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Old 18th March 2015, 10:30 AM
alexmuir alexmuir is offline
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Default Enlarger lenses, condensers and negative size.

I want to use a longer than normal lens for printing 6x6. I have a good quality 105mm which I would like to try. Am I correct in thinking that, as long as the condensers are suitable for the negative size, any lens longer than normal should produce an acceptable image?
Alex.
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Old 18th March 2015, 11:25 AM
Lostlabours Lostlabours is online now
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The condensers are designed to match the format at as well as the focal length of the enlarger lens so you may not get even light coverage with a 105mm lens.

If you used a colour head then it wouldn't be a problem at all, try it though as most modern enlargers like the M601 are fairly diffuse anyway. With older enlargers you needed to adjust the bulb position to get the best illumination.

Ian
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Old 18th March 2015, 01:10 PM
alexmuir alexmuir is offline
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Thanks, Ian. The bulb in the M601 can be moved up and down, so I can make some adjustment. I will try it tonight, and use a meter to check the illumination.
Alex.
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Old 18th March 2015, 01:39 PM
Alan Clark Alan Clark is offline
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Before I got a decent 75mm enlarging lens I always used a 150mm lens to print 6x6 negatives. This was in a Meopta Magnifax with a 6x9 condenser. This worked very well with very even coverage. The head was further uo the column for a given print size than it would have been with a 75mm lens. But for some reason this doesn't result in an increased exposure time. Never could figure out why....

Alan
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Old 8th April 2015, 06:42 AM
cesare cesare is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan Clark View Post
Before I got a decent 75mm enlarging lens I always used a 150mm lens to print 6x6 negatives. This was in a Meopta Magnifax with a 6x9 condenser. This worked very well with very even coverage. The head was further uo the column for a given print size than it would have been with a 75mm lens. But for some reason this doesn't result in an increased exposure time. Never could figure out why....

Alan
For a given f-stop, any focal length producing the same size enlargement will have exactly the same exposure.

I prefer a longer lens myself, and use a rodagon 120 for medium format. With larger working distances you need to have a more stable enlarger for decent prints, but that's about the only downside!
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Old 19th March 2015, 08:38 AM
MikeHeller MikeHeller is offline
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I often use a 80mm lens with 35 mm negatives and condenser when doing smaller enlargements - more working room. As I understand the optics, the condensers just ensure the lighting is hitting the negative evenly at rightangles and the negative will be smaller than the one the condenser is designed for i.e you are using only the centre. Hence, no problem.
Mike.
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Old 8th April 2015, 11:29 AM
alexmuir alexmuir is offline
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I tried the 105mm with good results. The illumination seems quite even after an adjustment to the bulb position.
Alex
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