finally I am one of those lucky ebay bidders...

scootermm · Apr 12, 2006

so Ive been looking for a wider angle lens for my 7x17 (in the 10" range) for a while now...
I came across this ebay auction and have been anxiously watching it all week.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7607538155
and I actually won it. Im pretty excited about it.
I was going under the assumption of the ample coverage of G Clarons. the 355 I have is a wonderful lens.

anyone know much about this 270mm WA G claron?

Jeremy · Apr 12, 2006

Good deal, Matt! Was this the one I sent the link to? I think it screws into a Copal.

scootermm · Apr 12, 2006

yeah. I had booked marked it not but an hour before you PMed me. (great minds think alike)

managed to get it pretty cheap too

resummerfield · Apr 12, 2006

I have one Im using in a 7x17 adapter for my enlarger. At 2x magnification, it has great resolution at the corners and less than ½ stop light falloff. Schneider claims around 70 degree coverage, and I know it can do better than that. I have not tried it on the camera yet. I have heard it does not fit a Copal shutter? Does anyone know for certain? See http://www.schneiderkreuznach.com/archiv/pdf/g_claron_wa.pdf

naturephoto1 · Apr 12, 2006

Matt,

Congratulations on the purchase. Enjoy it. If Jeremy is correct, I presume you intend to install it into a shutter to add to its usability.

Rich

scootermm · Apr 12, 2006

rich...
am hoping to eventually mount it to a shutter. hoping maybe some of the knowledgeable lens folk (JimG, Kerry, Sandy) and/or banquet shooters (kerik, shinnya, clay, etc) might hopefully stumble in with any helpful info on whether it fits in a shutter etc. If not it will get used nonetheless (I dont mind the lenscap shutter if thats the only financially feasible option)

photomc · Apr 12, 2006

Way to go Matt.....Congratulations on what looks like a very cool lens for the 7x17.

resummerfield · Apr 12, 2006

I checked my 270 WA G-Claron on a Copal 3 shutter. The threads seem to match, but I cant screw the cells into the shutter deep enough to match the cell spacing on the factory 270. Perhaps the shutter area around the threads could be machined wider to allow the larger diameter lens cells, or maybe the cell bodies could be machined down. It only lacks about 5mm (rough meas.) to get the right cell spacing. This test was with a newer Copal 3 that came on a Nikon 450M.

scootermm · Apr 12, 2006

thanks for the info Eric... will try it out in my copal 3 when it arrives.

sanking · Apr 12, 2006

scootermm said:
rich...
am hoping to eventually mount it to a shutter. hoping maybe some of the knowledgeable lens folk (JimG, Kerry, Sandy) and/or banquet shooters (kerik, shinnya, clay, etc) might hopefully stumble in with any helpful info on whether it fits in a shutter etc. If not it will get used nonetheless (I dont mind the lenscap shutter if thats the only financially feasible option)

Have you looked at the S.K. Grimes website to see if they have any examples of shutter mounting of this lens?

Sandy

jimgalli · Apr 13, 2006

Matt, It's the same design as a Kodak WF Ektar like the 250mm. Double gauss. They're a wide field, not a true wide angle. It'll cover 85+ degrees which is enough for the 7X17. It's about the most impressive looking lens I've ever seen. A rear street car headlight. It has normal 58mm Copal 3 threads but the modern all black Copal's with the angled face plate are a problem. You'd have to have some material removed from the face plate for clearance. But the earlier chrome Copal 3's that are flat where the threads are might work with no extra fiddling. Also they like to be stopped down. Figure on doing most of your shooting at f45 and f64. I did some shots with one on my 1114 and was favorably impressed. They really don't cover much more than the tiny by comparison 270 f9 G-Claron plasmat. One nice thing though is if you put it in a shutter it will open right up to a nice bright f6.3! Maybe there was focus shift or something that made Schneider throttle them at f11.

Kerik · Apr 13, 2006

I don't mean to pee on the campfire, but try that lens on your camera before you get too excited about putting it in a shutter. I bought one of these several years ago thinking it would have massive coverage being a "WA" lens. Not so. Barely covered 7x17 and was unacceptably mushy in the corners. I've heard the same complaint from others. Hopefully, yours will be better! But this really is a process/enlarging lens.

