Nikon 760 Mm Apo Lens

[Think Large]

I recently got a few barrel lenses from a very large copy camera,two are mounted ,and work in tandem as you move the lever, one is a 390mm and the other is a 760mm,I would love to make a view camera with them, no shutter of course in any,any Thoughts, the other is 490mm
thx
Joe

[Wade D]

Those lenses are optimized for copying flat objects such as large engineering prints. They should be OK for use on a view camera if you could rig a shutter to them. The focal lengths you have would probably do best on an 8x10 camera. Anything smaller would be very telephoto. Even on an 8x10 they would be considered long. Hope this helps.

[James E Galvin]

I have the 760 mm Apo Nikkor, mounted on an Ilex #5 by S.K. Grimes. Wonderful lens on 8X10. I took a picture of a large tree with it, and can see the veins on the leaves with a microscope on the tranny. I don't have any trouble focussing, even though the lens is f/11 wide open.

[Drew Wiley]

Thanks James - I've got one of these lenses too and have wondered about getting
SK Grimes to put a shutter on it. I work in Berkeley, so maybe someday can see
what this setup looks like. But its low priority for now, since I already have a 600C
Fujinon as a long focal length for my 8x10.

[Michael Roberts]

Hi Joe,
There are several threads for home-built, self-built, DIY cameras on this site, though they can be hard to search for--just troll through the Cameras section.

Here's mine:
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=47057

That's a 610mm Nikkor on the front. I also have the 760mm Nikkor. Right now, they share the same lens board. I have a Packard shutter mounted behind the lens. When I want to change the lenses, I just unscrew the barrell from the mounting plate and screw in the other one.

A "normal" lens for 8x10 is 300mm. The 610mm is a "long" lens for 11x14. Normal and long depend on how you see and on subject--I sometimes use the 610 for 4x5....

Best of luck with your project--definitely encourage you to try to build your own and use these lenses--they are great taking lenses.
Michael

[Peter De Smidt]

Do you really need a shutter for such a long lens?

[Joseph O'Neil]

Do you really need a shutter for such a long lens?

I shoot my 600 mm apo-ronar on 8x10, sans shutter. Lens cap off, count the seconds on my watch, lens cap on. Works good.

I've bought myself a used packard shutter large enough to mount behind the lens, but so far, I just haven't gotten around to it. Maybe it's just as easy without?
:)

joe

[Dan Fromm]

Joe, Peter, I shoot my long process lenses -- the longest currently set up is a 480/9 Apo Nikkor but just wait, there's a 610/9 AN in the closet -- hung in front of a #1 shutter way out in front of a 2x3 Speed Graphic. I use ISO 100 film, sometimes shoot in bright light, and often use shutter speeds too short to be obtained with the proverbial hat or lens cap.

To get the most out of a slow lens -- Peter, focal length has nothing to do with it, maximum aperture is what matters -- it has to be in or in front of a shutter. Using one without a shutter is certainly possible, but I can't believe that this is the best way to get good exposure.

Thinking of slow lenses, Joe have you ever done anything that that 305/9 Apo Nikkor you bought from me?

Cheers,

Dan

[Joseph O'Neil]

Thinking of slow lenses, Joe have you ever done anything that that 305/9 Apo Nikkor you bought from me?
Dan

-snip-

Sniff, sniff. Nope, not yet. Sits here, look pretty, but I haven't had the chance. I was going to go hog wild this year with my new 8x10. I have the 305/9 mounted, just to see the coverages - yes, I do NOT expect it to cover 8x10, but I don't care, I was going to have some fun anyhow.

Then came along the hernia, the *big* hernia. Now that I am nicely over that and the surgery, now i have the "summer that isn't summer" so to speak.

Just checked our local WX forecast for the next 7 days. Out of those 7 days, just one day is predicted to be sunny, rain all the rest. The past weekend was all rain too, very heavy at times.

So, shooting for me, LF or digital is a real wash this year so far. Bummer

joe

[Allen in Montreal]

Joseph,

Swap the hernia out and replace it with any one of a list of issues, (family, work etc) and I so relate to that post! :)

Only the ducks and the water Lilly are happy this summer!!

