Beseler 23Cii 2 1/4 lens size

[Vince]

I just got a good, used Beseler 23Cii. I used to do a lot of darkroom work a couple of decades ago and I can't remember the size el Nikkor lens I used to enlarge 2 1/2 negatives and about what I should expect to pay for that lens on ebay or craiglist? Thanks

[pingflood]

You'll want something along the lines of the El-Nikkor 80/5.6 for 2 1/4" negs.

$75 or so should be a fair price for a nice condition example.

[sawtooth235]

The "STANDARD" lens for 2 1/4 or 6X7 negatives is anywhere from 75mm to 90mm. I recently saw a 90mm schneider on e-bay for $25.00. Good luck.

[tuco]

I use a El-Nikkor 80/5.6 for my 6x6 and 6x7 enlargements. Nice lens for the price.

[Ratmagiclady]

Yep, like an 80 will do. I used to like to use some nice old Schneiders and Rodenstocks (The latter are pricey now, wouldn't mind having one again: I have a 75 Omegar now. Will likely want to upgrade when my darkroom actually has a wet side (That's not... Well, too wet and all mildewey) and if I shoot more MF. ) ...and there's no flies on EL-Nikkors. I have an old 50 of one of those which is pretty nice.

People are always Ebaying these things, cause they're far more shippable than enlargers themselves. You can pretty much pay what you want. The really special-nice ones still get pretty big money, but the rest of the field is pretty affordable. Few casually do medium-format darkroom these days.

[HGMonaro]

Ensure what you buy covers the neg you need to, some 75's won't cover a 6x6 and definitely not a 6x7. The price of them these days means you should be able to get a quailty 6 element (Nikkor, Schneider, Rodenstock) for a reasonable price. I personally like Schneider Componon-S's (I have all 3 brands plus others in different size for different neg sizes) due to their operating method. I find the 'preset lever' to move from working aperture to full open very handy for focusing and positioning the easel. According to the Schneider site, the 80/4 only covers 6x6.