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  #11  
Old 6th December 2015, 08:58 PM
John King John King is offline
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Default TTH Ental lens

Quote:
Originally Posted by JOReynolds View Post
My sentiment entirely. When I did the comparative test in B&W, decades ago, the 3 1/4" RTH Ental outperformed the Componon on contrast and corner definition, but this may have been due to the relative ages of the glass. My colleagues in the central London pro labs told me that the Componons were better for colour but they preferred the little illuminated f-stop window of the Ental. Where can I get one now?
Funny you should say that, I have 4" (105mm) on a set of bellows and use it as a macro lens! But it aint for sale!
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  #12  
Old 6th December 2015, 09:08 PM
John King John King is offline
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Default lenses

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Originally Posted by MartyNL View Post
John, I included a list of the lenses in a Word Document in the original post. And the oldest lenses I have, I think are the Leitz.
Sorry I missed the attachment.

The 50mm Apo Rodagon is probably the best in the list - I have one now. I don't rate Componon lenses they are too 'plasticky' for my liking (and only 5 element). The stop down lever on the side looks a bit too flimsy
The Nikkor 50/2.8 are superb as well, but I prefer the older one with a metal barrel and mount, I have had both at one time and the early one out-performed the later one - no question. Is that likely to be down to the stability of the metal as opposed to the plastic?

I also have a Durst 50/2.8 which is not listed in your attachment and it is almost as good as the Rodagon, but has a bit of colour fringing close to the edges with high contrast subjects. No problem with B&W of course. I have heard the Durst lenses were actually made by Pentax.
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  #13  
Old 7th December 2015, 10:49 AM
cndnlfartist cndnlfartist is offline
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I'd have to be awfully bored to test out 30 enlarger lenses, which just won't happen in this lifetime.

So I would split them into 3 groups.

1. Highly rated Top Brand lenses. Ones you can be relatively certain will deliver good results.
A matched set would be nice.

2. Those that you can sell (or give away) easily.
These are the lenses that I'd want to part with.

3. Those too ugly to sell. I would also include rare in this category, even if they're beautiful.
It's this group of lenses that I'd have fun experimenting with.
If I didn't like the results I'd just throw them out or try them as a macro on my digital.
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  #14  
Old 7th December 2015, 10:42 PM
DeonReynolds DeonReynolds is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by David Brown View Post
Make prints.

I'm not being snarky. Really, if you like the performance of the lens, i.e., how the prints look, then it's a good lens.
I agree with David. When I worked in a big studio we would buy several lenses all the same test them all, keep the best and send back the rest. Even if a particular lens is supposed to be a good one, they are not always. Test them!

Deon
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  #15  
Old 8th December 2015, 09:58 AM
CharlesBinns CharlesBinns is offline
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I notice that you have two Leitz lenses on the list. I think these are the two special lenses for the Focomat IIc enlarger.

A Focomat IIc without these lenses will not function unless the owner is prepared to pay for a very expensive upgrade from Kienzle in Germany.

Therefore anyone with a IIC that does not have these lenses would pay good money for them.I know this because I had to buy the 100mm lens for mine.

Apart from that I agree that a good brand does not mean a good lens - but it is a start. I would test all for each required focal length and keep the best performers.

Last edited by CharlesBinns; 8th December 2015 at 10:04 AM.
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  #16  
Old 8th December 2015, 10:03 AM
CharlesBinns CharlesBinns is offline
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Apologies - should be http://www.kienzle-phototechnik.de/h...e_english.html for details on Focomat II lens conversions
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  #17  
Old 8th December 2015, 10:45 PM
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MartyNL MartyNL is offline
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Thanks everyone. I'll try a few lenses out and see if I can see any discernible differences just with the naked eye.
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  #18  
Old 24th December 2015, 07:40 AM
cesare cesare is offline
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When following a similar curve of wondering about enlarger lenses, I compared my rodagon and fujinon lenses, and found there to be no discernible differences for the sorts of sizes and f-stops that I typically enlarge at/with.

I also have a fair bit of overlap, and find that I use one lens 95% of the time (a Rodagon-WA 120/5.6). Stopped down to F8 this lens is lovely, and is perfect for all medium formats that I shoot, giving a large enough print for 645, and has a large enough image circle to cover 5*4. I use a rodagon 80/4 at times, but really, the 120 is the one for me!
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  #19  
Old 23rd September 2016, 06:05 PM
Svend Svend is offline
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Marty,
I just came across this older thread, and I'm curious to know if you did any testing? And if so, what did you find?

On a much smaller scale I will be going through the same exercise. I find myself with four lenses, but really only need two -- one for 35mm and one for 120 (up to 6x9). I have the following:

1) Nikkor 50mm f4, older metal barrel, 4 element Tessar design (this is my original lens for 35mm)
2) Nikkor 50mm f4, newer plastic barrel, also 4 element Tessar
The newer ones were said to have been redesigned and relabelled with the "N" designation, but that may have been only done to the 6-element 50mm/2.8...not sure on that. I will test both of mine to see which is better. If neither rank, then I will look for a 6-element 50mm replacement; I hear good things about the CE Rokkor. That said, I did some very nice 8x10's with my old 50mm/f4 Nikkor, but it didn't look so great when I pushed it to 11x14.

3) Nikkor 80mm F5.6N, newer plastic barrel, 6-element
Supposed to be an excellent lens; came with a recent enlarger purchase. Might even serve for 35mm as I have a tall-column Beseler. If lucky, I might be able to squeak out an 11x14 on the baseboard. If not good for 35mm, and if no better for 6x6 than the Componon (below) then I will sell it.

4) Componon-S 100mm f5.6
This one is a keeper; I've used it for 6x6 and it's a gem. Coverage will work for my 6x9 negs.

Should be a fun bit of testing.

How did you fare with your trials? I notice from your list that you have the same Nikkors as I have, and a 100mm Componon, albeit a different version.

Cheers,
Svend

Last edited by Svend; 23rd September 2016 at 06:11 PM.
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  #20  
Old 24th September 2016, 07:15 PM
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MartyNL MartyNL is offline
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Sorry Svend, I've not got around to doing any testing...

The chance would be a fine thing!
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