Apo Rodagon D 75/4 as an enlarging lens

[jose angel]

Hi, I`m buying an Apo Rodagon N 80/4, but the seller is offering me an Apo Rodagon D 75/4 for exactly half the price. Both lenses are new.

Actually, I want this lens for small enlargements in 35mm (about 4x); I have some other lenses, so I know I want the 80mm one to work with my specific enlarger. For bigger enlargements I have an Apo Rodagon N 50, and I can use a 105 as well. Obviously, it`d be great to use the 75-80mm lens for 6x6 enlargements, but the main task is for 35mm...

The price is tempting, so I`m saving around $400. I know I prefer the versatility of the "N", but, if the "D" performs better or equally well for say, 3-5x, I think I`d opt for the "D". (Notice that the Apo Rodagon N 80/4 looks to be optimized for 10X (2-15x), while the Apo Rodagon D is for 1:1... ).

What do you think? Is it a good idea?
---
P.D.
I don`t use to shoot 1:1 macro and I have some Micro-Nikkors, but I could also use it to digitize 35mm film in a future, or whatever. Not today, for sure. I asked the seller to keep it 24 hours for me, so I can search for my best solution. Thanks.

[Larry Gebhardt]

The 75mm Apo Rodagon D is great for digitizing 35mm film on the D800E. I haven't tried it very far from 1:1, so no idea how well it works for 4x enlargements. But for your intended use I think the Apo Rodagon N would be the better choice. I haven't used one, but it's very well regarded. Obviously you should just buy both.

[jose angel]

Right, I thought about buying both, but I actually don`t need another macro or 1:1 repro lens... if the performance of the "D" is right at such enlargements, for sure I`d have fun buying and using the "D", if not, I think I should opt for the more "conservative" (although expensive) solution...

[Bob Salomon]

The D is a terrible enlarging lens. It is also missing the convniences of an enlarging lens. No illuminated aperture ring, but it does have the pre-set aperture control of the enlarging lens. On the other hand the N is a superior enlarging lens with all the conveniences of a quality enlarging lens. You don't mention what size film you want to enlarge. The 80mm N fully covers 6x7cm the D will not cover that.

As for the D there simply is no other lens that will deliver the quality it can with dupes at 1:1. They are virtually indistinguishable from the original with proper technique.

[Drew Wiley]

I'd far rather use the 105 Apo Rodagon N for 6x7 than anything 80mm - in fact, I do. Less falloff. But I'd rather buy an Apo Rodagon Anything than other enlarging
lenses. The D is a specialty item for duplicating.

[Peter De Smidt]

As usual, Bob is right. The Rodagon D 75mm F4's performance falls off quickly on either side of 1x magnification. I use one in my Dslr scanner at 1x, where it's a very good lens. A Printing Nikkor can give even higher performance at 1x, but good luck finding one. When they do show up, they're about $3000. Get the N for enlarging.

[jose angel]

Ok, problem solved.

Drew, I currently use a 105 "N" for that (and for all medium format sizes), but I need to switch between enlargers, so it`s a pain to adjust every time I do so... and the 50 is simply too short to work comfortably, amongst other issues (no lens quality problems, the 50 N is the best ever). So I was looking for a third lens, mostly for 35mm I admit, but I also shoot 6x6... It is that "quickly fall off performance" what worried me. BTW, I have four working enlargers (two darkrooms), so one more lens is always welcomed.
Bob, your knowledge is so valuable... so I`m definitely going for the "N" (or maybe for both, the duplicating feature is so tempting given the amount of film based photos I want to keep... anyway, this is another problem).

Thank you all very much, as usual. I`m going to order the lens.

[Drew Wiley]

Yeah... the "D" just doesn't make a good enlarging lens, but does an excellent job of what it is actually designed for. I really prefer to use longer than "normal" lenses
per format. In fact, I often use the 150 Apo N for 6x7 or 6x9 format, but also the 105 when I don't want to rack things up so high. But the 105 is wonderful for 35mm too, but so would a shorter lens. Don't think I'll ever use a 50 again for 35mm, though I have a decent garden variety one laying around. The Apo Rodagons can be
exceptionally contrasty for color work, so if you're used to something else, this has to be factored in; but for black and white they do give a subtle boost to the
texture and micro-tonality which I find quite rewarding. And they are very very crisp.

[ic-racer]

I`m saving around $400

I also use an 80mm for most of my 35mm enlarging at small magnification ratios The prints in the picture are about 4x6" on an 8x10 sheet.. Either of those lenses should work fine but there is not enough resolution in the paper to see the difference between that lens and any other six-element 80mm lens at that low magnification of 35mm film.

[jose angel]

They look quite good, ic (very nice, and perfectly centered!), that`s exactly what I`m looking for. Right now I`m doing this with the 105, but I find it to be too large to work with 35mm.
BTW, I have placed the order, I hope the 80 to be as good as my 50 and 105, these are wonderful lenses. I also have a czech 75mm lens, useless.