Is the RZ67 210mm APO too close to 180mm length?

[macvisual]

Recently bought a minty RZ67 Pro 1 body, so far I've these RZ lenses, 110mm - 180mm, and about to buy a 50mm.

I'm currently looking at a really clean/used 210mm APO lens for sale, so would the 210mm lens length be too close size wise to the 180mm lens?


Any advice welcome and appreciated.

Regards;
Peter
Scotland - UK

 

[Noisegate]

For me, it's not a question of 180 vs 210 as I find each lens provides something different. I have an APO 210 and love the sharpness. I also have a 180 but don't use it (in fact, I should sell it). I find the 180 to be softer than the 210 which is why it has a reputation of being "model" kind. If portraits are you thing, I would go with the 180...but if you want sharp, crisp shots, the 210 is the way to go. And, if you like portraits and sharp shots, you could always "dummy" down the 210 with various filters.

Noisegate

 

[jimmyklane]

For me, it's not a question of 180 vs 210 as I find each lens provides something different. I have an APO 210 and love the sharpness. I also have a 180 but don't use it (in fact, I should sell it). I find the 180 to be softer than the 210 which is why it has a reputation of being "model" kind. If portraits are you thing, I would go with the 180...but if you want sharp, crisp shots, the 210 is the way to go. And, if you like portraits and sharp shots, you could always "dummy" down the 210 with various filters.

Noisegate

I am going to have to get my hands on the 210. I thought the 180 did a great job for what it is...

 

[mweintraub]

I am going to have to get my hands on the 210. I thought the 180 did a great job for what it is...

THIS! I'm afraid to see what the 210mm can do. (of course I can search it, but I'd love comparisons)

 

[macvisual]

Thanks for the replies so far, keep them coming please.....

So what does the letters 'APO' stand for?

So what about the Z 250mm lens instead of the 210mm APO....?......does anyone use this lens length? Would the 250mm be as sharp as the 210mm APO I wonder?


Sorry for all the questions.

Thanks;
peter

 

[polyglot]

"APO" means "apochromatic" (though it's frequently abused as a trademark rather than applied as a technical term), which means that the lens is well-corrected for secondary-spectrum chromatic aberration, i.e. it focuses all colours at the same distance. You will get less colour-fringing from an APO lens than a non-APO lens. If you're shooting B&W, the fringing manifests as softness. The secdondary-spectrum effect is mostly proportional to focal length, so there's no need for APO design techniques on normal and short lenses; you only see it as a feature on telephotos. Have a read of this, and the rest of that site is pretty good too.

Personally I sold my 180 once I got the 250APO. Though the 180 is good, the APO teles are better. If you like the field of view of the 180, then the 210 APO would make a decent replacement for it; I wouldn't bother owning both.

The 250APO (which is what I have) is awesome; the 210APO should be as good. The plain 250 will be less sharp than both the 210APO and the 180.

 

[Alan Gales]

I really liked the 180mm but I used it for portraiture. A 180mm and 210mm are awful close in focal length. If you are looking for something sharper than the 180mm you could replace it with the 210 APO.

On the other hand 180mm's sell for dirt cheap so you might just want to keep it for portraiture and use the 210mm APO for some portraits and everything else.

A lot of large format photographers own several lenses in the same or similar focal length. They may have a modern sharp contrasty lens plus a Dagor, Heliar, Ektar, etc. and/or a soft focus lens for many different looks.

 

[macvisual]

Thanks Alan, I totally understand your words, my RZ 180mm f4.5 is an absolute minter, about 9.5 out of 10 condition so I wouldn't want to sell it on, I luckily bout it for a mere £85 (UK pounds) by luck!

As you rightly say, many medium format 'Pro Photographers' have an array of close focal length lenses for their personal usage. It probably does no harm to own as many lenses as you can afford without going mad with it! Always nice to have a choice at hand.

Regards;
Peter
Scotland

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I always advocate a three-lens combo of normal,half that and double normal.that offers significant differences and prepared for everything from landscape to close portrait work.

 

[macvisual]

Thanks Ralph for that info.

 

[bluez]

The price of the 180mm lens is very low, this is a de facto standard lens for portrait on the RZ67. It's sharp but not to sharp, perfect for portrait if that's want you are going to use it for. I also have the 250 (non APO), and like it. Another often overlooked lens is the 150mm, it's a little sharper than the 180mm.