Re: [Leica] Enlarger height and enlarging lenses

[Ian Stanley <stanley@loxinfo.co.th>]

Hello Mark,

         "Pickerites" - that's good!!  I must confess to being a bit of a 
Pickerite myself and do have a lot of his equipment.  His no nonsense, 
sometimes grouchy approach to things always appealed me.  I never made it 
to any of his workshops but we have chatted a few times - a very 
interesting man.

Ian Stanley,

Bangkok, Thailand

At 11:45 PM 27/02/2000 -0800, you wrote:

>Fred Picker taught his popular cult the necessary advantages of going up one
>format on enlarging lenses but I never got his book or bought his print of the
>white picket fence. I'm not a follower period. He would push the 
>Schneiders 90's
>on his unsuspecting  35mm worshipers and I'm sure they did  more than OK 
>with them.
>My first enlarger that I did any real work with was a Beseler 5x7 
>coldlight. The
>motorized head would not go low enough to use my dirty 50mm Componon for 
>my 6x9
>full frame black border images I would always made on 8x10 paper. (and 
>still do)
>A 6 x enlargement roughly. So I used a 75 mm Componar then an 85 Nikor for 
>most
>of my work. Then I got a D2 with a cold light and a 50 2.8 Nikkor but my 4
>bladed Saunders easel would almost hit my enlarging lens every time I 
>opened it
>and I would get a crick in my neck in the whole printing process. Advil in 
>advance!
>I tested my 50 against my 80 on a neg making matched prints but the only
>difference was my neck.
>I agree the "wide angle" enlarging lenes are a problem and the reason being
>corner quality but corner quality could also be an issue with a 50 even a high
>end 50. And that for some people like the Pickerites could be why they 
>would use
>and 80 or a 90. But I could not tell much of a difference as I said with my 50
>against my 80. But I stop down one and I'm at f8 that kind of bums me out!!!
>And Fred Picker ain't no old wife and neither am I!!! I don't think there is a
>resolution problem as I could see none with in my prints (using various
>magnifiers closely inspecting the grain).
>I think grain magnifiers are deceptive in what they tell you I always decide
>from the grain in a dried print.
>So there!!
>Mark Rabiner
>I make 7x7" images on 8x10 paper from medium format squre negs with my 135
>Nikkor! What a deal! Same money on Chiropractic work!