enlarger lenses for 6x7, 6x9 negatives

Suggestions for enlarger lenses for 6x7, 6x9 negatives have been from

a 80mm to 105mm. I have a D5 and wish to make possible 16x20 or

20x24 prints. I do not wish to project floor mounted images nor do I

have a drop away base. I wish to use the rise & fall of the Omega

(head) enlarger in its traditional operation. What lenses would you

suggest in order to accomplish the above. I also wish to have an

enlarger lenses which maximizes the mentioned negatives. Perhaps I'm

asking to much. Your suggestions would be welcomed. thank you--

Raymond

If you wish to use a shorter focal length than the 'normal'for a given neg size, you'll have to either find one that covers the neg to the corners, or give up part of the neg.

The shortest lens you want to use for 6x7 is a 90mm, and for 6x9 you need a 105mm.<br>To calculate how much throw you need with these lenses, you first need to work out the magnification.<p>To get a 16" (406 mm) high print from a 56 mm high negative is a magnification of 7.25 times, and the throw between baseboard and negative carrier is approximately given by (M+1)*f.<br>So 8.25 times the focal length is 743 mm for a 90mm lens, and 867 mm for a 105mm lens.<p>If you haven't got this sort of column height or headroom, then another alternative is to look for a wide-angle enlarging lens, but I'm not sure if they're available to cover 6x7 and above.

PS<br>If you want to work out the throw more accurately than that approximation, you need to use the following formula:<p>(M+1)*f*(1+1/M)<p>This makes the 90mm lens distance about 845 mm from neg carrier to baseboard.

A 100mm Componon-S will suit both 6x7 and 6x9 negs.

Hi Raymond

 

I take the 80mm for 6x7 with no problems and for the 6x9 I take the 150mm Rodenstock.I know the 80 is for 6x6 but did not see any vignetting on my enlarger combo!

In future if I get a cheap used APO Rodagon 105mm then I will use it!

 

Goo luck!

Raymond, the 105 El-Nikkor f5.6 is as good as it gets for the 6X9 format. If you have the Omega D-5XL, you may be able to do 20X24 prints on the baseboard with that lens and medium format negatives. However, the shorter column D-5 will only allow up to 16X20's on the baseboard with the 105 focal length. An 80 will vignette 6X9, but will cover the 6X7 format. You can easily do 16X20's, and possibly larger, on the baseboard with 6X7 and an 80mm lens using the shorter column D-5. I think you are asking too much if you are using the D-5 with the shorter column, and trying to do 20X24 enlargements on the baseboard. I don't know if a wide angle enlarging lens is available for the 6X7-6X9 formats. If there is one available, it would probably solve the problem.

A 90mm Computar, also sold as Beseler Color Pro is a great trade off for the 2. Covers 6X9 great and not so long on 6X7 you can't make them big. 6 element like a Componon-S and correct me if I'm wrong, but made by Kowa in Japan. Out of production now but seen sometimes on the used market.

In my 45 years as a professional, I've owned most of the lenses talked about here, but it was only when the local Leica dealer, loaned me a Focomat IIC some years ago, that I got to know the 100mm

Leitz V-Elmar, on the IIC, coupled with a 60mm. I've never seen lenses like this...where you can actually SEE the difference in prints. I've tested them. They are not cheap, but then you get what you pay for. I've seen them on Ebay. Try to find a friend who may have one of these and test it. It will astonish you...as few lenses will. Richard Boulware - Denver.

Richard, assuming that Raymond can locate and afford a 100mm. Leitz V- Elmar enlarging lens, do you think that he can make 20X24 enlargements on the baseboard of an Omega D-5 (not the D-5XL) with that lens and a 6X9 negative? Will the lens cover the full 6X9 format? I think his question is about magnification, not lens quality. Maybe I'm reading it wrong? That lens would certainly be a great one and probably would allow 20X24's on the baseboard of an Omega D-5XL if it covered 6X9.

Raymond, the advice above is good advice if you're looking strictly for quality, but as I understand your question, you want a big image without having to put so much distance between the lens and paper. What you would be looking for is a "wide angle enlarging lens." There were several of them on the market about twenty years ago or so. They are designed to have a larger-than-normal field of view, much like wide-field large-format taking lenses. I recall a 35mm WA for 35mm, and a 60mm WA for 6x6 and 6x7. The only brand name I faintly recall was something like Boyer, but I think there were some also sold as "Omegarons" by the same company that sold Omega enlargers.<p>Bear in mind, also, that any lens that put the image on film without vignetting has already demonstrated that it has a wide enough field to project that entire image back in the opposite direction. In enlarging, you will have the lens racked out quite a bit further from the film than it was when taking the image (barring extreme close-ups), so the coverage will be even less of an issue than it was in taking the shot in the first place. So, if you happen to have a nice 50 or 60 mm wide angle lens that you use for shooting 6x9, and a way to attach it to your enlarger, your goal is in sight. This was the way everyone used to do it.

"if you happen to have a nice 50 or 60 mm wide angle lens that you use for

shooting 6x9, and a way to attach it to your enlarger, your goal is in sight"

 

Not really if you are after the best quality prints.

 

A camera lens is designed to reduce the subject and put it on a much smaller

piece of film. An enlarging lens does exactly the opposite. It is designed to

take a small subject - negative - and make a print larger then the original.

 

To do this with a taking lens so that it will approximate (but not equal) an

enlarging lens, of any decent quality, the lens would have to be reversed. The

second problem is that the heat in an enlarging system may ruin the

adhesives used to cement the elements together in a taking lens.

 

Lastly Rodenstock made most of the Omega badged lenses as Berkey was

the manufacturer of Omega enlargers and the distribtor of Rodenstock lenses.

The Rodenstock Rodagon WA series is a current product and they are

available in 40mm, 60mm, 80mm and 120 focal lengths. We would be happy

to mail the brochure on the Rodagon, Rodagon WA or Apo Rodagon lenses

to anyone who is in the U.S.

Raymond,

I have used an 80mm f:4 Schneider Componon-S for 6x7 for many years and have no complaints. The lens seems to cover and there is good sharpness to the corners, atleast for my work (color landscape to 16x20). I have it mounted on a Beseler 45 and with that focal length I can easily do 16x20's with generous cropping. I recently went to 645 and found that with my 80 i could not get a 16x20 on the baseboard. I purchased a 60mm WA componon-s that works great on 16x20 or larger with this neg size. This lens comes up on e-bay every so often. I think it will work well with 6x7 and you could try it on 6x9, but I would doubt if it would cover well enough. I also have a 100mm Componon-S, but you may have problems getting a 16x20 with this lens mounted on your D5 and 6x9 neg.

Robert

About the Leitz V-Elmar. The one that comes with the Focomat IIC certainly covers 6X9 cm, as that is the maximum size for that enlarger. (I used to own a Focomat IIC, and I certainly miss that one. It's the best 35mm - MF enlarger that I've ever encountered. I normally use Durst enlargers, but the Leitz enlargers are in another league.)

For years I 've used an 80mm f4 wide-angle Rodenstock Rodagon, which, because of its WA design, covers up to 6X9. It's a fantastic lens--very sharp. And I make 16X20 prints from 6X9 negs without having to crank the enlarger head very high.