16x20 Enlargement

[Kilgallb]

Well, I tried my first 16 x 20 enlargement. Thanks to APUG for giving me great ideas for a home made easel.

One thing I have discovered is my Kodak 162 mm enlarging lens seems to have some optical dstortion, I think. One corner of the image seems to stretch out.

Is this normal for an enlarging lens or is it more likely to be the flatness of the easel? It is a subtle amount, about 1/64 to 1/32 of an inch on a 16x20 image.

The good news is the positive reaction to the larger print. It was from a 4x5 negative (Tmax) and Ilford MGIV Satin. Most novice viewers were surprised with the extra detail they could see. Most did not notice the distortion in the corner.

[fschifano]

Only one corner? Sounds like your home made easel is a little warped. Alternately, the enlarger may be slightly misaligned. If the misalignment is slight, the distortion won't show up very much on a smaller print.

[fotch]

Try turning the lens 180 degrees. If the distortion follows the lens rotation, then it probably is lens related. If not, someting else is the cause.

[Rich Ullsmith]

Or flatness of the neg.

[Kilgallb]

I rotated the negative and the effect stayed in the same place. I tried another neg carrier and the funny corner went away. A quick check with a combination square shows the negative carrier was probably stamped and is a bit flared in the corner.