> I have used the 40mm f4 El-Nikkor for years when I need to make a 20x24 from > a 35mm neg. on the baseboard on my Beseler 23C III. It does an excellent > job -- grain is clear and crisp and there is minimal light falloff.
Okay, I guess I'm wrong about wide-angle enlarging lenses. Actually I'm just parroting some advice that Arthur Kramer used to dispense on the old CompuServe. He had tested all manner of enlarging lenses and had found that NO wide-angle lens came up to the standard of the best of the lenses of the stand focal length for any format. Of course, Uncle Arthur's standards are the highest--he prints 35mm, for instance, with an 8x10 Durst (about a $10,000 enlarger) elaborately bolted to a concrete wall and equipped with a $2,400 Apo-El-Nikkor enlarging lens (serial number 007, if I remember correctly <g>). In any event, I'll cede the point to anybody like you, Bob, who has direct experience. While not giving up on my prejudices entirely either. <g> --Mike * * * "Photography is simple. The only complicated thing is keeping it simple." (Ken Archer) * * * Find out about Mike Johnston's unique photography newsletter, "The 37th Frame," at http://www.37thframe.com. - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
