Large Format Lenses recommendation

[Guna Dwi]

Hi, i have a chance to buy these lenses as lot (not separately)
Does anyone have any experiences with any of these lenses?
Which one is a keeper? Im looking a review from user experiences.
.
Im just starting into LF world, i only have 1 body Chamonix N2 and 1 lens Schneider APO Symmar 150/5.6 right now
Mostly i will shoot portrait and still life, B&W and wet plate collodion too
Any input will be appreciated
Thank you


FUJINON :
- 90/8
- 210/5.6
- 250/6.3
- 600/12

NIKKOR :
- 65/4
- 300/5.6
- Tele 360/8 Rear lens + Front lens
- Tele 500/11 Rear lens
- Tele 800/12 Rear lens + Front lens

RODENSTOCK :
- Sironar N 150/5.6
- Geronar WA 90/8

SINARON :
- Sinaron S 360/6.8

 

[ic-racer]

How much and what is the condition of each lens and shutter? If it is something like $100 per lens, then I'd not concern myself with the condition. Anything more than that, I'd want to check every lens and shutter. Any links, if you don't want the lenses, maybe someone here does.

 

[CatSplat]

Depends on how much they are asking for the whole lot, but I wouldn't hesitate to shoot any of those lenses listed, that's a pretty good fleet. In terms of quality the Geronar WA 90/8 is probably a step down from the rest but I'd just consider it a throw-in.

Some of them will be difficult to use on your 4x5 (the 600mm is too long for your available bellows draw, for example) but you could easily sell them.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

They’re all fine modern lenses, but if you want to have a nicely rounded 4x5” kit, I’d keep your 150/5.6 Apo-Symmar, and then from the list the 65, 90, 210, and the Nikon 360/500/800 tele kit. That’s pretty much everything you’ll ever need, though a 72-75mm lens can be handy for interiors or landscapes where you might want a 24mm lens for shooting 35mm. Or if you like a really ultrawide perspective or if you sometimes shoot rollfilm, you could go wider. I sold off my 65mm lens when found that I used the 75mm a lot more and rarely carried both. I also have a 55mm that I use mostly for 6x7 and 6x9cm and a 47mm that rarely gets out, but is probably the widest lens I have in any format not counting the Noblex 150.

 

[Guna Dwi]

How much and what is the condition of each lens and shutter? If it is something like $100 per lens, then I'd not concern myself with the condition. Anything more than that, I'd want to check every lens and shutter. Any links, if you don't want the lenses, maybe someone here does.

Not that cheap but yeah i will check every lens..it's in good condition and still have their boxes.
Maybe i will keep some of them and will sell the rest

 

[Guna Dwi]

Depends on how much they are asking for the whole lot, but I wouldn't hesitate to shoot any of those lenses listed, that's a pretty good fleet. In terms of quality the Geronar WA 90/8 is probably a step down from the rest but I'd just consider it a throw-in.

Some of them will be difficult to use on your 4x5 (the 600mm is too long for your available bellows draw, for example) but you could easily sell them.

Yes im not planning to use that focal length either.
Maybe i will sell the rest that i dont use that much.
Thanks

 

[Guna Dwi]

They’re all fine modern lenses, but if you want to have a nicely rounded 4x5” kit, I’d keep your 150/5.6 Apo-Symmar, and then from the list the 65, 90, 210, and the Nikon 360/500/800 tele kit. That’s pretty much everything you’ll ever need, though a 72-75mm lens can be handy for interiors or landscapes where you might want a 24mm lens for shooting 35mm. Or if you like a really ultrawide perspective or if you sometimes shoot rollfilm, you could go wider. I sold off my 65mm lens when found that I used the 75mm a lot more and rarely carried both. I also have a 55mm that I use mostly for 6x7 and 6x9cm and a 47mm that rarely gets out, but is probably the widest lens I have in any format not counting the Noblex 150.

Which one is better Schneider APO Symmar 150/5.6 or Rodenstock Sironar N 150/5.6?

Yes im planning to keep 90, 210 and 300..maybe one Tele 360 or 500 and will sell the rest of it.
Maybe in the future i want to have 6x17 film back also, so 90 and 150 is enough for this format.

 

[neilt3]

The question isn't which of those lenses are recommended , they'll all give you decent results .
A list from 65mm to 600mm is a heck of large range . Do you need that range ?
The real question is what focal length lenses do you need ?

I'll admit , I have more lenses than I regularly use , but as I'm using mainly 5x4 now , I also have a 7x5 I'm just finishing restoring , and at some point I'll be making a 10x8 , I've got ones that can also be used on the larger format sizes .
I've 12 lenses with shutters , and about 7 barrel lenses without shutters .
At least that's my excuse !

