Rodenstock Rodagon 360mm

[kfed1984]

Anyone still around and upright in the 8x10 enlargement community? I just bought a Rodenstock Rodagon 360mm F6.3 Enlarger lens, but do not have the enlarger.

Anyone knows what is the optimal enlargement for 8x10 negative with this lens? 1:2, 1:4, etc.

Can this lens be used for color negatives or do I absolutely need the APO version?

I plan to make an enlarger frame from aluminum extrusions and use my 8x10 camera as the body. As I cannot find any 8x10 enlargers on the market or they are way too expensive.

[Mark J]

There is no Apo version of the 360 ; it will be fine for colour, they are semi-Apo anyway.
Optimum enlargement for 8x10" is the paper size that doesn't bankrupt you !

[ic-racer]

I have a Componon 360mm (which is likely similar) and the spec sheet for that lens shows suitable MTF curves over a range from 3x to 12x. Since you will not be using the edges of the image circle, if it the Rodenstock performs as well as the Componon, the resolution should be fantastic.

[Myriophyllum]

Anyone still around and upright in this thread? I just bought a Rodenstock Rodagon 360mm F6.3 Enlarger lens, but do not have the enlarger.

Anyone knows what is the optimal enlargement for 8x10 negative? 1:2, 1:4, etc.

Can this be used for color negatives or do I absolutely need the APO version?

Hi,

Rodenstock recommanded the Rodagon 360 for magnifications 2x to 8x, optimum at 2.5x.
Film size up to 10x12".
Should be great for color, most important is to have a clear lens without haze/fungus etc.

The Apo-Rodagon 360 is a repro lens made for 1x mag. (same for the Apo-Rodagon's 240 and 300).

Jens

[kfed1984]

Hi,

The Apo-Rodagon 360 is a repro lens made for 1x mag. (same for the Apo-Rodagon's 240 and 300).

Jens

thanks for clarifying the APO side of things, I was thinking you need APO to do color enlargement or for very sharp B&W enlargements

[kfed1984]

I have a Componon 360mm (which is likely similar) and the spec sheet for that lens shows suitable MTF curves over a range from 3x to 12x. Since you will not be using the edges of the image circle, if it the Rodenstock performs as well as the Componon, the resolution should be fantastic.

Good to know this lens has a fine resolution. The cheap litho film I'm using has extremely fine grain when developed in highly diluted developer. An 8x10 should have I think more than 3 Gigapixel resolution if it could be scanned.

[kfed1984]

There is no Apo version of the 360 ; it will be fine for colour, they are semi-Apo anyway.
Optimum enlargement for 8x10" is the paper size that doesn't bankrupt you !

For paper size I'm thinking 16x20" max. size. I experimented with developing a very cheap, ultra-high resolution/contrast lithography film with a low contrast developer. I like the results. The sharpness is a bit crazy, so I'm thinking it's a bit of a waste just for an 8x10 contact print. Also an 8x10 camera seems like a waste when only used for small contact prints, and scanning is not my thing.

I wonder how accurate you have to be in aligning the lens plane and film plane in a DIY 8x10 enlarger. I can rig up my camera as an enlarger with some LED illumination, make an adaptor to attach the Rodenstock lens to the lens board, and the easel should be easy to adjust in a horizontal arrangement.

The studio camera on heady tripod should be rigid enough, as it's used to take the original picture, which in itself requires good alignment tolerances.

[Drew Wiley]

Getting your enlarging planes all aligned is important. And of course you'll need a negative carrier with glass on both sides if you hope to maintain sharpness.The standard Rodagon 360/6.3 will be fine for either color or black and white printing. No need to overthink the lens issue at this point in the learning curve.

[Michael E]

Also, are you really going to decide the size of your final print by the magnification factor recommended by the manufacturer? You have an excellent lens, use it to print every size your heart desires. It will work just fine.

[kfed1984]

I'm thinking the 8x10 Cambo studio camera can serve as the enlarger head, fixed to some aluminum extrusions in a horizontal position or vertically on a wall. The easel can be fixed to the opposite end. For light source I could use an LED light table/tablet as a diffuse light source.