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  #11  
Old 25th December 2019, 08:34 PM
John King John King is offline
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Are they really inferior? I have an APO Componon 45mm f4 and a Componon S 50mm f2.8 and to be honest I cannot see any difference at the sizes I print (up to 12 x 16) except that the APO being an f4 is much harder to focus and the exposure times are longer after stopping down 3 - 4 clicks as normal.

Perhaps if you do colour, which I don’t, there may be a difference with colour fringing but for what I do, monochrome, there is no difference.

Bill
I also have 2 med format lenses. A Rodagon 80/F5.6 and a Nikon 75/F4 and have checked the difference in print sizes when set at the top of the column. To be honest there is not that much difference, not enough to get the size I need. I would need something like a 40mm lens for 35mm to get close and the only one I know of that is available at a decent price, is the one fitted as standard to the Leitz V35. But even then I would be paying around £175 and I would loose serious money by selling the Rodagon APO..

Oh yes I do colour.
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  #12  
Old 26th December 2019, 07:24 AM
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Bill Bill is offline
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HI John, i was thinking more about print quality and your remark that lenses other than your APO Rodagon are inferior. In my case using the APO lens gives me no quality benefit over the normal lens. As you print colour you experience may be different.
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  #13  
Old 26th December 2019, 09:55 AM
John King John King is offline
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Default APO Rodagon

Bill, my findings yesterday showed something I had not noticed before that showed how the APO lenses appear to work. I had not noticed it before when using it with colour.

With B&W and the condenser enlarger and a Peak focus finder as I focussed in on the edge of an object in the photograph just before the exact focus point, there was a pale green fringe, which when the focussing became spot on, this green fringe disappeared. Going past the point of focus, the green fringe was replaced with a pale red/pink fringe. Go back again to the perfect focus point and the fringe disappeared.

Using a non apo Meopta Meogon 2.8/50mm lens, the fringes did not disappear. It made no difference in sharpness with a B&W print, possibly because paper is essentially 'blind' to green and red.
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  #14  
Old 26th December 2019, 10:26 AM
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photomi7ch photomi7ch is offline
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I have done a little research into enlarging lenses and published it on the blog here is the link if you are interested:
Enlarging lens
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  #15  
Old 26th December 2019, 02:33 PM
JOReynolds JOReynolds is offline
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How do you fix the paper to the vertical surface so it stays in place.
Many years ago I built a rudimentary vacuum paper holder for Gerry Dickens' lab out of a 2" x 1" timber frame and a thin plywood top and bottom. There was a post in the middle to stop the top and bottom being sucked together. A hole was cut with a hole saw in the short side of the frame to fit the rigid part of a vacuum-cleaner hose and the top, painted white, was drilled in a grid to suit the paper sizes used. Holes outside the size of the paper were to be blocked with waste paper and masking tape. I never saw it in action but I hears that they made various alterations over time, mainly to adjust its position with respect to the enlarger.
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  #16  
Old 26th December 2019, 02:40 PM
John King John King is offline
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Originally Posted by JOReynolds View Post
Many years ago I built a rudimentary vacuum paper holder for Gerry Dickens' lab out of a 2" x 1" timber frame and a thin plywood top and bottom. There was a post in the middle to stop the top and bottom being sucked together. A hole was cut with a hole saw in the short side of the frame to fit the rigid part of a vacuum-cleaner hose and the top, painted white, was drilled in a grid to suit the paper sizes used. Holes outside the size of the paper were to be blocked with waste paper and masking tape. I never saw it in action but I hears that they made various alterations over time, mainly to adjust its position with respect to the enlarger.
Just a bit to complicated for me. It is not that I need 12x16 every time, so I think I will give it a miss.
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  #17  
Old 26th December 2019, 02:46 PM
John King John King is offline
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Default Enlarging lenses

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Originally Posted by photomi7ch View Post
I have done a little research into enlarging lenses and published it on the blog here is the link if you are interested:
Enlarging lens
I have never ever seen, a new or used, or even heard of an APO Nikon enlarging lens. Were they simply an experiment that never went into production?

On the Nikon 50/2.8 I have owned both the early all metal one and the later part-plastic version. To be honest I found the all metal early one to be significantly better and wished I had never sold it - until I bought the APO Rodagon.
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  #18  
Old 24th January 2020, 08:21 PM
John King John King is offline
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Default Raised enlarger column

I have been quietly working away with a solution and eventually decided upon physically raising the column from the baseboard, but still using the base clamp. I acquired a block of seasoned English Oak about 7" cubed and drilled the bottom to take 6 x 5" long wood screws to fasten it to the baseboard.

The metal clamp base on the column was drilled and screwed to the new raised base block and the enlarger re-assembled. A quick test showed that I can now print almost to 20x16 from 35mm and over that with a 645 negative even using my 80mm Rodagon.

My biggest worry was ensuring that I managed to get the block of wood really square and the surfaces parallel, but I got around that with a favour from a local carpenter friend who also polished the wood smooth.

So there you have it, an easy solution.
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  #19  
Old 24th January 2020, 09:06 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
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Nice to hear that you have a solution. Simple can often be the best but these days I bet a block of 7" cubed seasoned oak is not that easy to obtain, nor are local carpenters who will help out.

Mike
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  #20  
Old 24th January 2020, 11:04 PM
John King John King is offline
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Default Oak

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Originally Posted by Mike O'Pray View Post
Nice to hear that you have a solution. Simple can often be the best but these days I bet a block of 7" cubed seasoned oak is not that easy to obtain, nor are local carpenters who will help out.

Mike
Ahhh! It could be down to who I know. The oak was an offcut from a bannister newel post that the carpenter (a friend) was assembling in a Victorian house where he was doing the woodwork replacement. It cost me a couple of bottles of good wine though. Cheap at twice the price.
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