Sironar or Symmar for field camera

I’m thinking of getting a 210mm f/5.6 for my 4x5 camera and assumed that the brand would be immaterial: SK, Rod or even Nikon. ButI think this may not be quite right. From spec sheets, looks like the Sironar has a smaller diameter rear group so is less likely to foul the bellows. What do you people prefer for your 4x5 field cameras? THanks.

Neil Grant said:

I’m thinking of getting a 210mm f/5.6 for my 4x5 camera and assumed that the brand would be immaterial: SK, Rod or even Nikon. ButI think this may not be quite right. From spec sheets, looks like the Sironar has a smaller diameter rear group so is less likely to foul the bellows. What do you people prefer for your 4x5 field cameras? THanks.

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What size lens?

210mm on a 4x5 camera? The bellows will be pretty well extended on a 4x5 field camera. Seems like the rear elements would need to be pretty large to touch the bellows.

They're both excellent. The bigger concerns will be condition and price, since they're most certainly very old.

Although the Sironar and Symmar are both great, they're a bit large and heavy. For a field camera, you might also consider a smaller size lens of the "Tessar" type. They have less covering power, so the movements are limited, but they tend to be smaller and lighter to carry around.

Lightweight wooden field camera here. I really would never even consider a 210mm f/5.6 Plasmat for carrying in the field; too heavy and bulky, My preference are for lighter designs, albeit at the expense of maximum aperture. A few of these are the Nikkor M 200mm, the Schneider G-Claron 210mm, the Fujinon A 180mm, and one of my personal favorites, the Ektar f/7.7 203mm. I'm sure there are others. Even the Fujinon L 210mm Tessar is smaller than the f/5.6 Plasmats. Coverage on 4x5 is no problem with any of these lenses; they all cover 5x7.

If you're interested in building a lightweight kit, consider one of these.

Best,

Doremus

Odd... I find my Sinaron S 210mm f5.6 quite light and compact especially when compared to the likes of many wide angles which tend to be fairly bulbous by comparison.

With a Chamonix or Shen Hao 4x5 format, a 210mm f5.6 is just fine concerning coverage and bellows. The Deardorff 4x5 / 5x7 the bellows is substantial and with a 4x5 reducing back you’re good, as 5x7 you may wish to position the front lens board in wide angle mode and check the bellows.

It’s not so much the weight of a single lens, as which other lenses in addition you carry. Some people opt for a range of 90, 150 & 210 mm, others enjoy more of a wide angle grouping with a 75mm while some prefer 135, 180 & 240 or 300mm.

Coverage, weight and aperture may be more of a concern at the extremes, wide angle (coverage and aperture/weight) and long lenses (weight and aperture).

Doremus Scudder said:

Schneider G-Claron 210mm, the Fujinon A 180mm, and one of my personal favorites, the Ektar f/7.7 203mm.

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ditto on all three, especially the Ektar.

I'm not sure why, but I've ended up with way to many 210mm lenses. Its a useful focal length on 4x5 and the Ektar has always delivered. I'd also add the Xenar 210/6.1 to the list--not quite a small as the Ekatar but smaller and faster than the G-Claron.

As mentioned, most people looking at field cameras want/prefer lighter lenses -- which are easy to find -- but that depends on how much gear you are carrying and how far you plan on going. So depending on that and other factors, a typical 210mm might work for you -- especially if you have other uses for it where you need a lot of movement. I use a Fujinon NW 210mm f5.6. It has a 300mm image circle -- almost 8x10" size!!! It's not the smallest, but not the heaviest either.

http://www.subclub.org/fujinon/byfl.htm