Affordable 90mm?

[gmed]

Can you guys recommend an affordable 90mm lens for 4x5?

I've looked into the Nikon 90, both of them, but they are pricy.

Does 90mm require corrective filter?

[John Kasaian]

An Ilex f/8 is usually goes for less than an older Super Angulon or Nikkor. If you don't need the coverage, a plain vanilla Angulon usually goes for even less.

[Doremus Scudder]

How about the Schneider Super Angulon f/8? Many of the older ones are fairly inexpensive.

An alternative to the 90mm Angulon would be the Kodak Wide-Field Ektar 100mm. Similar design, quite sharp, small and a skosh more coverage for being just a bit longer. These are often not too expensive either.

Best,

Doremus

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

What is your budget for this lens?

[vinny]

grandagon 6.8, nasty sharp and not too large.

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

grandagon 6.8, nasty sharp and not too large.

This is a beautiful lens but I have not seen one for under $400.

[Jim Jones]

In America 90mm Optars are common and sometimes cheap. They have little extra coverage for movements and should be stopped well down for best performance.

[jnantz]

if you don't need a huge variety of shutter speeds
look for a wollensak exwa ( 3 1/2" ) lens.
it is tiny, in an alphax shutter, ( f12 ) and stopped down
has a very large image circle. i sold mine years ago, and wish i still had it..

[domaz]

How about the Schneider Super Angulon f/8? Many of the older ones are fairly inexpensive.


+1 On these. They are common as dirt and you should be able to watch successive E-Bay auctions until you get a good price. It's also very feasible to find them on Craigslist.

[Math]

The Super Angulon is good, but if you want cheap, then the regular Schneider-Kreuznach Angulon 90mm f6.8 does the job just fine. Little to no movements, but the lens is rather sharp and easily found dirt-cheap.

[IanG]

The Super Angulon is good, but if you want cheap, then the regular Schneider-Kreuznach Angulon 90mm f6.8 does the job just fine. Little to no movements, but the lens is rather sharp and easily found dirt-cheap.

Some earlier ones are very poor and definitely not sharp as many of us have found first hand. The later ones are OK but it took 3 before I found one that is a good sharp performer.

Ian

[Corran]

I had a Schneider SA 90/8 that cost $200. I think that's really cheap, but "cheap" might mean something different to others. If the OP is looking for a $100 lens maybe that's not cheap after all.

[Gene McCluney]

There WAS an Ilex "clone" of the Super-Angulon, it could be cheap.

[John Conway]

I would wait and search for a SA 90/8. I was patient and found a late, mint beauty on ebay for a little over two hundred. They are out there. The funny thing about ebay is that you never know when it is your time to luck out. One day there will be twenty people bidding up to the stars for a particular lens, and then the next day the same lens in the same condition isn't getting any bids. It is those sleepy periods when you can snatch up your lens at a good price. Don't be over anxious, sit back and watch the item until the last few seconds, then zap in your bid, especially if there is only one bid. Because the guy with the one bid may assume that no one is interested in the lens. The other bidder won't have time to outbid you unless he has a snipe program set up. The long and short of it, I won my beautiful, mint Super Angulon 90/8 for a song.

[Corran]

Exactly. I got my current 90, a Nikon f/8 model, for less than most people pay for their newer Schneider 90/8. I sniped about 5 on ebay before I got one at a heck of a deal.

[alexn]

I've offered the the original poster my 90/8 Calumet branded Super Angulon for $200 plus shipping... I've had my fun with it, would be good to see it go to a loving home rather than sitting in my "Spare Gear" bag at home...

[gmed]

What do you think of Caltar II*N 90mm F6.8?
Any limitations on movements?

[John NYC]

This is a beautiful lens but I have not seen one for under $400.

I owned one, too, when I was shooting 4x5. It was a great lens.

There is one for sale right now in the forums. (I have no connection to the seller.)

[Mark Stahlke]

90mm f/8 WA Geronars come up from time to time. They are not terribly expensive. I think the image circle is about 170mm so it might be tighter on 4x5 than some of the other suggestions.

[Ole Tjugen]

Some earlier ones are very poor and definitely not sharp as many of us have found first hand. The later ones are OK but it took 3 before I found one that is a good sharp performer.

Ian

It's not age that matters, but how the old ones have been stored. Angulons should always lie flat, especially in hot climates. The inner elements in each cell are only held by the cement, and old Canada Balsam tends to "creep" if the lens is stored "vertically". My own 1939-model is just as sharp as my 1959-model.

[John NYC]

It's not age that matters, but how the old ones have been stored. Angulons should always lie flat, especially in hot climates. The inner elements in each cell are only held by the cement, and old Canada Balsam tends to "creep" if the lens is stored "vertically". My own 1939-model is just as sharp as my 1959-model.

Does it matter which side is up when you store it?

[Ole Tjugen]

Does it matter which side is up when you store it?

No, as long as it isn't an edge. ;)

[John NYC]

No, as long as it isn't an edge. ;)

Thanks... My new-to-me one is very sharp, and I want to keep it that way!