Last night I ran out during the break in the monsoon to shoot a few rolls of 6x4.5, just to say I have shot something.







-snip-

Sniff, sniff. Nope, not yet. Sits here, look pretty, but I haven't had the chance. I was going to go hog wild this year with my new 8x10. I have the 305/9 mounted, just to see the coverages - yes, I do NOT expect it to cover 8x10, but I don't care, I was going to have some fun anyhow.

Then came along the hernia, the *big* hernia. Now that I am nicely over that and the surgery, now i have the "summer that isn't summer" so to speak.

Just checked our local WX forecast for the next 7 days. Out of those 7 days, just one day is predicted to be sunny, rain all the rest. The past weekend was all rain too, very heavy at times.

So, shooting for me, LF or digital is a real wash this year so far. Bummer

joe

[Pete Watkins]

Joseph,
It sounds as though you live in the UK. Another crap summer..........roll on August, it can only get better.
Pete

[Ken Lee]

Let's see some photos taken with these Nikor APO lenses ! I'm beginning to think that they are one of the best-kept secrets in all of LF

[John Jarosz]

I have the Apo Nikkor 420 mounted in an Ilex 4. Very sharp, covers my 8x20.
I feel I get better contrast on my 600mm Apo Ronar, though

John

[Dan Fromm]

Let's see some photos taken with these Nikor APO lenses ! I'm beginning to think that they are one of the best-kept secrets in all of LFThey've been out in the open for decades, Ken. And there's nothing magic about 'em, they're sharp enough and that's it.

What's wrong about them, as with many other process lenses, is that putting them in shutter can be too expensive to be worth it.

[Ken Lee]

Dan - Have you been trying out different lenses, to find the sharpest performers ?

The Sinar Shutter makes things easy for barrel lenses of moderate size - but that aside, the APO Nikors seem to offer a nice combination of high sharpness, many-bladed apertures, smooth blur rendition, modern multi-coating, compact size, light weight. And they are affordable.

After being so pleased with my 360 APO Nikor, I have just gotten a 240, and had it mounted on a Technika board. Compared to my 240 Fujinon A, it's just as small and light, and takes even smaller filters (good qualities for trekkers) - but it also has a much rounder aperture: 12 blades instead of 5. I am looking forward to testing it, to see how it performs. Just holding it up to the light, I can tell it has smoother blur rendition - perhaps due to the symmetrical design ?

Besides all that, front and rear take the same size lens cap: if that isn't magic, I don't know what is ;)

[Dan Fromm]

"Dan - Have you been trying out different lenses, to find the sharpest performers ?"

Not knowing better, and being unwilling to trust "reputation," yes I have.

I went through a lot of macro lenses before settling on the ones I now sometimes use. Plural because each of the lenses I tried turned out to have a fairly narrow range of "best" magnifications. I mostly use a 4" macro, of which I have two. My best is hard to use in some situations, my second best is nearly as good (much better than good enough) and usually easier to use. While doing all this I learned that, at least for me, shooting above 2:1 in the field just isn't worth it and that for my serious fish work 5:1 is high enough.

I went through a lot of normal lenses for 2x3 before settling on the one I now use. Similarly for some, not all, of the other focal lengths I use.

I have a number of lenses in the same line, e.g., Apo-Saphir, dialyte type Apo Nikkor. That they behave pretty uniformly within line is a pleasant surprise.

Since I shoot 2x3 I'm not sure that my conclusions are right for 4x5. Coverage is much less of an issue on 2x3.

And yes, I've bought lenses I now know I shouldn't have.

Understand, too, that using lenses that are at least OK hasn't improved my pictures very much. Many are the ways to lose image quality. To learn how to do that well, read John Williams' book Image Clarity.

Cheers,

Dan

[Carsten Wolff]

The Apo-Nikkors are heavy beasts (compared to e.g. Apo-Artars, anyway). Nice lenses though and not hard to put them on a Packard shutter yourself.