Looking for another 8x10 Lens

kristian_thacker · Jan 24, 2014

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for another possibly more modern lens for my Century 8x10. I currently have a 13" Wollensak Velostigmat II on a Betax No 5 (i might have this wrong, don't have lens in front of me). I've had the shuttered serviced by Frank Marshman and the shutter speeds checked by a second person so it operates just fine. However, this lens is just a bit soft at the low end (F8 or less) and obviously doesn't create very contrasty images wide open. I'd like to have something in a similar focal length but I'm just not sure what to look for. Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Kristian

Alan Gales · Jan 24, 2014

I have never used a 13" Wollensak Velostigmat II so I really don't know how it renders.

Personally, I like my 14" Kodak Commercial Ektar. It's sharp but not clinically sharp. Check out Yousuf Karsh. He used one for most of his portraits. There was also a 12" Commercial Ektar if you prefer.

If you want something even sharper and more contrasty look for a modern 300mm or 360mm f/5.6 lens from Schneider, Rodenstock, Nikon, or Fujinon.

gone · Jan 24, 2014

Like Alan said, you can't go wrong w/ an Ektar lens. Good stuff.

ic-racer · Jan 24, 2014

Any modern 300mm lens, Nikkor, Schneider, Rodenstock, Fuji in a #3 shutter.

ntenny · Jan 25, 2014

For serious sharpness and bang for the buck, there's always the old reliable G-Claron. The 270mm covers 8x10; the longer ones will for sure. Of course you have to be willing to focus at f/9.

-NT

rwhb12 · Jan 25, 2014

As a matter of interest only where did the word Ektar come from?

Russ

E. von Hoegh · Jan 25, 2014

rwhb12 said:
As a matter of interest only where did the word Ektar come from?

Russ

Eastman Kodak, the -ar as used in Tessar, etc

Alan Gales · Jan 26, 2014

E. von Hoegh said:
Eastman Kodak, the -ar as used in Tessar, etc

E., you remind me of Mark on Pawn Stars. You know, the Beard of Knowledge? Do you have a beard?

MattKing · Jan 26, 2014

Goes well with:

Ektachrome,
Ektaprint
Ektaflo
Ektagraphic
Ektanon

And I expect a bunch more

E. von Hoegh · Jan 28, 2014

Alan Gales said:
E., you remind me of Mark on Pawn Stars. You know, the Beard of Knowledge? Do you have a beard?

As a matter of fact I do. But fortunately I do not have a cadre of producers to prime me so I look knowledgeable on some dreadful TV show.

Alan Gales · Jan 28, 2014

E. von Hoegh said:
As a matter of fact I do. But fortunately I do not have a cadre of producers to prime me so I look knowledgeable on some dreadful TV show.

Hey, it is entertaining when the Old Man and Chumley go at it!

I know it's fake but I think all the old stuff that people bring on the show is interesting. I've even seen Railroad pocket watches but no large format cameras or lenses yet.

E. von Hoegh · Jan 28, 2014

Alan Gales said:
Hey, it is entertaining when the Old Man and Chumley go at it!

I know it's fake but I think all the old stuff that people bring on the show is interesting. I've even seen Railroad pocket watches but no large format cameras or lenses yet.

Yeah, the amount of bad information on those shows just makes my blood boil. Fortunately I haven't had a TV since the late 80s, my exposure to that garbage is very limited.
If you wonder why I happen to know a few things, there might be a clue here.

Alan Gales · Jan 28, 2014

E. von Hoegh said:
Yeah, the amount of bad information on those shows just makes my blood boil. Fortunately I haven't had a TV since the late 80s, my exposure to that garbage is very limited.
If you wonder why I happen to know a few things, there might be a clue here.

Yeah, I have always read a lot myself.

kristian_thacker · Jan 31, 2014

Correction, it was a 12" Velostigmat II on a Betax No 5. I'll check out the Ektar series lenses. I have a feeling the most modern lenses might be a bit out of my reach. I'm not looking for anything too sharp since I do intend to use this camera almost exclusively for portraiture. I'm using the 8x10" film from the Impossible Project so a slightly sharper lens would be beneficial. Other than that I'll be shooting portraits with it using HP5.

