Buy used lenses

[FM2N]

Hello All,
In the market for a used 150 and 210mm lenses. Any suggestions on where or who to buy from would be greatly appreciated. Also any thoughts on Caltar lenses as well as Fujinon. They will be used on 4x5 camera and maybe 5x7 in the future.
Thanks
Arthur

 

[Nick Zentena]

www.keh.com
www.mpex.com

Can't go far wrong with either.

Caltars are Rodenstocks mostly. Some of the older onces are Scheinders. Exact same lenses in either case just different names on them.

Fujis are great. Some are highly sought after for various reasons. The C are small and light. The older W have great coverage. The A are prized.

 

[Ian Grant]

There's one in the (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Ian

 

[rwyoung]

Calumet Clearance Center over on Ebay seems to be listing 210 Caltars on a regular basis. I have a 210 so I haven't tracked them for final price. New in box I believe.

 

[palewin]

Take a look over on www.LFPhoto.info; used LF lenses are common in their items for sale section.

 

[Neanderman]

Caltars are Rodenstocks mostly. Some of the older onces are Scheinders. Exact same lenses in either case just different names on them.

I believe the Caltar-S lenses are Schneiders and Caltar-N lenses are Rodenstocks.

Ed

 

[Matus Kalisky]

Propbably the cheapest 210 you can get would be Caltar II-E 210/6.8 (I have one) what is Rodenstock Geronar. It is a triplet, but it performs well, although to get most of it you should stop it down to f16. It is a light lens (~250g) when compared to 210 f/5.6 plasmat lenses. However - it would not be a very wise choice if you want to use it with 5x7 too. With 210mm image circle it will cover, but will not leave much room for movements.

Coverage-wise you get most from the sigle coated (marked inside the filter thread) Fujinon W lenses. the 210 just coveres 8x10. The later multi coated (marked outside on the lens barrel) Fujinon W lenses have somewhat less coverage, but the 210 W would still be fine on 5x7.

Then there is the latest Fujinon CMW lenses - I have one - the 125/5.6 - I like it very much (I use 4x5).

Then there are the Fujinon A (180/9 and 240/9) lenses but are not exactly cheap. They are very light and beloved by many users. The Fujion C are only available at 300, 450 and 600 mm focal length. There is also Nikkor M (200/8 and 300/9) which is also very light but again not cheap.

Both Fujinon A 180/9 and Nikkor 200/8 would cover 5x7 with movements, though you should check this more - I do not have a hands on experience.

Caltar II-N lenses are Rodenstock Apo Sironar N lenses - all of them are multicoated. These are supposed to be very good ones too. Caltar S are most probably Schneider Symmar-S lenses, but maby not exclusively. In general Caltar S are older than Caltar II-N lenses.

For the 150 lesnes - applies the same as above. But if you want to use it on 5x7 you need to go either with single coated Fujinon W - the one with 46 mm filter thread (look here ! http://members.aol.com/subgallery/) or a Rodenstock Apo Sironar S (Caltar brand not available).

Then there are a few large coverage lesnes out of production like (Apo) Sironar W or Shcneider Super Symmar HM. Both cover about 250mm buit are costly and also quite large (370 and 740 g respectively).

Of course - much depends on your subject and personal preferences.