When buying enlarger lenses, it is important not only to choose a lens of the right focal length to give the required magnification, but also sufficient coverage to cover the negative without vignetting. The rule of thumb with enlarger lenses is: Focal length Typical coverage 50mm 35mm 75-80mm 6×6 100-110mm 6×9 150mm 5×4″ I decided to […]
Read more "Testing enlarger lens coverage"Recently I’ve had an inkling to dabble in large format portraiture rather than medium format. In particular I’ve wanted to try using older lenses with their various flaws. So far my only large format lenses have been high-quality Schneider lenses of (relatively) modern design and wide-to-normal focal lengths, so I decided to pick up some old lenses. […]
Read more "New large format lenses"I collect film photography equipment and I also use it to take photographs and make prints. I’m also a massive nerd so there’s a database to help me record every aspect of the kit I own and the pictures made with it. I thought I’d try and produce a blog post with some facts, figures and […]
Read more "Film photography in a few graphs"Digital camera lenses are expensive, so it’s no wonder people are turning to much cheaper second-hand manual focus lenses. However these older, mechanical lenses behave quite differently from the electronic ones that digital camera owners are used to. This article discusses the key differences and will hopefully help you get the best out of manual focus lenses […]
Read more "Using Canon FD lenses on digital cameras"Some time ago I compared the EF and FD versions of the Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens. It wasn’t exactly a fair test because the EF lens fits natively on my DSLR, while the FD lens needs an adapter with an optic. Now I am fortunate enough to own a Canon EOS M mirrorless digital camera which can […]
Read more "Lens test: Canon FL, FD and EF 50mm f/1.4 vs f/1.8"I recently picked up a De Vere 54 enlarger for a bargain price. It’s a 1950s machine, designed to take 5×4″ negatives. In order to use the light most efficiently when making large prints, the enlarger is fitted with a condenser to give parallel illumination to the negative. However, the flip side of a condenser […]
Read more "Converting a De Vere 54 condenser enlarger to diffusion"A while back I wrote a short article comparing wide angle lenses on various formats. This is a small update to include large format (4×5″), which I have recently bought into to overcome problems with super-wide lenses on 6×9 (or lack thereof) This diagram shows various common film formats, ranging from 4×5″ (large format view […]
Read more "Wide angle lenses – now with 4×5″"