Does anyone know about Computar enlarging lenses? Glennview has some new (60mm I think) for $350 and I have read Computar is a great enlarging lens for 35mm at least. But who makes (made) them and who sells them other than Glennview?
Does anyone know about Computar enlarging lenses? Glennview has some new (60mm I think) for $350 and I have read Computar is a great enlarging lens for 35mm at least. But who makes (made) them and who sells them other than Glennview?
Richard,
the Computar enlarger lenses are excellent. These lenses were designed and marketed by the US-Company of the same name. AFAIK, they have been manufactured by Kowa. The same lenses have also been sold under the Kowa label. The Computar DL-Line contains among others the famous 1.9/50 and two variable focus lenses. However, $300 for a 60mm is expensive today, because used ones sell around $50 resp. at prices comparable to their Rodenstock and Schneider counterparts. I consider them slightly superior to the standard Rodagons and Componon-s, because they are all MC and have slightly more coverage (=less fall-off).
$350 seems a lot to pay to make 35mm prints. A used 50mm f2.8 nikkor is good enough. If you are interested in large prints, you need a bigger negative.
I abandoned 35mm film about five years ago.
If you are determined to make big prints from a 24x36 mm image, Look at the new Zeiss Ikon with their new super res0lution lenses and gigabitfilm. The new lens are based on Zeiss latest movie lenses. Gigabitfilm will resolve 400+ lp/mm and match the quality of the lenses.
Search the web for "Gigabitfilm is no Hoax"
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