Can you rate my lenses for me.

campy51 · Dec 28, 2021

Not much large format experience but I have a Crown Graphic Special with the Xenar 135mm with focus cam and a Kodak 2D 5x7 with Paragon Anistigmat 71/2 lens. I buy photo gear when I see a bargain knowing I will make a little or break even, but now I should sell some off.
My other lens are:
Super Angulon 90mm f8
Kodak Ektar 152mm with focus cam
Fujinon-W 210mm f5.6
Nikkor-W 135mm f5.6
Kodak Wide Field Ektar 135mm f6.3
I assume the Fujinon and Nikkor are sharper but that's not always what you want.
I use my Crown as a point and shoot occasionally and very rarely use the 5x7 but I like having it as an option.

Sirius Glass · Dec 28, 2021

There is nothing wrong with any of your lenses, except that they are all screaming to be taken out and used more. Really it is a good selection that should let you handle any situation. I wish I had a collection like that. Keep them all.

shutterfinger · Dec 28, 2021

While all of your lens are considered very good to excellent but you will have to ask them if they preform good enough for you.
The Crown Graphic Special was introduced to improve sales to a slumping company. The Xenar was supposedly less sharp than the Optar used on the higher priced Crown Graphic.
Fast forward to about a year ago. I repaired a 4x5 Crown and the owner had a 135mm Optar with heavy fine scratches on the front element and a clean 135 Xenar.
I have a 20 x 30 inch piece of white foam core with 2x2 inch USAF1951 test targets printed at high resolution on glossy photo paper attached in an X pattern and a + pattern in the center with some of the targets turned a various angles. I measured from the film plane on both sides to the target sheet and got them within 1/8 inch of each other. I photographed the target with both lens loupe focused on the center of the target on 4x5 sheet film. The scratched Optar was sharper in the center than the Xenar but softer on the edges, the sharpness of the Xenar was the same from center to edges.

abruzzi · Dec 28, 2021

does the 135 WF Ektar cover 5x7? I love the 100mm WFE on 4x5 so I'd think the 135mm on 5x7 might work well. I recently got a 190mm WFE to try out on 8x10 (it supposedly doesn't quite cover, but it was cheap, so I couldn't say no...)

Bob S · Dec 28, 2021

shutterfinger said:
While all of your lens are considered very good to excellent but you will have to ask them if they preform good enough for you.
The Crown Graphic Special was introduced to improve sales to a slumping company. The Xenar was supposedly less sharp than the Optar used on the higher priced Crown Graphic.
Fast forward to about a year ago. I repaired a 4x5 Crown and the owner had a 135mm Optar with heavy fine scratches on the front element and a clean 135 Xenar.
I have a 20 x 30 inch piece of white foam core with 2x2 inch USAF1951 test targets printed at high resolution on glossy photo paper attached in an X pattern and a + pattern in the center with some of the targets turned a various angles. I measured from the film plane on both sides to the target sheet and got them within 1/8 inch of each other. I photographed the target with both lens loupe focused on the center of the target on 4x5 sheet film. The scratched Optar was sharper in the center than the Xenar but softer on the edges, the sharpness of the Xenar was the same from center to edges.

So, did you buy the lenses to shoot test charts at near ranges?

Sirius Glass · Dec 28, 2021

Bob S said:
So, did you buy the lenses to shoot test charts at near ranges?

Silly me. I never brought test charts. I just waste my film on photographs of real things. I guess I must be doing it all wrong.

Dan Fromm · Dec 28, 2021

Stupid questions of the day for the OP. So, you have two cameras that shoot different formats and have different sized lens boards. Do you have an adapter that will let you use lenses on 4x5 Pacemaker Graphic boards on your 2D? If not, why not?

Stupid question of the day, from the OP. Rate my lenses. You have your lenses. No one else has exactly the lenses you have. You have your photographic goals. No one else has them. You have your standards. No one else has them.

No one else can tell you which of your lenses can do what will please you. Don't ask unqualified strangers. Ask your lenses.

gone · Dec 28, 2021

"Can you rate my lenses for me."

I think only you can do that. Just keep the ones you like, and sell the ones you don't.

MattKing · Dec 28, 2021

Tough crowd here!
I read the OP's request as being essentially: "help me choose which of my lenses are better than others, because I want to keep some and sell others".
The resulting discussion may help the OP, but I'm sure that it won't provide anything definitive.

campy51 · Dec 28, 2021

MattKing said:
Tough crowd here!
I read the OP's request as being essentially: "help me choose which of my lenses are better than others, because I want to keep some and sell others".
The resulting discussion may help the OP, but I'm sure that it won't provide anything definitive.

Yes that is it. I was hoping for other users of these lenses for input.

