Advice on Schneider lenses

[John Dingelstad]

Hi All,

I've the opportunity to buy a Schneider Super Angulon 5.6/90, a Symmar S 5.6/150 and a Symmar S 5.6/240 together for a total of 1500 Euro (approx. $1400,-). Center filters are not included in the price. The reason I consider buying them is that I am interested in a Fotoman 6x17 panoramic camera.

As far as I am aware, there exists a XL and a non XL version of the Super Angulon 5.6/90. Are there any significant differences between these two versions?

The same question for the XL and HM version of the Symmar S 5.6/150.

How usable would a Symmar S 5.6/240 be?

Any thoughts / recommendations are appreciated.

Thanks,

John Dingelstad

[Scott Rosenberg]

hi john... i've not used any of those lenses, so can't offer any advice on their performance. however, you should know that the euro/dollart conversion you have is off. if you're located in the states and was quoted a price of 1,500 euro, then the price in dollars will be around $1,955.

[Donald Hutton]

John

I have used two of the three lenses:

The 90mm 5.6 is an excellent lens - large image circle, but quite heavy. If you're thinking about the Fotoman 6X17, I wouldn't be paying a premium for the f5.6 - you won't need the image circle (no movements on the Fotoman), you won't be focussing on the ground glass where the extra stop is an advantage and you also will need a larger center filter than the f8 versions need (and consequently larger filters). The f8 Schneider SA is an excellent performer as are others like the Nikkor f8. I have just sold my 90mm XL - it's a great lens, but presents some big filter problems - unless you are shooting specialized architectural applications, I would not recommend this lens. I actually just bought a Nikkor f8 to replace it and I am delighted - performance seems on a par, I use a IIIb Schneider CF which I own for other lenses and it seems to work perfectly and I have about $700 back in my pocket!

The 150mm Symmar-S is an outstanding lens too - I recently tested 10 150mm lenses - a multicoated version of the Symmar-S was the sharpest lens I tested (yes, better than a Sironar-S...) - I often see them selling for about $300 - which seems a steal for such a great lens. It has a smaller image circle than some of the other newer 150mms - but again, on the Fotoman, this is not a factor. I should imagine that the 240mm is also a good lens - I have not used one personally, but have used a 210mm Symmar-S which was great.

Personally, I think you should be able to do a bit better on price with some careful shopping - $600 for a lightly used Nikkor f8, $300 for a Symmar-S 150 which would leave you with a sizable budget for a 240 - I'd recommend the Fuji A 240mm - fabulous and small. I'd also think about a longer focal lengh than 240 - like a 300mm. When I was shooting a lot of 6X17, my most used focal lenghs were 120mm and 300mm...

[chris_4622]

I have a symmar s mc 5.6/150mm. I bought it for 4x5 but I have move up to 5x7 and it is a little too tight for that so I would part with mine if you are interested.

[Jerry Fusselman]

It is not easy to make a 617 spacer for the Symmar S 5.6/240, due to its weight and long flange focal distance. Also, it is not at all easy to make a focusing helicoid for a lens in a #3 shutter. You should check to be sure that this can work on a Fotoman 617, because I am almost sure that it currently cannot, unfortunately.

[Capocheny]

Chris F,

Please contact me off-line in regards to your Symar 150...

Cheers