What's the difference? Lens question.

[tjaded]

Hi all--
I've got three 210mm lenses and I'm not really sure what the supposed differences are with them. Here they are:

Caltar II-N 5.6

Caltar II-S 5.6

Rodenstock Sironar-N 5.6

Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Matt

 

[df cardwell]

Three ways to look at it.

1. Obsessive Technoid Anxiety. I'll pass on that one.
2. Big Picture. Easy. They are the same.
3. I am a great craftsman, and make 16x20s. There are small differences, but they are absorbed by the photographic system. They are all better than Ansel ever got near.

Do YOU see any difference between them ?

I yield the remainder of my time.

 

[Mike1234]

I'm selling two of my three 210's. Would you like to add a 210 Apo Symmar and 210 G-Claron to your grouping?

 

[Larry Bullis]

from what I just read:

Caltar II N 5.6 = Rodenstock Sironar N 5.6 (made by Rodenstock)
Caltar II S 5.6 = Schneider Symmar S 5.6 (made by Schneider)
Rodenstock Sironar N 5.6 = itself

You sure don't need all three. Try 'em all, see if you can see a difference. Keep the one you like best (if you can tell the difference).

I had an old (1960's) Symmar that I never cared for. It had a bit of softness that I wasn't expecting - large bubble in the internal cement. I got rid of it, Marsha Burns ended up with it and I heard she loved it. Don't know if she still uses it. If so, I'm sure it's making beautiful images. I have a Sironar N, which I really like. You might do some research on them. Differences will be minimal, and may actually be less due to the name/maker than variations in individual lenses. If you really are picky, check and see whether they are single/multi coated. Myself, I don't much care for multicoated lenses because they can be unkind to the shadows. So much of this is personal preference and most people probably don't have the capacity to distinguish such subtle differences.

If they were mine, I'd want to unburden myself of 2/3 of them. Too confusing. You could draw straws.

 

[tjaded]

Heck, at this point it looks like I should decide which to keep based on how accurate the shutter is! I figured they were all pretty similar. One for a mono-rail, one for the speed graphic and one for eBay I guess.

 

[Ian Grant]

The shutters should be interchangeable, Copal 1's so pick the two best lenses and best shutters to keep. Like a few others I have Symmar S, Sironar N and Catar-II S lenses and there's absolutely no difference ith quality etc.

Ian

 

[Venchka]

Ian's right. There may be more variation in the shutters than the optical bits.

 

[BrianShaw]

Three ways to look at it.

1. Obsessive Technoid Anxiety. I'll pass on that one.
2. Big Picture. Easy. They are the same.
3. I am a great craftsman, and make 16x20s. There are small differences, but they are absorbed by the photographic system. They are all better than Ansel ever got near.

Do YOU see any difference between them ?

I yield the remainder of my time.

Interesting viewpoint, but perhaps you forgot one: intellectual curiousity.

 

[df cardwell]

perhaps you forgot one: intellectual curiousity.

Assuming I only forgot ONE !

 

[eclarke]

Don't feel bad, I have 8 modern 210mm lenses and still go to the first one I bought!!..Evan Clarke

 

[BenZucker]

I have the 210mm Sronar-n and I can tell you that it is a great great lens. I have found it to be very sharp and for the kind of 4x5 work that i do (portraits) i never have issues with running out of coverage. I have never used the other lens, but i would think they are great too. Hope this helped.

 

[removed-user-1]

My methodology here is a little different. Ask yourself this: did one of them make an image you particularly like? That's the one I would keep if given the choice.