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I want to copy flat art using a Cambo 4x5 and a BetterLight digital back. I have a Componon-S 150mm enlarging lens and since I do not need a shutter this seems like a good bet. My concern is that the distance from lens to large art, say 50" x 80", will exceed the lens design and marginalize the results. Is this a legitimate concern and if so would I be better off with a G-Claron 150 or 210mm? Most of the art will be in the 11x14 to 30x40 range. Many thanks in advance to your responses.
Joseph, I used a 135mm Componon-S at infinity as a taking lens for several years and had excellent results. That's much farther out of the design parameters than what you're proposing. I'd sure give it a try.
Joseph, As Jim said it is worth a try but if you can get the 150 GClaron that would be the best bet. I copy fine art for a living and the GClaron series is what I use in the studio, the 150mm, 210mm 270mm and the 305mm.
the main difference is that the g-claron is optimized at around 1:1, while the enlarger lenses are optimized at around or 1:10 (depending on the model). Which will work better really depends on what magnifications you'll use most often.
after reading your post again, I think you'll definitely do better with an enlarging lens than with a g-claron. You're talking about magnifications of 3:1 to 6:1 (subject:film), which is well within the range that enlarging lenses are optimized for. A g-claron will work fine, but being a 1:1 process lens it will be outside its specs and won't give you maximum performance. Another way to look at it is that the g-claron is designed to make a 4x5 copy of a 4x5 original, or an 8x10 copy of an 8x10 original.
Plus, it sounds like you already have the enlarging lens.