400mm Tele advise sought

BOSS565 · Nov 3, 2006

I am a Shenhao 4x5 user. I already own a Nikkor 300mm lens. Would the addition of a Fuji 400mm Tele offer much of a difference? If you have experience with similar focal lengths I would appreciate your feedback. Thank you in advance.

Dave_B · Nov 3, 2006

longer focul length lens

I recommend a Nikkor 360 T-ED. It is an awsome lens. Not cheap, but a fine performer. If you can then score a 500mm rear section for it, you've died and gone to heaven....

Helen B · Nov 3, 2006

I have a 400 mm Apo-Tele-Xenar and I'm quite pleased with it. Unfortunately I have nothing modern in a similar focal length to compare it with. I already had a 300 mm Apo-Ronar, and 400 mm was the shortest longer lens that I considered. Though there's not a lot that can be judged from a picture on the web, here's one of the first snaps I took with it.

Best,
Helen

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and a crop

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MattKing · Nov 4, 2006

Helen:

If that is a snap, I am Santa Claus!

Matt

P.S.

MattKing · Nov 4, 2006

Helen:

If that is a snap, I am Santa Claus!

You could cut yourself on the detail.

Matt

David A. Goldfarb · Nov 4, 2006

Helen is working for the Illegal Rooftop Barbeque Unit of the FDNY.

dphphoto · Nov 4, 2006

I have a 400mm tele-fujinon. Great lens and sharp as a tack. Since it's a tele, of course the nodal point is in front of the lens, making front swings and tilts just about impossible (see wisner.com for more about this). Since I do landscape and use it for those "out there" detail shots, I don't care about lack of front movements.
I used to have a 360mm tele-xenon. I hated the compound shutter. Dean

Claire Senft · Nov 4, 2006

Since you already have a satisfactory 300mm lens, perhaps a longer lens, bellows permitting may be a better choice. If they are afforadable the Nukkors that offer interchangeable elements starting at 500mm would be worthy of consideration.

sanking · Nov 4, 2006

dphphoto said:
I have a 400mm tele-fujinon. Great lens and sharp as a tack. Since it's a tele, of course the nodal point is in front of the lens, making front swings and tilts just about impossible (see wisner.com for more about this). Since I do landscape and use it for those "out there" detail shots, I don't care about lack of front movements.
I used to have a 360mm tele-xenon. I hated the compound shutter. Dean

I also have a 400mm Fujinon-T. It covers the 5X7 format at infinity and should offer some movements on 4X5. However, I am using it with an ultra-light Nagaoka 5X7 outfit and it takes more room in the pack than I like so I am considering selling it. It would be a much better lens for 4X5 since you would have some movements, which I really do not on 5X7. I bought the lens used at a very good price earlier this year and am willing to re-sell at about the same price. If interested contact me by personal email at sanking@clemson.edu.

Sandy King

NikoSperi · Nov 4, 2006

David A. Goldfarb said:
Helen is working for the Illegal Rooftop Barbeque Unit of the FDNY.

Ah.. the I.RoB.U
I've heard they do serious damage to your pride and ego, if you thought your lenses were sharp.

What format was that (small) piece of glass shooting on Helen? I looked through your Usefilm "snaps" but didn't find much LF or larger.

Campbell · Nov 5, 2006

I second the suggestion of the Fuji 400T, it fits in a Copal 1 shutter so it's realtively small and light. I used one on a Tachihara for a while and liked it. A downside is the cost, if you buy new it will run you about double what you paid for your camera. However, a 400mm tele should be a substnatial improvement over your 300 because with the Shen Hao's 12 inch bellows you won't be able to use the 300 except at infinity unless you mess around with base tilt to move the front of the lens out in front of the camera bed to gain another couple inches.

Helen B · Nov 5, 2006

NikoSperi said:
...

What format was that (small) piece of glass shooting on Helen? I looked through your Usefilm "snaps" but didn't find much LF or larger.

It was shot on 4x5 - the less-than-obvious 'details' section of the examples on photo.net shows the format. I shoot quite a lot of 4x5 but nothing larger, and I've only recently started to scan my LF work instead of printing it.

Best,
Helen

rossb · Nov 7, 2006

I also have a 400mm Apo-Tele-Xenar and have used it for landscape for about a year. While I notice its presence in the backpack, the results more than justify carting it about.

MarkS · Nov 8, 2006

Just remember that a 400mm lens will only give you a 25% larger image than your 300. That's not a whole lot when you compare images. In a perfect world I'd use a 500mm Nikkor-T to complement my 300.

TheFlyingCamera · Nov 8, 2006

Now if I could only fit my 600 Apo-Germinar in a Copal #3...
but it still wouldn't work on the shen-hao as it is not a true Telephoto design.

Terrance Hounsell · Nov 8, 2006

I have a 400 mm Apo-Tele-Xenar and I'm quite pleased with it. Unfortunately I have nothing modern in a similar focal length to compare it with. I already had a 300 mm Apo-Ronar, and 400 mm was the shortest longer lens that I considered. Though there's not a lot that can be judged from a picture on the web, here's one of the first snaps I took with it.

I also have a 400mm APO Tele Xenar and I support Helen's comments. This lens doesn't get a lot of press but is one of the best performers out there in the longer focal lengths. Not only is it tack sharp it is uniformly sharp all the way across, I can see no difference from centre to edge and my informal tests indicate it exceeds 55 lines per millimeter both centre and edge. The coatings on this lens are fantastic. I can't say enough good things about it.

400mm Tele advise sought

BOSS565

Dave_B

Helen B

MattKing

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David A. Goldfarb

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dphphoto

Claire Senft

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NikoSperi

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Helen B

rossb

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Terrance Hounsell

400mm Tele advise sought

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