The main advantages of using a view camera with sheet film include large negatives that produce great contact prints or allow really big enlargements. With a negative size of 4 by 5 inches, view camera negatives produce contact prints large enough for most people to view easily. If you want to enlarge these images, you will need a professional-level enlarger as well as the right lens for the job. You will need something larger than the typical 50 or 75 mm enlarger lens. There are two main focal lengths as well as several manufacturers that produce such lenses.
Nikkor
Nikkor is a lens brand name of the Japanese manufacturer that makes Nikon cameras and lenses. The company previously made an entire range of enlarger lenses spanning from a 40 mm f/4 to a 300 mm f/5.6. All of these had the name EL-Nikkor. The two most useful lenses for enlarging 4-by-5-inch negatives are the 135 mm and 150 mm EL-Nikkors, both with maximum apertures of f/5.6. These lenses used either a 50 mm screw mount or a 39 mm Leica mount, so you will need to verify which type of mount you have on your enlarger. Since Nikon stopped making enlarger lenses some time ago, you will need to find these used at your local photo store or online.
Rodenstock
The German lens manufacturer Rodenstock still makes enlarger lenses and has several extensive lines of them available. The first, an f/4.5 135 mm lens in the Rogonar-S line, is one of the lower-end enlarging lenses available with four lens elements in three groups. The company also produces f/5.6 135 mm and 150 mm lenses in the Rodagon group, each with six lens elements in four groups that provide even lighting. In the Rodagon-G line, there is the f/5.6 150 mm lens with the six and four lens grouping. At the high end is the f/4 150 mm APO-Rodagon-N that helps correct for aberrations of light and color.
Schneider Kreuznach
Another German company, Schneider Kreuznach, produces a variety of enlarger lenses suitable for producing sharp enlargements of 4-by-5-inch negatives. On the low side are the Componar f/4.5 135 mm lens. The middle-quality lenses include the Comparon f/4.5 135 mm and f/5.6 150 mm. On the high end, the company produces the f/5.6 135 mm and 150 mm Componon and Componon-S lenses, as well as the f/5.6 150 mm G-Componon. The company also has a very high end f/4 150 mm lens in the APO-Componon-N class.
Beseler
Beseler once made some of the best enlargers on the market, from low to very high end. Many of these enlargers still are in use, often in academic settings where professors teach darkroom techniques to students. The company produced a number of lens boards for different types of lenses to be attached, so the enlargers can handle virtually any variety and brand of lenses available. Among the company's own lenses and lens boards, was the Beseler Turret that allowed the user to choose between three lenses on one lens board. The turret included a standard f/2.8 50 mm lens for smaller negatives, as well as an f/5.6 135 mm and f/5.6 150 mm lens for use with large negatives such as a 4-by-5.
Tags: enlarger lenses, will need, 4-by-5-inch negatives, company also, contact prints, four lens, large negatives