Hello , a year ago i bought me a 4x5" CAMBO sc camera and an enlarger (DURST laborator 54), indeed old but in good shape . The question I have is about the lense of the enlarger, it's a schneider kreuznach(durst componon)-150mm . When viewing the negatives (B&W) they look very sharp but after enlarging the neg. on paper they still look sharp but not as sharp as the negative ? is this normal ? is it because it is black & white ? mostly i use ilford 100 delta prof. film for the negatives and ilford multigrade IV RC deluxe paper. P.S. what is the quality (or sharpness) from the polaroid PN55 ? is it almost as good as a normal sheetfilm ?

I hope i will get some response to this questions , thanks ...

-- Van Gelder Patrick (patvangelder@hotmail.com), May 02, 2000

Answers

Patrick: There is an ongoing discussion a few questions down from yours about Componon Lenses. The comments in that thread apply to your question about quality. Componons were manufactured for Durst and Omega, as well as being marketed under the Schneider name. Lenses for Durst and Omega had different mounting threads, but otherwise were identical. Negatives will always appear sharper than prints from them simply because the neg is viewed by transmitted light while the print is viewed by light reflected from it. That's why exposure and development of film is so very important. The negative is not the final product, the print is. The negative is used to make the prints we like to produce. Polaroid's Type 55PN Film is capable of some outstanding results if (You guessed it!) one is careful about the exposure and temperature of development. It is very commonly used for scientists in their electron microscopes and over the years I've seen some truly awesome images from this film. Also a lot of second rate work. Depends on the user. One thing about that old Larorator Enlarger. Make certain the proper condensors are installed in the proper order. Best regards. Paul

-- Paul Szopa (kpszopa@aol.com), May 02, 2000.

Patrick, I have the same enlarger and probably the same lens. I have used it for B&W prints not exceeding 8x10" with good results. But when I started doing some Ilfochrome enlargements (yes, on the modified B&W enlarger!) I found that the lens was no good for large prints. I bought some cheap Durst Neonon (EL Nikkor ?) and a WA Componon 120. I lost the automatic focus but gained sharpness on the overall print.

-- Paul Schilliger (pschilliger@vtx.ch), May 03, 2000.