Which Lenses would you buy for 12x20

[Steve Beyer]

I am interested in a 210, 550, 1100 for a 12x20 that I am about to purchase. I would only be able to afford 2 of these 3 lenses to start. I am having a hard time deciding so I would like your input. Which would you go with?

[John Kasaian]

If you have the bellows for it a 24" RD Artar (600mm) would be a good choice. My 12x20 Folmer Schwing dosen't have the bellows for it so I use a 450 Nikor M and a 19" Goerz Dagor----yes, similar focal lengths but each lens has an entirely different 'feel' and both cover 12x20 with more than enough wiggle room for pc.

I could be talked out of my 24" RD Artar barrel lens if you're interested ;-)

[Michael Kadillak]

I would purchase one lens to start with 12x20. The Nikkor 450M. The main reason for this lens is that it is about as long as you can still reach the aperture control to watch the ground glass while you are stopping down to check DOF. There is a lot of glass to evaluate and nothing is more frustrating than finding less than optimal DOF or some other less than desirable condition somewhere in your image area. Second reason is that it covers the format nicely and is a very high quality multi coated lens. For 12x20 I consider this lens to be standard issue.

I find that 300mm is nearly to "wide" for my taste let along 210mm.

A 42" (1100mm lens) is a lot of bellows racked out and requires a field assistant (if you are fortunate enough to find one) to adjust the aperture ring on command while you are evaluating the ground glass.

I can't wait for the TMY to arrive in the larger ULF sizes. This is going to be a very marvelous spring and summer for all of us!

Cheers

[Ole Tjugen]

A 210mm for 12x20" is wide - very, very wide. I have used a 210mm on 30x40cm, or about 12x16", and there are very few lenses that can cover even this. The 210mm Super-Angulon barely covers 30x40cm, and is a big heavy beast. Pre-WWII Angulon covers too, and are much lighter and smaller. But old and uncoated.

There's a partial list of ULF lenses on www.mamutphoto.com, one of the few "dedicated" ULF sites.

[Donald Hutton]

I'd strongly recommend you get just one lens to get you going - a 450mm M Nikkor. I'd suggest that you don't consider a 210mm until you are 100% certain you will need one. The only 210mm that covers is the 210 Super Symmar XL - they retail for around $3000 and on 12x20 you definitely need the CF - another $1000. I've actually just sold mine - I just never used it on 12x20 - even on 11x14 it was an "ultra wide". It's a very specialized lens on 12x20. The 450mm Nikkor is a really nice "medium" wide lens and has plenty of coverage as well. I'd stay away from long lenses initially - you will find the depth of field issues challenging when you start out in 12x20 (I'm presuming you are starting out...). It's tricky enough with a 450...

[GPS]

You cannot go wrong with the 550 mm. Consider it a normal lens for this format. You will find more occasions to take pictures with this focal length than with 1100 mm (which is not bad at all either).

[sanking]

I also recommend the 450 Nikkor-M as the single most useful lens for 12X20.

In the 210mm range, only the Schneider SSXL will cover 12X20, outside of some very exotic old glass.

In 550-600 mm, my favorite is the 600mm Fujinon-C. The 24" Red Dota Artar would also be a very good lens for this format,.

Forget the 1100 mm unless you have plenty of bellows draws and a very specific need for this lens.

[Oren Grad]

Another moderately-priced lens for 12x20 is the 355 G-Claron.

[Scott Davis]

If you can get your hands on one, the 600 f9 Apo-Germinar is another really good lens for 12x20. Mine is spoken for and not going on the market any time soon It is a massive beast - around 4lbs in barrel! If you mount it in a shutter, you lose at least a half stop, so go with a Packard shutter for it - you'll need about a 4" diameter shutter aperture for it.

[Michael Mutmansky]

Steve,

A lot of this will come down to what you want/need to to with the cameras. If you favor wide angle inagery, then you will probably be best suited with the 550mm and a wider lens, like the 355 G Claron or a less common 305 Computar possibly.

The 210 is a very wide lens, and won't find too much use for most people because it is so wide. it is comparable to about a 52.5 mm lens on 3x5 (4x5 with 1/2" cropped off the top and bottom, 3x5), so if you have used a 55mm grandagon or 58mm SA, you can get a sense for where the 210 will fit, as it will be a little wider. It also won't afford you any movements.

The 550mm XXL simply blows away either the Fuji 600C or 24" Artar. It's a much larger lens than the Fuji, but it affords so much more sharp movement that it really is not even a fair comparison. If I had to travel very light with a 12x20, I'd probably go for the 600C, but otherwise, I think the 550 XXL is absolutely the right lens to use. I wrote a review of this lens that is schedulled for the May/June issue of View Camera Magazine, and there was a review of the 1100mm last fall sometime as well.

Most people seem to presume that everyone who uses a camera like this wants to shoot grand scenics. That is simply not the case, and if you have the interest in extracting details from a larger scene (something I like to do a good bit), the 1100 will do that for you. You need to work with it a certain way, since the front standard is going to be well out of reach from the back, but anyone serious about the use of a focal length like this will work out a method to using it that involves setting up the camera, extending the front standard, and then doing most of the final adjustments with the rear standard where possible. It's more cumbersome, but is definately a viable approach with a lens this long.

Most of the lenses recomended are not purpose-built for shooting 12x20, but they will cover the format. People recommend them because they do cover, and can be made to work with the proper approach (normally, you have to stop fairly far down, and you may not have much, if any movements). That is a fine approach, but the 550XXL lens does give you the opportunity to use a lens that was actually designed for pictorial work with a ULF format, and it opens up shooting opportunities that are simply not available with the other lenses suggested.

---Michael