Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/12/01
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]In 23 years of professional photography, the two best enlarger lenses for 35mm negs I ever used were a 50mm Focotar during my college years in the mid 1970's and the early 1990's vintage 75mm El-Nikkor I sold last year when I dismantled my wet darkroom. I owned both the 75 El-Nikkor as well as a 50 El-Nikkor, and the 75 would only let me go to about 11x16ish on the baseboard of my Beseler 45 MXII enlarger. However, it was just deathly sharp and contrasty - way better than the 50 of the same approximate age. I should also add that most of the enlargers I've ever encountered in my whole life have been less than optimally aligned, meaning that even great glass will produce lousy prints for most people. If you buy a cheap enlarger, just make sure it can be aligned properly. Best, C. Kurt Holter http://www.holterphoto.com