Enlarger lens compared to modern kit lens on a digital camera

Panasonic 14-42mm kit lens appears to tower over the Nikon EL 50mm enlarger lens sitting on its adapter set.

How do enlarger lens compare with modern lenses? Well let's have a look at a simple comparsion. I'm using a Nikon EL-Nikkor 50mm enlarger lens, that cost me $20, on my Panasonic GH2 and I'm comparing it with the 14-42mm kit zoom lens that comes with the GH2. Of course, to mount the enlarger lens I also needed a helicoid focusing ring ($28), a M4/3 to M42 adapter ($12) and a M39 to M42 step down ring ($2) - but these can now be used to mount other enlarger lens.

The range of Nikkor lenses is huge. The EL in this case stands for Enlarger Lens. This particular lens is a lower quality one in the EL range having only 4 elements compared to the usual 6 elements. That said, I got this one "well used" from a commercial photo-lab so I guess they were happy with its performance.

Obviously it would have been preferable to compare them at the same focal length as the the shorter focal length lens will show greater depth of field.

For a look at the adapter set up click here.

Here's a few examples that show how an enlarger lens stacks up against a modern kit zoom lens. The test demonstrates both still shots and video work. Lets have a look at the results:

Here's the video results:

The old Nikon is certainly prone to flare, but that is not surprising as this lens was never designed to be used outdoors much less pointed anywhere towards the sun. So you should always remember that enlarger lenses are really just for fun. The enlarger lens is certainly tough to focus in low light, and I now understand the value of the split screen focusing in my old Pentax Spotmatic F. By the same token, as the video proves, a modern auto focusing lens can be caught short very easily.

And here's the photos:

Nikon enlarger 50mm f5.6

Panasonic at 42mm f5.6

Nikon enlarger 50mm f16

Panasonic at 42mm f16

Nikon enlarger 50mm f5.6

Nikon enlarger 50mm f16

Panasonic at 42mm f5.6

Panasonic at 42mm f16

So is it worth getting an enlarger lens? Well just for the fun factor it's a big YES! Take a couple of lens and go for a walk in the park, or to that old church, maybe do some portraits of your loved one. But if you had to shoot a wedding for a friend on the cheap, well I'd be grabbing the kit lens and going full auto.

For shooting video? Well that's a different story. The enlarger lens can hold its own in a lot of situations. Especially as you would be pulling focus manually to get the best results. Again, if you've got to run and gun at a wedding you will be wanting the kit lens.

You should never buy one thinking that it will be some cheap alternative to more expensive camera lenses that have coatings on their glass.