So before buying lenses , what focal lengths do you need ?
On 5x4 my main lens is 135mm , wides typically 75mm .
Those two do about 90% of what I do .
I'll also carry a 210mm .
A lot of the time my 90mm would be sufficient for my wideangle usage . YMMV

If there all in good condition and working , at the right price , then sure , buy them .
Use them to see which you like and sell the rest .
Be aware that if you have a field camera then I can't see it being able to use 65-600mm lenses .
You might be restricted at the short end unless you can fit a recessed lens board , and you'll definitely not be able to focus a 600mm .

 

[halfaman]

I had the Fujinon 210 mm NW and currently have a Fujinon 250 mm CM-W. Both are very sharp with excellent conrast, I prefer the 250 mm but just because I prefer the angle of view.

I miss a 135 mm, for me is the standard lens in 4x5'' over 150 mm. Again, I feel more confortable with the angle of view.

 

[Bob S]

The question isn't which of those lenses are recommended , they'll all give you decent results .
A list from 65mm to 600mm is a heck of large range . Do you need that range ?
The real question is what focal length lenses do you need ?

I'll admit , I have more lenses than I regularly use , but as I'm using mainly 5x4 now , I also have a 7x5 I'm just finishing restoring , and at some point I'll be making a 10x8 , I've got ones that can also be used on the larger format sizes .
I've 12 lenses with shutters , and about 7 barrel lenses without shutters .
At least that's my excuse !

So before buying lenses , what focal lengths do you need ?
On 5x4 my main lens is 135mm , wides typically 75mm .
Those two do about 90% of what I do .
I'll also carry a 210mm .
A lot of the time my 90mm would be sufficient for my wideangle usage . YMMV

If there all in good condition and working , at the right price , then sure , buy them .
Use them to see which you like and sell the rest .
Be aware that if you have a field camera then I can't see it being able to use 65-600mm lenses .
You might be restricted at the short end unless you can fit a recessed lens board , and you'll definitely not be able to focus a 600mm .

You can easily use the 600mm on a Wista with an extension base and bellows.

 

[Rick A]

Buy the lot. Try each lens and see which one(s) you like best, sell the rest at reasonable prices. It's that simple.

 

[neilt3]

You can easily use the 600mm on a Wista with an extension base and bellows.

I did not know that . Thank you .
When I want to use either long lenses , or need a long bellows draw for close ups I tend to use my old DeVere monorail camera .

How about the Chamonix N2 that the O.P has ?
What's the longest one that can be used on that ?

 

[grat]

How about the Chamonix N2 that the O.P has ?
What's the longest one that can be used on that ?

Stock is 395mm, and with an extension board from Chamonix, 480mm is the limit, I believe.

Maximum bellows draw is a drawback on field cameras, as a rule.

 

[neilt3]

Stock is 395mm, and with an extension board from Chamonix, 480mm is the limit, I believe.

Maximum bellows draw is a drawback on field cameras, as a rule.

Thanks for the extra information .
So the O.P's camera won't be able to use the 500mm , 600mm or 800mm lenses .
Still , if he gets them at the right price he can sell on what he doesn't want .
If he gets lucky he might get what he keeps for free .

 

[DREW WILEY]

Over half of them are going to be way too big and heavy to be realistic for your lightweight field camera. I doubt your front standard end even handle them without vibration. You don't have sufficient bellows draw either, and resorting to a "tophat" extension board will only make vibration and bulk issues worse. What you need with a camera like that are petite lenses in no. 0 or no.1 shutters of realistic focal length. Some of those lenses are big studio clunkers.

 

[BradS]

Which one is better Schneider APO Symmar 150/5.6 or Rodenstock Sironar N 150/5.6?

They're very similar and at this point, they might be something like 20+ years old. Any difference between them when they were both new is much smaller than the likely differences between them now. Which one is "better" now depends upon how they were handled, how they were stored, etc...

 

[BradS]

Frankly, unless you're able to get them for far below market prices, I'd probably pass on the whole thing...that is assuming that you want to do photography. If you want to open a used camera store then by all means, buy the lot and try to sell them at a profit (no easy task in this market).

But if you want to do large format photography, you already have a very excellent lens and a decent camera. You'll way better off using what you have...maybe add a 90mm or a 210mm later when you've already

 

[Bob S]

They're very similar and at this point, they might be something like 20+ years old. Any difference between them when they were both new is much smaller than the likely differences between them now. Which one is "better" now depends upon how they were handled, how they were stored, etc...

A Sironar N is much older then 20 years old. A Sironar N MC is more then 20 years old as well.

 

[Mal Paso]

Both the Fujinon and Nikkor telephotos infinity focus at about 80% of their actual focal length, that helps some. I have the 400mm Fujinon, very good lens.
I also have the 65mm Nkkor, My revenge for all the years I struggled to focus my F8 65mm Super Angulon. I think the Nikkor is slightly retro focus and the actual infinity focus is longer. It came in a recessed lensboard but it doesn't need it.