Jimmy Peguet · Apr 13, 2006

Matt,

I tried once two 270 WA mounted on a modified Compur (the original couldn't take the lens), hoping to use them in 7x17. First trials on 8x10 : very poor results. A large part of the image, far from the corners, was not sharp enough to the naked eye on the negative, even with the lens stopped down. I exchanged the lenses on the same shutter, it was exactly the same with the second lens. I don't know which is faulty, lens or spacing, but I sent back immediately the two lenses and the shutter to the seller. I hope you will be more lucky, Jim told once here or on another forum he had no problems with the 270 WA.

paul owen · Apr 13, 2006

Hi - don't want to sound negative but the WA Clarons do not have the same resolving power as the "regular" Clarons. From what I understand they are soft in the corners?? But this is not from experience I hasten to add!! So take it as you will

noseoil · Apr 13, 2006

Matt, check a Packard shutter if you need something cheap that works. Sounds like the jury is still out about clarity & coverage. If you find the correct style of old Packard, at least it will work for anything you can dream up in a lens, as one size usually fits all. tim

Jeremy · Apr 13, 2006

Matt, that Copal 3 I sold you is the older style with chrome if I remember correctly, so it may screw right into that one!

-Jeremy

Steve_7x · Apr 13, 2006

I, like Kerik bought one many years ago, in a modern all black Copal 3. I even had a special cap made by Steve Grimnes for the rear element. In the end I was terribly disapointed in the results... very mushy corners. There may be variations, but before you go through the process of mounting in a shutter etc... try it out.

I am much happier with my 270/f9 Computar.

Steve

jamie young · Apr 14, 2006

I had the same experience as kerik. It is really, and I mean REALLY designed as a wide field process lense. The image circle is smaller than a regular g claron, and it goes soft toward the edges more quickly too. The lense was often used on vertical process cameras at around 1:1, and would cover 20x24 at that setting, if I remember the specs correctly. But not a good choice for for landscape over 8x10. Steve Grimes put mine in a copal #3.
Jamie

jamie young · Apr 16, 2006

This is what the image circle ofthe WA 270 gclaron looks like on 8x20 film (probably stopped down to around 32-45)
http://www.jamieyoungphoto.com/B&W portfolios 1.html

(I'm rebuilding my website so things are a bit messy)

Steve Grimes had to do a modification to make the lense fit a copal #3. Don't remember what though.

Jamie Young

scootermm · Apr 17, 2006

thanks for all the replies everyone. (Jamie appreciate the images used with the lens)
wont be mounting it to a lens anytime soon. so Ill just give it a whirl and see how it does. luckily it wasnt terribly expensive, so worse case I can just use it as a "wider" than my 300 Nikkor on the 8x10.

thanks again all for the info.

Ole · Apr 17, 2006

I just got an "un-famous" lens - a late 270mm f:6.8 Meyer Görlitz Doppel Anastigmat.

Guess what: It's a Dagor. So the image circle should be around 45cm at small apertures, and that looks reasonable from just looking at it. Certainly plenty for my 24x30cm camera, almost enough for the 30x40cm. Not bad for 24 Euros?

naturephoto1 · Apr 18, 2006

Matt,

You should be receiving your lens shortly. Please keep us posted about your findings once you get it.

Rich

scootermm · Apr 22, 2006

Got my lens in the mail yesterday. from Beijing nonetheless.
Havent shot with it yet. But just mounting it and seeing how it covered seemed to cover when centered. Its REALLY wide, or much wider than Im used to seeing on the groundglass. will be interesting to use for interior shots, architecture etc.
using more than an inch of rise showed the image coverage ran out.
Excited to shoot some with it in the next few days.

naturephoto1 · Apr 22, 2006

scootermm said:
Got my lens in the mail yesterday. from Beijing nonetheless.
Havent shot with it yet. But just mounting it and seeing how it covered seemed to cover when centered. Its REALLY wide, or much wider than Im used to seeing on the groundglass. will be interesting to use for interior shots, architecture etc.
using more than an inch of rise showed the image coverage ran out.
Excited to shoot some with it in the next few days.

Matt,

Good to hear the lens arrived in good condition. Keep us posted on lens performance, coverage, and if you think that it would allow for any enlargement.

Rich

rbarker · Apr 22, 2006

scootermm said:
Got my lens in the mail yesterday.

Cool, Matt. Getting a new lens that shows promise is almost as exciting as meeting a 30-something woman who has a "thing" for older guys who don't take pills. ;-)

I'm anxious to see some results with the new lens.

finally I am one of those lucky ebay bidders...

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