After a quick glance on eBay I see tons of the Ektar lenses so maybe I'll give one of those a try. Thanks for the feedback everyone.

Neil Poulsen · Feb 9, 2014

E. von Hoegh said:
"E"astman "K"odak, the -"ar" as used in Tessar, etc

And as an old photographer friend of mine informed me, the "Ekt" as used in Ektachrome. These lenses were color corrected to optimize printing this transparency film. It occurs to me now, I wonder if the "t" in Ektar referred to "transparency"?

GKC · Feb 14, 2014

A 240mm G Claron is modern (in my book) works great on 8x10 and not terribly costly.

Tom1956 · Feb 14, 2014

Alan Gales said:
Hey, it is entertaining when the Old Man and Chumley go at it!

I know it's fake but I think all the old stuff that people bring on the show is interesting. I've even seen Railroad pocket watches but no large format cameras or lenses yet.

I've seen those "precision railroad pocket watch" commercials, for 20 dollars. They can only be a piece of junk, as in junque.

Ken Nadvornick · Feb 14, 2014

ntenny said:
For serious sharpness and bang for the buck, there's always the old reliable G-Claron. The 270mm covers 8x10; the longer ones will for sure. Of course you have to be willing to focus at f/9.

-NT

G-Clarons are always an excellent choice. Even the 210/9 will cover 8x10 with room to wiggle. Just remember to stop down to at least f/22 if you are looking for critical sharpness.

The following photo was originally made as a test on 8x10 using the 210mm f/9 G-Claron. The test was for patched light leaks around the camera bellows mounting frame. As I recall, a fairly significant front rise was applied.

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Ken

StoneNYC · Feb 14, 2014

Ken Nadvornick said:
G-Clarons are always an excellent choice. Even the 210/9 will cover 8x10 with room to wiggle. Just remember to stop down to at least f/22 if you are looking for critical sharpness.

This photo was originally made as a test on 8x10 using the 210mm f/9 G-Claron. The test was for patched light leaks around the camera bellows mounting frame. As I recall, a fairly significant front rise was applied.

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Ken

Why not just pull the dark slide? Wouldn't that give you a better idea of light leaks if you had a black only image?

Ken Nadvornick · Feb 14, 2014

Why not just make a picture of something interesting as the test, instead of wasting the sheet and all of that processing time and effort?

Either way I would have seen the leak if it were still there. But this way, if it was actually fixed (it was) at least I ended up with an interesting picture of something, instead of a blank 8x10 sheet of film.

Ken

StoneNYC · Feb 14, 2014

Ken Nadvornick said:
Why not just make a picture of something interesting as the test, instead of wasting the sheet and all of that processing time and effort?

Either way I would have seen the leak if it were still there. But this way, if it was actually fixed (it was) at least I ended up with an interesting picture of something, instead of a blank 8x10 sheet of film.

Ken

I agree, but once I thought I had a leak and it turned out to be lens flare. Hah! That said, you're just slightly more experienced than me... So you might be able to tell the difference

Ken Nadvornick · Feb 14, 2014

In this case I knew exactly the appearance of the leak I was looking for, so it was easy to see if it was fixed. And it had already passed the flashlight test in the darkroom.

If I had been testing a new-to-me bellows camera, then pulling the slide on a bright day would definitely have been the way to go.

Besides, any chance around here to get out with The Beast shouldn't be missed...

:w00t:

Ken

StoneNYC · Feb 14, 2014

Ken Nadvornick said:
In this case I knew exactly the appearance of the leak I was looking for, so it was easy to see if it was fixed. And it had already passed the flashlight test in the darkroom.

If I had been testing a new-to-me bellows camera, then pulling the slide on a bright day would definitely have been the way to go.

Besides, any chance around here to get out with The Beast shouldn't be missed...

:w00t:

Ken

Hah! The beast!

I want an 8x10 so bad! Lol. But I think with my style of photography, shooting some heavy old beast contraption isn't the way to go... I'll be needing a brand new Chamonix810

Ken Nadvornick · Feb 14, 2014

Real men use Monsters and Beasts.

Everything else is just excuses...

Ken

Looking for another 8x10 Lens

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