 

[grat]

Thanks for the extra information .
So the O.P's camera won't be able to use the 500mm , 600mm or 800mm lenses .

True telephoto lens are a special case, as the optical center is shifted forwards, resulting in less distance from the lens assembly to the film plane.

From what I can tell, the Fujinon 600 f/12 focuses to infinity at 384mm, and the Nikkor 500 focuses at about 350mm.

 

[138S]

Which one is a keeper?

Your Symmar-S is a keeper !

I would recomend you to purchase glass slowly, before assembling a kit I'd practice a lot with the symmar 150mm you have.

One shots with what he has, but you only can select your kit properly after you learn what you want from the glasses, and you only will learn what you really want after some extensive practice.


For example, portrait glass is an entire world, please read this https://www.largeformatphotography.info/portrait-lenses/ , you will find that Out of Focus depiction may more important than technical performance, LF delivers sharpness in excess for portraits, but the way you play with the OOF may allow an amazing 3D depth. It's more what you do than the particular glass you use, but you may wnt some nuances from a glass.

In general for LF lenses you consider 3 factors

1) Coverage, a large circle is desired for architecture, but the lens gets slower and/or heavier.

2) Lightweight, desired for the field, but an smaller lens is slower and/or it has an smaller circle.

3) Speed, it can be desired for wet plate and portraiture, but a fast lens is heavier and/or has an smaller coverage

Also you may want smooth Out of Focus, you may get a lens that also covers larger formats in the future, but the large image circle may deliver flare if not using a compendium shade. Also you have to learn about shutters, those available may have not been serviced for decades, you have to learn what shutters you want and how to check their accuracy.

Of course, you also should assemble your kit in a way focals are progressive, with a 30% longer focal in each step, or a 50%. For example you may get a 65-90-120-180-240-360 kit, or perhaps 75-105-150-210-300

then you may want certain great coverage in some focals and a narrower one in others...

What I'm saying is that time is in your side, first you should mature your LF style before you assemble your personal kit, for the moment perhaps I'd buy a single additional lens, better if it's cheap for now.

 

[Guna Dwi]

The question isn't which of those lenses are recommended , they'll all give you decent results .
A list from 65mm to 600mm is a heck of large range . Do you need that range ?
The real question is what focal length lenses do you need ?

I'll admit , I have more lenses than I regularly use , but as I'm using mainly 5x4 now , I also have a 7x5 I'm just finishing restoring , and at some point I'll be making a 10x8 , I've got ones that can also be used on the larger format sizes .
I've 12 lenses with shutters , and about 7 barrel lenses without shutters .
At least that's my excuse !

So before buying lenses , what focal lengths do you need ?
On 5x4 my main lens is 135mm , wides typically 75mm .
Those two do about 90% of what I do .
I'll also carry a 210mm .
A lot of the time my 90mm would be sufficient for my wideangle usage . YMMV

If there all in good condition and working , at the right price , then sure , buy them .
Use them to see which you like and sell the rest .
Be aware that if you have a field camera then I can't see it being able to use 65-600mm lenses .
You might be restricted at the short end unless you can fit a recessed lens board , and you'll definitely not be able to focus a 600mm .

Yes it's an offer that i can't refuse. I'll buy it and keep what i need. I want 90-150-210-300 to be my focal length range. The 300 would be useful if i move up to 8x10 someday, so i want to keep it. I dont need telephoto lens so i want to sell it later.
Thanks for your input

 

[Guna Dwi]

I had the Fujinon 210 mm NW and currently have a Fujinon 250 mm CM-W. Both are very sharp with excellent conrast, I prefer the 250 mm but just because I prefer the angle of view.

I miss a 135 mm, for me is the standard lens in 4x5'' over 150 mm. Again, I feel more confortable with the angle of view.

Thanks..i see Fujinon 210 is second favorite after Rodenstock 150 on the vote, i need this focal length for portrait

 

[Guna Dwi]

Over half of them are going to be way too big and heavy to be realistic for your lightweight field camera. I doubt your front standard end even handle them without vibration. You don't have sufficient bellows draw either, and resorting to a "tophat" extension board will only make vibration and bulk issues worse. What you need with a camera like that are petite lenses in no. 0 or no.1 shutters of realistic focal length. Some of those lenses are big studio clunkers.

Yes true, i dont need the telephoto lens that much

 

[Guna Dwi]

Frankly, unless you're able to get them for far below market prices, I'd probably pass on the whole thing...that is assuming that you want to do photography. If you want to open a used camera store then by all means, buy the lot and try to sell them at a profit (no easy task in this market).

But if you want to do large format photography, you already have a very excellent lens and a decent camera. You'll way better off using what you have...maybe add a 90mm or a 210mm later when you've already

It's an offer i can't refuse.
Yeah im planning to add 90-210-300 to the lineup.
Thanks