BrianShaw · Dec 28, 2021

If your selling some, I’d sell the two Ektars and keep the rest. The 90… I never use mine and should follow my own advise, but you might actually use yours.

abruzzi · Dec 28, 2021

BrianShaw said:
If your selling some, I’d sell the two Ektars and keep the rest. The 90… I never use mine and should follow my own advise, but you might actually use yours.

Funny, I’d keep the Ektars, and sell the Fuji and Nikkor.

BrianShaw · Dec 28, 2021

abruzzi said:
Funny, I’d keep the Ektars, and sell the Fuji and Nikkor.

LOL… or that. I really like old Kodak lenses, using both Kodak Anastigmats and Commercial Ektars. There are days when I think of trading all of my plasmats for Commercial Ektars… so I can’t disagree with you. The advantage of the plasmats are more modern shutters.

Two23 · Dec 28, 2021

I think we obsess over this stuff too much. If I want razor sharp etc. I just use my Nikon D850 and Sigma Art lenses. When I use large format (which is most of the time) I generally am using lenses from the 19th C., often made before the Civil War.

Kent in SD

Sirius Glass · Dec 28, 2021

Send them all to me. I will keep the best for me and return the rest. I will pay round trip postage, although there may not be any return postage.

abruzzi · Dec 28, 2021

BrianShaw said:
LOL… or that. I really like old Kodak lenses, using both Kodak Anastigmats and Commercial Ektars. There are days when I think of trading all of my plasmats for Commercial Ektars… so I can’t disagree with you. The advantage of the plasmats are more modern shutters.

yeah, the Acme/Ilex shutters kind of suck, the Supermatic don't seem too bad, yet.... I was lucky (didn't know at the time) when I bought a 203mm ƒ7.7 Ektar, I got one fitted to a Compur. I wish there was an easy way to transplant the others to Compur/Copal shutters.

shutterfinger · Dec 28, 2021

Sirius Glass said:
Silly me. I never brought test charts. I just waste my film on photographs of real things. I guess I must be doing it all wrong.

https://jimdoty.com/learn/lenses/usaf_test/usaf_test.html
The only cost is the photo paper and printer ink.

Bob S said:
So, did you buy the lenses to shoot test charts at near ranges?

They were customer supplied. The Optar looked good from the front but looked like it had been cleaned with sandpaper from the rear, all scratches on the outside of the front element.

Optar;

Xenar. Lighting wasn't great but adequate for the test.

outwest · Dec 29, 2021

The 135 WF Ektar is my favorite lens on 5x7. They were made in the high point of Kodak quality control of the finest materials.

abruzzi · Dec 29, 2021

outwest said:
The 135 WF Ektar is my favorite lens on 5x7. They were made in the high point of Kodak quality control of the finest materials.

great shot. I love my 100, and just recently got a 190. I feel like I want The whole set.

it was so sad—I was looking on eBay at 80mm WFEs and there was an auction that had a low starting price, but when I looked, it was missing it’s rear element. I’ve seen lots of LF lenses, usually sold by someone who knows nothing about them, that are missing a rear element. Is there some kind of troll who collect rear elements to orphan the fronts?

Paul Howell · Dec 29, 2021

My guess is that all of your lens will resolve Tmax 200 and Ektar 100, the difference will be contrast and distortion wide open and closed down to F64. Find a scene with a wide dynamic range, shoot a sheet of your usual film at F16 or 22, with each lens. Use standard development, print grade 3, then see which lens you like the most. The difference in focal lengths of the lens that have are such that the only lens I would think about selling is the Nikon or Kodak 135mm.

Alan Edward Klein · Dec 29, 2021

outwest said:
The 135 WF Ektar is my favorite lens on 5x7. They were made in the high point of Kodak quality control of the finest materials. View attachment 294306

I like that shot. Where did you take it? Looks like Kodachrome from old times. I like that look.

ic-racer · Dec 29, 2021

campy51 said:
Not much large format experience but I have a Crown Graphic Special with the Xenar 135mm with focus cam and a Kodak 2D 5x7 with Paragon Anistigmat 71/2 lens. I buy photo gear when I see a bargain knowing I will make a little or break even, but now I should sell some off.
My other lens are:
Super Angulon 90mm f8
Kodak Ektar 152mm with focus cam
Fujinon-W 210mm f5.6
Nikkor-W 135mm f5.6
Kodak Wide Field Ektar 135mm f6.3
I assume the Fujinon and Nikkor are sharper but that's not always what you want.
I use my Crown as a point and shoot occasionally and very rarely use the 5x7 but I like having it as an option.

Certainly would need more information. For example is the glass clear and free from scratches? Any signs of abuse? Filter threads round without dents? Are these lenses mounted in shutters? "Press" shutters? Do the shutters function correctly?
I'd put the mint conditions lenses in late model black-shutter speed ring Copal shutters at the top of the list and rank the others accordingly, with imperfect optics and old-model, potentially irreparable shutters near the bottom.

Can you rate my lenses for me.

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