[Leica] Current M lens as enlarger lens?

["Moore, Andrew" <moorea@andovercontrols.com>]

I've been trying to decide between a conventional and a digital
darkroom, and I've decided to go with a conventional one.

Now I need to decide which enlarger to buy.

1) Is it possible to use a modern Leica lens (such as the 50/2
   Summicron-M) as an enlarger lens, even if I had to make my own
   mount/adapter?  I envision attaching a LTM-to-M adapter ring into a
   plate, and being able to bayonet-mount my M lens on the enlarger.

2) Can anyone suggest some resources for comparing the features,
   reputations, and trade-offs among enlargers?

Suggests are welcome.  Here's what I'm interested in:

- - black & white
- - 35mm format
- - manual operation, but must be "accurate".
  The one I've been using has a very sloppy focusing mechanism,
  which jiggles the frame out of focus when you remove your hand
  from the focus knob after focusing.
- - suitable for prints up to 8x10 will probably be fine.  Maybe 11x14.

Expandability to color or other negative formats is not necessary.

Thanks for any help,

Andrew

no archive