New to Large Format world.

onoff · Jun 17, 2007

I just picked up an 8x10 Bender body so now i need a lense and film holders and all that. Does anyone know a good place to find these for cheap. Also what is a good standard lense to start with for 8x10?

David A. Goldfarb · Jun 17, 2007

If you don't want to deal with eBay, try www.mpex.com. A normal lens on 8x10" is around 300mm. There are lots of options, depending on what your budget is and what your other needs are.

removed account4 · Jun 17, 2007

ifyou don't mind older lenses ..
equinoxphotographic.com has some listed that cover 8x10, and won't
leave you broke ..

john

John Kasaian · Jun 17, 2007

IMHO, Good bets for a first lens are the Ilex 375mm and the 12" Wollensak Velostigmat (providing the shutters are working!) They are usually way undervalued. The Schneider Symmar convertible is a top notch lens that will give you 2 focal lengths for the price of one, but I haven't seen any inexpensive examples that would work on a 8x10 in quite awhile---word gets around I guess! You can sometimes find a scruffy 12" Dagor in need of a cla on ebay that will fetch a modest sum. Another option is to look for a 240 G Claron in a barrel, shoot it with a lenscap until you come across a copal or prontor press shutter for a reasonable amount then marry the two for a first class, modern (by my criteria) lens. This spreads the $$ outlay over a period of time, hopefully avoiding the credit card blues.

Cheers!

davet · Jun 17, 2007

But if you're not in a rush, eBay is definitely worth checking out. You might get lucky (scored a nice 270 G-Claron in Copal for $272 once). I also like the idea of shooting in barrel -- quite cheap, as far as such things go.

freygr · Jun 21, 2007

I have a 327mm triplet from an overhead projector that can't be used because the housing is broken. It completely covers the 11 by 14 ground glass tester I make and you can tell its razor sharp. I found I think a 260mm copy machine lens but I have make a mount to test it as the barrel is over three inches in diameter. I'm going to mate them up with a Parkard Shutter and use them. But I still have buy some film.

Rolleiflexible · Jun 21, 2007

John Kasaian said:
IMHO, Good bets for a first lens are the Ilex 375mm

Excellent advice. The Ilex lenses are Kodak Commercial Ektar clones, built to high standards. Ilex made lenses for themselves, but also supplied lenses to Burke + James and others, if I recall correctly. They are sometimes called Acugons, sometimes Paragons, sometimes Orbits. They will be set in a number 5 Ilex shutter, which is a simple reliable self-cocking shutter. Commercial Ektars can get expensive because they have a certain following, so the Ilex lenses are a good way to get a quality lens for a low price.

Peter De Smidt · Jun 21, 2007

I had a 254mm Ilex paragon that was an excellent performer. Chris Perez tested it, and the results are posted on his site.

Remember that in many cases your really don't need a shutter on 8x10. A barrel lens and lenscap can often do the trick. Use slower film, shoot at f45 or f64, and you're exposure will often be a couple of seconds.

John Kasaian · Jun 22, 2007

Another lens worth considering is the 14" APO Artar, usually much less than the more sought after RD Artar but IMHO the APO is very desireable. I have one and it will cover 8x10 with some usable movements. The trick is, if you want one with a shutter, buy one in a shutter (mine came in a dial set compur) while you certainly don't need a shutter to use this lens, having one mounted later is prohibitivly expensive. Shuttered artars are usually harder to find and more $$ but the 14" APO Artar is pretty common and even at f/9 it makes the gg dazzle! Oh, make sure any lens you get comes with either it's flange or retaining ring.

Alan9940 · Jun 22, 2007

onoff said:
I just picked up an 8x10 Bender body so now i need a lense and film holders and all that. Does anyone know a good place to find these for cheap. Also what is a good standard lense to start with for 8x10?

Great suggestions from others on older glass but, if you want to go with more modern glass (though old designs) IMO ya can't beat a Nikkor 300M or a Fuji 300C. Great glass resulting in sharp images and lightweight to boot...in case you're thinking of packing your 810. I'm sure you could find these lenses used, but if you want to buy new www.badgergraphics.com are great folks to deal with.

Have fun!

Peter De Smidt · Jun 22, 2007

Alan gives good advice. I used to own a Fuji 300c, and it was a great lens. (I only sold it because I became unemployed and had to sell a lot of my photo stuff.)

The biggest downside to older lenses, which are alternatives to more modern lenses like the Fuji 300c, are older shutters. Even after a CLA by Grimes and company, my older Ilex and Wollensak shutters were not very reliable. Hence, if you can afford it, lenses in a modern Copal, Compur, or Prontor shutter can definitely be worth the extra expense.

Nick Zentena · Jun 22, 2007

The older F/5.6 modern lenses are getting cheaper if you can handle the weight.

I'd expect the Fuji-L 300mm to be cheaper then the Fuji C. IIRC same lens design just #3 shutter and single coating versus the C's smaller shutter and EBC.

I picked up a Fuji-W for a fair bit less then a new C and I bet less then a used C. It's even heavier then the Fuji-L but with much more coverage then either the Fuji-L or Fuji-C.

So if you're willing to haul an extra pound don't ignore the big lenses in #3 shutters.

Peter De Smidt · Jun 22, 2007

Nick's right. I have a Fuji 420L, and it's a very good performer, but it's much heavier than a comparable C lens. But unless you're doing multi-day back-packing, this really isn't a big deal. I also have a Graphic-Kowa 300mm in a barrel, and the cells fit perfectly in the Fuji's Copal three shutter. All I had to do was make a new aperture scale, which isn't that hard to do.

Ole · Jun 22, 2007

I seem to specialise in older lenses, so when I took my 8x10" on holiday last week I brought a 121mm f:8 Super Angulon, a 165mm f:6.8 Angulon, a pre-WWII 210mm f:6.8 Angulon, a 240mm f:5.6 Symmar, and a 355mm f:9 G-Claron.

All lenses were used, all were useful, and I wouldn't have left any behind. I did however leave the 300mm and 360mm f:5.6 Symmars behind...

Peter De Smidt · Jun 22, 2007

It certainly makes a difference how many lenses you're going to carry along. One or two lenses in Copal three shutters aren't a big deal. 5 or 6 would be. The biggest weight/bulk issue with an 8x10 is film holders.

To the original poster, I'd get a barrel lens between 250 and 400mm that covers 8x10. You should be able to get one very cheap. If you can't, let me know... Try it for awhile with slower film. Once you get some experience, you will be in a better position to evaluate what more expensive lenses would work best for you.

Kilgallb · Jun 22, 2007

If you do find a cheaper 300 mm you want to try, just make sure it has an image circle large eonough for the 8x10 format.

I made the mistake of buying a cheap 127 mm for my 4x5. It turns out it was designed for 2 x 3 press cameras that did not have lens shifts or movements. The result was I had very limited ability to use movements at 4x5.

Jim Fitzgerald · Jun 23, 2007

If you can find a Rodenstock Gerogon 300mm or 270mm or even the 360mm they will be very nice. I have the 300 and the 360. Coverage is outstanding and they are sharp as hell. I use them as barrel lenses but my exposures are in the 3-30 second range so the cap/shutter works great. These are sleepers so I'd pick one up ASAP.

JIm

Peter De Smidt · Jun 23, 2007

Something like this would be a good choice, depending on what it goes for, of course:
http://cgi.ebay.com/270mm-f9-G-Clar...9QQihZ016QQcategoryZ30076QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

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