Wide angles on 5x12

[Diane Maher]

Thanks!

[John Z.]

A quick question for Sandy and the others while we are on the topic; I am looking at various options for a 210 mm lens for my 11x14 camera, but will need some room for movements. I have a particular photo of an old ruin in mind, but my Protar IV looked soft at the edges when I tried it with alot of back tilt.
What are my best options? Is the Computar still going to offer alot of room, or do I need to go up to a really large lens like the Schneider 210 XL? Thanks for your input.

[sanking]

"Is the Computar still going to offer alot of room, or do I need to go up to a really large lens like the Schneider 210 XL?"

John,

The 210m Computar will not give you any movement on 11X14. If you need movements consider either a Schneider 210mm Super Angulon or the Schneider 210mm SSXL. Or the 210m Rodenstock Grandagon. All very big lenses, but they will cover 11X14 nicely with considerable room for movement.

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

John,

If you can get by with a 240mm instead of a 210, the 240mm f9 Computar should cover 11x14 and allow for fairly substantial movements. While it comes in a Copal No. 3 shutter, the 240mm f9 Computar is a LOT smaller, lighter and cheaper than any of the 210s with comparable coverage.

Kerry

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

I've also tried a 120 Super Angulon, the late multicoated version. It too throws light into the corners but falloff is severe without a centre filter.

Clay,

I have a similar problem with the 110mm Super Symmar XL on 4x10. It covers nicely, but illumination fall-off is severe (especially with high contrast color transparency film). I correct this by using the recommended Schneider center filter. Fortunately, the 110mm SS XL is threaded to accept 52mm filters on the rear. This works out great as all my other 4x10 lenses (150mm Graphic-Kowa, 210mm Graphic-Kowa, 300mm Nikkor M and 450mm Fujinon C) all take 52mm filters on the front.

Kerry

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

You might also look for a 210mm Computar or Apo-Kyvytar. Both of these lenses would cover 5X12 with lots and lots of movement, and they are very tiny things.

Another option for 5x12 would be the 210mm f9 Graphic-Kowa. I have one that I use on my 4x10. While the Graphic-Kowas and Computars were at one time thought to be identical, this might not be the case (at least not all versions and all focal lengths). See The Computar lens and ULF coverage for more discussion on this topic.

Even if the 210mm Graphic-Kowa doesn't cover as much as the 210mm Computar or APO Kyvytar, it should have enough coverage for 5x12 with moderate movements (385 - 390mm image circle). The advantage is that the Graphic-Kowas seem to be much more plentiful and sell for considerably less than the Computars. Just make sure you get one that fits directly in a standard No. 1 shutter (Copal, Compur, etc.). Most, but not all of them, do.

Kerry

[clay harmon]

If you can track one down, the Rodenstock 120mm f/12 Perigon is an excellent lens for this format. It is basically a coated, slightly faster Protar V that is tiny. And it suffers from a lot less illumination fall-off on the edges than the 110m SymmarXL for some reason. There is a fellow in Germany that has a few of these that are new-old-stock that he picked up when Rodenstock stopped making them. Emile De Leon turned me on to this guy a few years back.

The lens is quite good for most uses on this format.

I have also used an old Geroz Doppel-Anastigmat 180mm lens on this camera. The corners are kind of bad, but it works for some images.