Goerz 168mm f/6.8 for 5x7

[Jeremy]

There are a couple of these on ebay right now and a few for sale at some of the online shops and I haven't been able to find out much info on them. All I have been able to find is that they "should cover up to 5x7." Can anyone help out with a little more info?

I thought it would be a good (and low-priced) match with a 240mm convertible lens as I tend to shoot with a normal or slightly longer lens (I love the Nikon 60mm macro in that postage stamp size) and only on occasion do I reach for a wider or longer lens.

 

[clay]

My most-used lens on my 5x7 is a 150 dagor. Sharp and contrasty, covers like a champ, and is small and light. If you get a good specimen for a good price, it is hard to see how you can go wrong here.

 

[PaulH]

I have one of those. When I shot 5x7 it was the only lens I used. Similar to 35mm on a 35mm camera. Plenty of coverage for 5x7. In fact, it covers 8x10, just.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I have one as well (ser III uncoated) and it does just cover 8x10", but I have heard reports that not all of them do, so it's probably best to test it.

It's a great compact wide lens. I sometimes use it for 4x5" when I want a lot of coverage.

 

[Jeremy]

Thanks for the quick replies! I'm watching a couple on ebay that are so cheap right now that if they stay low I can afford a shutter speed tester from Calumet to go with it. They are all mounted in older compur and compound shutters and I figure if they work consistently then I'll just buy the tester and re-mark the shutter speeds on the shutter, but if they're all over the place I'll just have to fork over the $$$ to have it mounted in a more modern shutter.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

S. K. Grimes is still doing good work on those Compound air-regulated shutters. I had one serviced not long ago, and it works great. They seem (and in fact are) old fashioned, but they are relatively quiet and low vibration, and are accurate when cleaned and lubricated.

 

[cjarvis]

And they sound really cool.

 

[Ole]

F:6.8 looks like a double-gauss wide-angle lens. If that's what it is, I can only recommend it; I use 90, 120 and 165mm Angulons and love them all.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Angulons and Dagors indeed are close cousins.

 

[Jeremy]

...stupid freakin' ebay snipers popping in at the literal last 3 seconds...

just means I need to do the same