Kevin Crisp
11-Dec-2001, 12:42
Nick: A couple comments which sort of halfway answer some of your issues. (Well, nobody else has responded...) I have the Beseler conversion kit on the 45V-XL enlarger, and it works very well. At least with that set up I have used the Beseler branded (Rodenstock) enlarging lens (240 mm) without light fall off issues. I have also found that the enormous Nikkor 210 lens will cover an 8X10 and be sharp out to the corners. When you use it, you don't have to crank the upper stage up so far. (The only problem I have had with the V- XL is that the top stage droops toward the front when cranked up all the way with the big head on it. This is easily solved with a little prop on the front and a level at the beginning of the printing session. You shouldn't have to do this with a piece of equipment this expense, of course, but it has always been like this and I never bothered to figure out exactly why.) After I converted the tube in the head to the Aristo V54 tube, I found printing times acceptable in the print ranges you are talking about.