Picked up an Automega E5 -- confused...

[mapjon]

Hi All -- thanks in advance for any help anyone can give. I am confused -- and starting to get frustrated.

I picked up a Simmons Automata E5. Seems to work great and I have figured out a lot of things. I am stumped by one problem I am having.

The lens I have is 180mm. Should be plenty long enough. I have 5x7 carrier -- for now I have been throwing a 4x5 negative into it with some tape to mask.

The cone I have is about 5.5 inches. I can measure it exactly if anyone has advice.

It is a condenser enlarger with 3 glass condenser lenses. Two are flat one one side and curved on the other. I have them placed so the curved sides are facing. A third is more of a thin disk that was placed atop the 2 other lenses.

The problem I have is that there is a distinct lens circle in the image when projected to the baseboard. The image circle is most pronounced when stopped down to the smallest aperture.

What do you think is the problem? Is my lens to long? Would I be better off with a 150? Right now the pictures I enlarge are awful because of the light fall off at the edges.

[tomwilliams]

mapjon, I think that a 5" cone is about right for a 180mm lens. Do you have a manual? Some useful info at khbphotographix.com. Check this page on that site: http://www.khbphotografix.com/omega/Enlargers/E5.htm. I have an E-5 but with a diffusion head, so I can't help with your potential head problems.

[tomwilliams]

...in the event, I can email you the manual, and the "service manual", in pdf form. Both exceed the file size limit for attachment to a post.

[ic-racer]

Very confused. What is a 'lens circle?'
Is the 5x7 carrier glass? If it is masked, why is there so much spill light around the negative projection?

Just GUESSING:
1) You are projecting the 4x5 negative in a 5x7 glass carrier with NO mask.
2) You are getting the projected image of the enlarger lamp superimposed. The lamp is too small.

[mapjon]

Thanks for replying.

Your guesses are pretty much right on. 4x5 negative in a 5x7 holder --- poorly masked. All the extra light might be because I still had lights on somewhere. However, I think you can see the circle I am describing. I called it an image circle because I could not think of a better phrase.

I had not thought about the light bulb.

The bulb is pretty standard size/shape. It is a Sylvania No 212 115-125v.

It came with the enlarger. You think it could be too small/big/bright/dim? Had not thought of that. The bulb KBH recommends appears to be different

Thank you again for your help.

[Duolab123]

http://www.jollinger.com/photo/cam-c...s/manuals.html

May be of help. I looked at the Omega D5 manual, looks like you can use 211, 212 or 213 bulb, higher wattages require heat absorbing glass (I think that's the flat plate) and/or a blower. You may need to arrange the condensers for different lenses and the range of magnification may be limited.

I don't know much about Omega, I have a Beseler and you need to adjust condensers for different film sizes.

[Pieter]

http://www.jollinger.com/photo/cam-c...s/manuals.html

May be of help. I looked at the Omega D5 manual, looks like you can use 211, 212 or 213 bulb, higher wattages require heat absorbing glass (I think that's the flat plate) and/or a blower. You may need to arrange the condensers for different lenses and the range of magnification may be limited.

I don't know much about Omega, I have a Beseler and you need to adjust condensers for different film sizes.

Based on the variable condenser D5, I would suggest not using the 3rd condenser at all for 4x5. It is causing the light to be focused in the center and falling off at the edges.

[Chauncey Walden]

Here's what I did on mine to avoid a hot bulb. The lamp housing is replaced by a 6x7 VC head using a simple 2 part adapter (the lower part sits over the lamp house base and the 6x7 head sits in the upper part). The footprint of the 6x7 diffuser is larger than the bulb cross section so all is well through the condensers. The longest lenses I use on my E5 for 5x7 are a 150 Componon-S and a 180 APO-Rodagon. I can get to 16x20 with a 5x7 neg and the 180. The trick is to examine the light path from the neg to the lens to make sure there are no protruding corners on your lens mount/cone blocking any portion of the light path.

[ic-racer]

That is a fantastic idea with the 6x7 light source instead of the opal lamp. I have a Philips using that concept. Again it is a condenser enlarger with a variable color light source.

[jnantz]

years ago I picked up a condenser set for my E3 cause im more fond of condensers than a cold light head. I think the person who sold it to me said it came from an E5 ... anyways there's a rod at the top like a plunger so you can move the light source up and down. see if yours has this contraption. good luck with your enlarger, omegas are a lot of fun to use.