D5XL Lens stage: alignment

[Richard Rodamar]

HELP : I have a D5XL that was moved two time and has had time to settled and that seems to be when I notice that the prints should be sharper.
Lets say the base board is level so we move up to the lens stage.
I put my level across the lens bottom no go; I put it across the lens board itself and thats different too.
Also when I put each lens on I get a different reading ( 50mm, 80mm, 150mm ).
Is this part of the problem able to be fix by having all 3 lens SETT at the same time and by the same person?
Before I start to loosen BOLTS I would like to know what I should really be doing.
What are the hard core ABC's of alignment for a D5XL?
I know this can be very hard and TIME consuming and a glass of JD helps on the side helps.
Could some one please help.


Rick

[David Crossley]

Well, it's not that hard in reality Richard. Harry at www.classic-enlargers.com explains it far better than i am able to. But you will have to do some digging on the "help" forum.
Now, i just tried the url prior to posting this and it timed out, hopefully all is well and the site is just down for maintenance. If not pm me, and i will be happy to help you further.



David Crossley/Crossley Photography....

[ic-racer]

I can share my experience with the Omega D5500, which may be similar. First I my experience is that the aluminum lens cones are not precision machined affairs and each of the ones I have mounts the lens at a very slightly different angle. These are some of the solutions:

1) Use tape or other material to shim each plate/lens combo so that they all match (label the lens/plate combo so you can re-install it with the same orientation)

2) Try bending or deforming the lens cone or plate to get them all to line up the same.

3) If they are not off my much, my experience is that the longer lenses tolerate more mis-alignment than the shorter lenses. I know the 3 lens turret won't hold each lens exactly the same, but when mounted with a 150, 100 and 75mm lenses, the degree by which they are off is not noticible at reasonable apertures (f11-16 or so).

4) Short lenses (50mm and shorter) are very sensitive to the slightest mis-alignment. I actually got two enlargers to deal with this problem. I keep the LF and MF lenses on the 3-lens turret on one enlarger and for the other enlarger I have spent a good deal of time to bend or shim the interchangable lensboards of 50mm, 45mm and 30mm lenses so I can make quick changes. Usually what I try to do when changing lenses is to re-check with the laser and if they are off I will try to re-shim with some tape on the base, rather than re-do the lensboard stage adjustment (as this will mess up the other two).

So, in real life what I have done is bend or do whatever to get the 3 lens cones similar then choose one to be the 'master' and align the lens stage (per the standard alignment technique for the enlarger) with that lens/cone combo. Then I try to match that alignment with the other lens cones using tape shims.

I have spent a lot of time with this issue and I hope this info is of some benefit.

[SamReeves]

I've wrangled with my own D-5 on a few occasions. I found out if you level your baseboard first that will make life a lot easier for the lens stage and negative stages. I haven't had to fool around with my enlarger since getting the baseboard level.

[David Crossley]

Richard pm'd me for further assistance on aligning the D5XL (which easily misaligns ). I thought i would share my procedure here for all to benefit.

After initially leveling the baseboard i replaced the 4 screws at the negative stage with qaulity allen bolts and wing nuts. Then i added 2 split lock washers (per bolt ) that go either side of the frame. The wing nuts and lock washer combination seriously limit the out of alignment propensity of the D5, and allow quick realignment should you need to (wing nuts go to the outside).

Next, loosen up the negative stage and (i use a Bill Peters laser alignment kit) and align it to your baseboard. Pop a lens into your Lens Stage/Turret , now check the alignment again. If it is still out, there is further (minor) adjustment available on the Bellows stage by loosening the bolts giving you micro lateral movements and micro front to back adjustment utilizing shims. I use my D5s for 35mm/medium format/4x5 and find that i have to align seperately for each lens. YMMV.


Best,



David Crossley/Crossley Photography....

[ronald moravec]

Level the base or make a compensating level or use the Omega Alignment tool.

Next level the lens stage front/rear. loosen the upper rear carriage and slip a small allen wrench in the hole in the axel. Rotate to level lens stage to match base. Retighten the axel

Next level left/right. At the bottom of the bellows slider are two phillips screws facing you. Loosen and the lens stage swings left right.

Lastly do the neg stage.

The head needs to be adjusted to sit flat on the neg carrier. Condenser and diffusion heads are done differently.

No shims are ever necessary on the D5 unless one lens is out and add a tape or something under the oval lens mount plate