Enlarging lenses: APO or not?

[Peter Olsson]

The effect of a non-apo lens with color-fringing is easy to see even for small enlargments. For instance, when I make enlargements from 6x6 as small as 20x20 cm (8x8 inch.) and the image includes branches against a clear sky, the non-apo lens gives very noticable color- fringing. Actually, even the non-critical cannot find this acceptable. If an APO-lens delivers what Bob says in this respect, it would be the ONLY alternative for someone who can afford it.

[Darron Spohn]

</I>Let's hope this turns off the italics.

Fred, yes, some of us large format types are getting into digital. I just bought a new PowerMac G3/450, installed 512MB RAM, got a color calibrator, and plan to scan some slides and black-and-white negatives on a Tango drum scanner soon. One of my friends does this for a living, and the prints he produces out of a LightJet 5000 printer are amazing.

We can discuss APO versus non-APO all day (and I'll defer to Bob's expertise on the merits of the lenses) but very few people can afford a darkroom good enough to match the quality digital has attained. I know this is going to generate a lot of heat from people who haven't tried digital, and some people are going to argue that the digital output is only as good as the person perparing the image in PhotoShop. That is true. But printing large color images (especially from slides) is extremely difficult. Digital ensures consistent results, and eliminates variables such as enlarger alignment.

Maybe we should start a different thread on this topic, as I have had several offline discussions around this in the last few months. I'm eager to learn from people who are practicing digital printing, and willing to share what knowledge I have as my skills grow.

The most difficult part of going digital is learning PhotoShop, or GIMP if you're a UNIX type. The key is getting a color calibrator and setting up your ICC or ColorSynch profiles so your monitor matches your prints. The good news is you can get an excellent color calibrator for $400 these day