60mm enlarging lens for 6x6??

[NB23]

Question for the Experts:

I want to print 16x16 on my Focomat IIc but my 100mm lens will only go to about 12x12. Obviously, if I use my 60mm lens I will be able to go bigger. What are the drawbacks to using the 60mm lens for 6x6?

Thanks!

[markbarendt]

It may vignette for one.

The lens may also not be sharp outside its "normal" coverage area.

Worth a try though.

[NB23]

Yes, theoretically it should vignette or at least show some light falloff but then again I always burn the sides and edges on all my prints so I figured it won't be a big deal. But other then that, I don't know! I'll have to try. But I'm still interested to know other people's experiences. I admit to being a snob when it comes to using my 100mm Focotar-2 but this time I really need to go bigger then 12x12...

[MattKing]

An 80mm (not 60mm) lens is generally intended for high quality results with 6x6 negatives, and will certainly give you larger enlargements than a 100mm lens.

[NB23]

Yes, I know! But I'm using a Focomat IIc and I can't use any lenses except the Focotar 95mm, 100mm, 105mm and 60mm.

But my question was why exactly is 80mm (or 100mm) better then 60mm (or 50mm) for 6x6? I understand that each focal length is optimized for a given enlargement ratio (10X, for example) and in accordance with the height of the head itself, but if the height of the head is not a problem then why would 80mm be better then 50? What is the real reason behind this? Because saying that a 80mm lens is sharper then a 50mm lens is not true. Besides the ease of use and keeping the ratios sensibly the same why would it be bad to use a 60mm lens for 6x6 format?


Maybe you can answer?

An 80mm (not 60mm) lens is generally intended for high quality results with 6x6 negatives, and will certainly give you larger enlargements than a 100mm lens.

[M. Lointain]

If you want to keep using your lens then why not either flip the column (if you can) and project onto the floor (or smaller table, etc.)? Or build a table with a removable top? Or mount the enlarger to the wall...?

When I first started printing eons ago I used a 100mm lens for everything, even 35mm. Making a table with removable shelves was far cheaper than buying another lens. Of course lenses are far cheaper these days, and I was young back then.

It just occurred to me too that the Focomat is a condenser enlarger, isn't it? You will probably have light fall off issues related to the condenser light path using a wide lens on it and that might compound the light falloff of the lens.

[DWThomas]

... But my question was why exactly is 80mm (or 100mm) better then 60mm (or 50mm) for 6x6? I understand that each focal length is optimized for a given enlargement ratio (10X, for example) and in accordance with the height of the head itself, but if the height of the head is not a problem then why would 80mm be better then 50? What is the real reason behind this? Because saying that a 80mm lens is sharper then a 50mm lens is not true. Besides the ease of use and keeping the ratios sensibly the same why would it be bad to use a 60mm lens for 6x6 format?
...

Much of it relates to the coverage angle of a lens. Using a 60mm for 6x6 is pushing into a wide angle situation which makes the design more difficult and less affordable. A wide angle lens may lead to softer focus and distortion toward the corners of the image, or as M. Lointain suggests, may get away from optimum performance of the lighting and condensers.

[MattKing]

Sorry about the reference to 80mm lenses - I had totally missed the need to fit a solution within the Focomat IIc's special restrictions.

It probably would have been possible to design a high quality 60mm lens for use with 6x6 negatives, but the market for it would have been so tiny (probably only Focomat IIc users) that no-one would have likely done it.

[NB23]

Yes, yes, the same wide angle limitations one will find in any camera system, after all: falloff, vignetting, sharpness, distortion. Thanks for the great answers!
I'll still make some test prints with the 60mm but I'll probably end up living with my l-o-v-e-l-y Focotar-2 100mm and its lovely 12x12 prints.

[John Austin]

Yes, I know! But I'm using a Focomat IIc and I can't use any lenses except the Focotar 95mm, 100mm, 105mm and 60mm.

But my question was why exactly is 80mm (or 100mm) better then 60mm (or 50mm) for 6x6? I understand that each focal length is optimized for a given enlargement ratio (10X, for example) and in accordance with the height of the head itself, but if the height of the head is not a problem then why would 80mm be better then 50? What is the real reason behind this? Because saying that a 80mm lens is sharper then a 50mm lens is not true. Besides the ease of use and keeping the ratios sensibly the same why would it be bad to use a 60mm lens for 6x6 format?


Maybe you can answer?

NO, only you can answer - Try to find an 80mm lens that will fit the narrow Leitz IIc lens mount tube, an early 80mm Componon should do it, perhaps with the Leitz ext'n tube removed

My experience, but I am not going in the darkroom on a hot day like today as it is cold beer on the verandah time, is that the shorter early Focotars did not cover that well, so trying to push a lens designed for 35mm to 120 is asking for "interesting" results - Anyhow, try them out and see what your answers are

I have a currently unused, unused ever, brand new first series 80mm Componon that I will try in the Leitz tube a bit later on