Rodagon-G 360 for enlarging 5x7 12 times

[chris77]

No, not for what you want. A 210 or 180mm Rodagon would perform better at 11x. Stopped 2 stops down from wide open. You do have a properly aligned enlarger and a glass carrier? If not you will never get optimal results!

Properly aligned means film stage to lens stage to baseboard.

hello bob!
tx for your reply.
enlarger is perfectly aligned on all levels using lasertool.
glass carrier of course.
center sharpnes seems to decrease slightly when stopping down two stops. but then again, what i do lack is a bit more of edge sharpness (all four corners equally decreased sharpness when wide open)
light is not an issue!

[chris77]

In my last post, I mentioned to use a Unipla instead of the Tripla turret with long lenses on the Durst L-138. These large boards can be used on the Durst L-138S or the L-184. Enlargers with the removable turret have a large plastic knob in front of the turret that is used to remove it. If you have a fixed turret, then you cannot use the Unipla board. I thought I'd post some photos of these boards:

First is the 3 lens Tripla removable turret and the single lens Unipla board. The hole opening of these two boards is the same diameter.

Attachment 198845

The Unipla can be used for lenses that stick out behind and prevent the turret from turning. I think it's also easier to align the enlarger with the Unipla than with a Tripla (fewer moving parts).

Lenses mount onto small boards called Laplas. The individual Laplas mount onto the Unipla. Lapla boards have threaded openings of either 25mm (Lapla 25), 39mm (Lapla 39 with Leica threads), 50 mm (Lapla 50) and others, or you can have custom threads cut if one is not available. I've routinely bought Lapla 25 boards to use to have custom larger threads cut to mount a lens. The Lapla with it's threaded lens then mounts on the Unipla ( or the Tripla). There are also recessed Laplas known as the Seipla, and the Setiopla which mount onto the Unipla.

Attachment 198846Attachment 198847

For lenses that are too large to fit a standard Lapla, you can get custom adapters made. Below is a 240 Rodagon in an SKG custom Lapla, plus a 180 and 135 Rodagons mounted in standard Laplas.

Attachment 198848

For lenses that were too large for the Lapla (like the 300 mm Rodagon, etc.), Durst made the Vapla, which was the large Unipla type flat board without the Lapla mountings and you could then screw a lens' mounting ring directly on the Vapla board. The lens would then screw onto this ring. Typically, the 210 mm lens is the longest you'd use on 5x7. A 210 lens can be made to fit on a Lapla and the turret, so the earlier L-138's did not have removable turrets, since there'd be no need to mount longer lenses.

Uniplas and Vaplas were available either at auction, or through Durst Pro-USA. With that company's demise, luck and the auction site are probably the best way to secure one. Hope this helps.

thank you for your detailed reply with all the pictures.
kind regards and happy new year!

[chris77]

NO!!! Listen to what Bob said! A 360 is for 8x10 or larger. 5x7 requires a 180 or at most a 210 mm lens. If you have a 210 Rodagon, use it. It will handle 12x enlargement as well or better than a 360 G-Rodagon. And stop down 2 stops, you said your enlarger LED head had plenty of light! No enlarger lens is made to be used wide open. Also, if possible use a Unipla lensboard on the Durst, not the the turret.

ok. thanks.
i just thought that the 360 would use the center part of the lens, so even wide open or one stop down it might stay within the better circle of the lens and therefore outperform the standard 210 lens.

[Tin Can]

Less distortion perhaps

[Bob Salomon]

Less distortion perhaps

These lenses have no distortion.

[Tin Can]

OK, maybe he should use 8X10 film...

It is a rare lens, I hope to use my 360 Rodagon not G one day, so I follow this type of discussion

I also encourage experimentation by the new users of old tech

These lenses have no distortion.

[Tin Can]

A thread that refers to massive enlargement How Big Enlarge How BIG Copy for WEB

[Bob Salomon]

OK, maybe he should use 8X10 film...

It is a rare lens, I hope to use my 360 Rodagon not G one day, so I follow this type of discussion

I also encourage experimentation by the new users of old tech

It is two things with the G series.
1: film size
2: magnification

With the exception of the 50mm G very few non professional labs have the need or the equipment or the space for printing with a G series lens. These were made for mural printing. For prints within normal magnification ranges they would be vastly inferior to regular high quality enlarging lenses. Just as those normal lenses would be inferior for mural printing.

[Drew Wiley]

I'd just use a 240/9 Apo Rodagon. It's small, and superb over a very wide range of magnifications. Extremely even and sharp by f/11, so really no slower for printing than ordinary enlarging lenses, though not quite as bright for sake of initial focusing or composition. The 180 Rodagon is a fine lens too, but will be a tad less contrasty or even. But both can be found quite affordably these days. I have both.

[Bob Salomon]

I'd just use a 240/9 Apo Rodagon. It's small, and superb over a very wide range of magnifications. Extremely even and sharp by f/11, so really no slower for printing than ordinary enlarging lenses, though not quite as bright for sake of initial focusing or composition. The 180 Rodagon is a fine lens too, but will be a tad less contrasty or even. But both can be found quite affordably these days. I have both.

But it is greatly inferior to an enlarging lens. The 240 Rodagon will easily outperform it at 11. Especially as the Apo Rodagon are process lenses and are optimized for f/22.