the originally designed performance. Therefore, if you do test and find differences at, say 10x8 then the poorer lens isn't performing as expected since none should show any 'fault' at this size.
FWIW, if you are going to sell a couple, my personal instinct would be to have the Rodenstocks as keepers (particularly the 80mm f4) if they are in good condition. I have Nikkor, Rodenstock, Schneider and Leitz lenses that I like, so I have no bias.
Regards, Mark Walker.

Which lenses to keep ?

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