Recommended lens for Chamonix 8x10 for portrait/landscape

[Steven Ferson]

With an extra tripod at the front

[Steven Ferson]

This is the answer for my weight concerns….=> it is an issue, but there is a solution if you choose to go that route.

[Steven Ferson]

Are you sure you want a Plasmat for portraits?

That is part of the question. I like the look that you can get with a cooke anastigmat, a heliar or a protar, but am not sold on the petzvals.
It seems that 16” is the right size, but i assume these are heavy and don’t come with a shutter.

These extra complications are best to avoid for beginners like me?

[Steven Ferson]

The Chamonix handles the Nikkor SW 150 without issues so it shouldn’t have problems with any of the larger 360 mm options you’re discussing here….but if you want light, a g-claron 355mm would work great, and give you large movements; no need to go for far more expensive options….

The G Claron 355 or the kowa graphic 360, both f9 seem to make sense. Are they also OK for portraits or is it better to go for a brighter 300mm plastmat?

[Whir-Click]

The Fujinon L 420 ticks a lot of boxes: single coated Tessar design, agreeable 8x10 focal length, modern shutter, reasonable weight burden on a Chamonix.

[Kiwi7475]

The G Claron 355 or the kowa graphic 360, both f9 seem to make sense. Are they also OK for portraits or is it better to go for a brighter 300mm plastmat?

Focusing should be fine at f9 unless you’re taking portraits in very dim light. The only other difficulty would be if you’re using strobes and need a dark environment not to “overpower them” when taking the shot.

The advantage of a brighter lens though would be to decrease the depth of focus… so it depends what are you looking for….

[Scott Davis]

I'd vote for the 14" Commercial Ektar. It's a big chunk of a shutter, but the overall weight is reasonable. And hey, if it was good enough for Yusuf Karsh, it's good enough for me. I use mine on my Canham 8x10 regularly and have no problems with it on the somewhat spindly front standard. Ditto my 250 Wide-Field Ektar, which is a bigger, heavier piece of glass.

I haven't weighed them directly to compare but in my mind, the 355 G-Claron isn't a dramatic weight savings over the 14" Commercial Ektar. I'd rather have the tessar design and the faster maximum aperture for doing portraits. The G-Claron would win if you needed to do a LOT of movements as it has the image circle big enough to cover my 14x17 with movement. The Commercial Ektar is going to top out at 11x14 with very limited movement.

[Greg]

I'd vote for the 14" Commercial Ektar. It's a big chunk of a shutter, but the overall weight is reasonable. And hey, if it was good enough for Yusuf Karsh, it's good enough for me. I use mine on my Canham 8x10 regularly and have no problems with it on the somewhat spindly front standard. Ditto my 250 Wide-Field Ektar, which is a bigger, heavier piece of glass.

I haven't weighed them directly to compare but in my mind, the 355 G-Claron isn't a dramatic weight savings over the 14" Commercial Ektar. I'd rather have the tessar design and the faster maximum aperture for doing portraits. The G-Claron would win if you needed to do a LOT of movements as it has the image circle big enough to cover my 14x17 with movement. The Commercial Ektar is going to top out at 11x14 with very limited movement.

14" Commercial Ektar in Ilex #5 mounted on Sinar board 2 lb 6 1/8 oz
355 G-Claron in Copal #3 mounted on Sinar board 2 lb 2 3/8 oz
360mm f/6.5 Nikkor-W in Copal #3 mounted on a Sinar Board 3 lb 5 oz heavy but have used it many times on my Chamonix without problems

[Steven Ferson]

14" Commercial Ektar in Ilex #5 mounted on Sinar board 2 lb 6 1/8 oz
355 G-Claron in Copal #3 mounted on Sinar board 2 lb 2 3/8 oz
360mm f/6.5 Nikkor-W in Copal #3 mounted on a Sinar Board 3 lb 5 oz heavy but have used it many times on my Chamonix without problems

Thanks!
Nice to hear that weight is not a no - go with one of the f6.5 options. Of these 3 lenses, which one would you recommend the most for portrait & landscape? My other lens is a fuji 250 f 6,7.

Steven

[Steven Ferson]

No happy users of the Kowa 360f9?