300mm lens 4x5" landscape

[Mark Stahlke]

I use the Fuji C 300/8.5 for a long lens. I find it very versatile. It's small, light, and bright enough on the ground glass for my aging eyes.
Here's a landscape taken with it.


Here is an architecture shot with it. This one won an award.


This is an abstract taken with my Fuji C 300/8.5.

[Drew Wiley]

Vaughn - isn't the whole point of a dark dank forest so that you can sneak up on your prey? Do you actually need the extra publicity of being the first Bigfoot photographed since the National Enquirer documented one aboard the same UFO as Elvis? Otherwise, I don't miss f/5.6 lenses a bit. F/9 is plenty bright for me, even in the woods. But I do carry an electronic laser-equipped Sasquatch detector, just in case.

[ic-racer]

How effective might this be when used with a 150mm Apo Symmar? How sharp is it with the Topcor?

I suspect the Horseman 150/300 converter will work with a similar construction 150mm lens. I'd call sharpness OK. It is perhaps as sharp as a 300mm plasmat. So, the results would be similar to a 4x5" crop of an 8x10 negative that I exposed with my 300mm 5.6.

[Ernest MacMillan]

My Horseman catalog, circa 1991, listed the following lenses, besides the 150 Topcor, that work with the teleconverter:

Fujinon W 150/5.6,
Nikkor W 150/5.6,
Symmar-S MC 150/5.6,
New Xenar 150/5.6,
Sironar-n 150/5.6,
Apo-Ronar 150/5.6.

This may have more to do with suitable mechanics for attaching the converter, which screws over the rear elements of the lens, rather than optical performance. It is not common, but it is not expensive when located.

[Drew Wiley]

There's no way any teleconverter with all its extra air/glass/dust interfaces is going to yield result anywhere near the league of a late plasmat or some of the other superstar lenses being discussed. Besides, who needs more bulk and fuss? Some of the 300's under discussion are themselves far more compact than that thing.

[Alan Klein]

I'm using a Nikkor M 300mm f/9 on my Chamonix 45H-1. This long lens works best of all my lenses with my eye-level viewfinder attachment. You can see the whole ground glass brighter and clearer, unlike my wider 90mm f/4.5 and 75mm f/5.6 lenses.

[Drew Wiley]

That's typical of longer lenses, Alan. They don't produce a "hot spot" just toward the middle of the glass like wide-angle lenses.

[Bob Salomon]

I'm using a Nikkor M 300mm f/9 on my Chamonix 45H-1. This long lens works best of all my lenses with my eye-level viewfinder attachment. You can see the whole ground glass brighter and clearer, unlike my wider 90mm f/4.5 and 75mm f/5.6 lenses.

Try using the fresnel with a reflex viewer.

[Alan Klein]

Try using the fresnel with a reflex viewer.

The Chamonix GG has a fresnel. Are you recommending something else?

[otto.f]

I have a small and lightweight Nikkor 300mm, F9 I think, easy to get in Japan, but mark extra costs for import and inquire in advance with the seller. I used it with pleasure thus far. It’s just that the stability of the tripod becomes perceivable more crucial than with 150mm, so I wouldn’t pull out too much legs.