Having just read Ctein's book Post Exposure, I have begun to think about enlarge r lens sharpness. My Schneider 150mm/5.6 Componon-S lens has, according to Ctein , its best sharpness at f/8 or f/11. Even with f/11 on my Saunders 4550 XLG enla rger, the exposure times are very short in the few seconds range. I would like t o keep my times around 10-20 seconds. Often this means using f/22 on my favorite negs. The light on this enlarger must be quite bright. My enlarger does not hav e any filter drawers above or below the lens, or ability to use gels. I have the VCCE head and NOT a color head.
My question is whether it would be advisable to use a screw-on neutral density f ilter on the lens to achieve a one or two stop reduction in light so that I can use f/11, but still have longer times for my exposures as noted above. Is this j ust trying to guild the lily? And would this just be adding in problems by addin g something into the light path below the lens and therefore offset any gains in sharpness by trying to stay at the so-called optimal aperture?
Thanks for any comments!
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