small 270-300mm lens.

darinwc · Sep 6, 2012

Hello all. It's been a while since ive done any LF but i am planning to get back into it now that it is cooler.

I am looking for a small lens for the long end of my Shen-Hao HCX-iia.
It just barely extends to 360mm so I was hoping for a 300mm or something slightly shorter like 270mm.
It seems like most of these are made for 8x10 cameras so they are big. I cannot find much info for small, light lenses in this range.
What do you suggest?

E. von Hoegh · Sep 6, 2012

There were some very compact lenses made by Fuji and Nikkor. Then there are the original Dagor-type Symmars, the Goerz Dagors, and the f:6.3 Tessars. All will be much smaller and lighter than a modern Plasmat type.

Ian Grant · Sep 6, 2012

The 300mm f9 Nikon M is a nice lens, however any 5x4 camear with the necessary bellows extension tends to be prone to instability in terms of vibration/image sharpness. This is why many prefer to use a 270mm Tele lens.

Ian

Steve Goldstein · Sep 6, 2012

The Docter Apo-Germinar 9/300 in Copal 1 is a little smaller and lighter than the Nikkor-M, but uncommon. There was one for sale recently on the Large Format Forum, I don't recall offhand if it's sold.

There's the 9/270 G-Claron, though you might have better luck finding hens' teeth. And a 270mm Computar or Kowa-Graphic, more like dinosaur teeth.

Fuji made two 250s. The f/6.7, with a 398mm image circle, is complete overkill for 4x5. The newer f/6.3 came in two versions, both of which cover a bit more than the minimum for 8x10. I don't know about their weight, all three came in Copal 1 shutters. But then 250 is might close to 240, and you've probably already got one of those.

And Ian raises a very good point about stability...

jeffreyg · Sep 6, 2012

If you are considering a tele, I can suggest the Fujinon 300 tele. I use one with my Toyo 45A with no problems. It is relatively small and light weight.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

jimgalli · Sep 6, 2012

270mm f9 Schneider G-Claron is superb and in Copal 1 shutter. The early version "Dagor type" is the equivalent of a Gold Dot Dagor, except f9. They are hard to find. Later version is a plasmat, and also very nice, but bigger. Both would be Copal 1, but the Dagor type was a 55mm filter iirc and the plasmat would be 62. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Another really superb lens, but even harder to find is the Red Dot Artar 10 3/4" in Compur shutter.

Steve Goldstein · Sep 6, 2012

Jim, according to some PDFs I got from the Schneider site the 270mm Dagor version takes 49mm filters and the Plasmat takes 58mm filters.

darinwc · Sep 6, 2012

Sounds like a 270mm lens may be hard to find..
So it looks like a 300mm is my best bet. Are there any problems with using extension lensboards?

jimgalli · Sep 6, 2012

Steve Goldstein said:
Jim, according to some PDFs I got from the Schneider site the 270mm Dagor version takes 49mm filters and the Plasmat takes 58mm filters.

Yep, that sounds right.

E. von Hoegh · Sep 6, 2012

darinwc said:
Sounds like a 270mm lens may be hard to find..
So it looks like a 300mm is my best bet. Are there any problems with using extension lensboards?

What about a 240?

darinwc · Sep 6, 2012

E. von Hoegh said:
What about a 240?

I already have a(some) 210(s).. 240 is too close to 210.

jimgalli · Sep 6, 2012

I've a 250mm Carl Meyer that's cheap and small and pretty. In Alphax 3 which is tiny bit bulkier than a Copal 1

darinwc · Sep 6, 2012

Did kodak make a 300mm f7.7 dialyte lens like their 203mm Ektar?
What shutter does the Commercial Ektar f6.3 300mm use?

jimgalli · Sep 6, 2012

darinwc said:
Did kodak make a 300mm f7.7 dialyte lens like their 203mm Ektar?

Nope

darinwc said:
What shutter does the Commercial Ektar f6.3 300mm use?

Ilex 4 which is very close in physical size to a Copal 3

Leigh B · Sep 6, 2012

The smallest one in my database is the Fujinon C 300/8.5, weighing only 250g.

It has a gigantic 380mm IC, but takes tiny 52mm filters. Overall length is 44.9mm, in a Copal #1 shutter.

- Leigh

darinwc · Sep 6, 2012

Anything that fits in a copal 1 shutter will be perfect.
An Ilex 3 would be fine as well.
So far I have listed:
Nikkor M 300mm f/9
Fujinon C 300mm f/8.5
Schneider G-claron 305mm f/9
Goerz Artar 12" f/9 (?) is sometimes in a Ilex 3.

-OK, I will keep an eye out for these.

300mm Dagor - no
300mm Commercial Ektar - no

small 270-300mm lens.

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