G-Claron lens question?

[stradibarrius]

Are the G-Claron lens good multipurpose lens or are they really just for macro work? The 355mm in particular...

[Bruce Barlow]

Years ago, Fred Picker and Richard Ritter did a side-by-side comparison of a Symmar and a G-Claron, in landscape work. They both preferred the G-Claron, and so that's what Fred decided to sell. The G-Claron was sharper.

I own 240, 300, and 355 G-Clarons, and love them.

[stradibarrius]

Thanks

[UlbabraB]

I own the 210, 305 and 355 G-Clarons and I find them wonderful for landscape work. For portraiture I prefer less sharp lenses :-)

[Dan Fromm]

Barry, if you're being tempted by process lenses Apo Artars, Apo Nikkors, Apo Ronars, Apo Saphirs and Repro Clarons are also very good at distance. So are Taylor Hobson Apotals and f/9 Copying lenses. G-Clarons have two advantages over the others: larger coverage and all have cells that are direct fits in standard shutters. The 355 you're interested in should fit a #3. Repro Clarons and some, far from all, Apo Ronars' cells are direct fits in standard shutters.

[Kimberly Anderson]

150, 210, 270 and 355 here. Yes, I am looking to get the 240 and 305 as well. I have no hesitation using the G-Claron's for near and far work. Indoors, outdoors, studio, whatever...they are sweet. Never a problem.

[djdister]

I have the 270mm G-Claron and the Rodenstock 360mm Apo-Ronar (in a Copal #3) and they are both excellent lenses for any type of photography requiring extremely sharp detail. So the flip side is that they may not be my first choice if I was doing portraiture of women (that's what the Verito is for).

[Drew Wiley]

G-Clarons are specialized plastmats which work superbly all the way from closeup to infinity and have generous image circles at typical working apertures. The 240 will
easily cover 8x10 with moderate movements. The only reason I don't own a 355 is that it comes in a no.3 shutter, while the similar but rarer Fujinon A 360 comes
in a no.1.

[Lachlan 717]

I use the 355mm on my 7x17". It is my sharpest lens on this format by a long stretch (comparing to the Nikkor 450mm and a Graphic Kowa 240mm). The attached photo was shot with the 355mm. Under a loupe, I can see monofilament on some of the distant piers (approximately 30-50m away!), even through the mist. Outstanding. I also have the 240mm for my other small format cameras.

122878

[stradibarrius]

I have always marveled at the clarity of shots that were taken with the G-Claron's. There is one for sale here on the forum but it doesn't have a shutter and a shutter is more expensive by itself that the lens with a shutter??? how can that be.

[Kimberly Anderson]

You will find that buying a cheap lens you really don't care for, to get an expensive shutter you are really lusting after is the only cure for the problem you are encountering. It just is.

[stradibarrius]

I think that is the way to do it!

[Peter De Smidt]

Another thing to consider: do you really need a shutter, especially with formats 8x10 and larger? With a G-claron, you'll often be using F32 - F45. (The coverage of a G-claron increases significantly from F22 to F45.) As long as your exposures are 1 second or longer, you should be able to do a good job using the hat method (or similar.)

[AJ Edmondson]

Barry... don't know if this helps you but it is the lowest price I have seen for one in a while.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Caltar-II-N-300mm-f-5-6-large-format-lens-with-Copal-3-in-Lens-Board-/301346405385?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item4629a53c09

Joel

[Kirk Fry]

You can still buy Copal No 3 shutters new from BHvideo. $1252.95

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=copal+co+%23+3-567&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ps

[Jim Andrada]

I bought one of the 300mm Caltars locally to get the Copal 3 but a funny thing happened - turns out it's an extremely sharp lens and I really like it. I was primarily using it on 5 x 7 but I was able to mount it on a Technika board - it's a bit of a challenge to mount it on the Tech because the rear element is quite large, but with practice it can be done.