3 lenses for landscape in 8x10

[Paul Schilliger]

This question will certainly rise as many opinions as there are answers, but I w ould be keen on reading what is your favorite set of lenses for 8x10 landscape p hotography. Perhaps should I precise "what are the 3 most used" among them? Than ks!

[William Marderness]

Fujinon 240A and Fujinon 450C.

[Sal Santamaura]

Paul, add the 300mm Fujinon C (that you and I posted about last weekend) to William's two lenses and you've got my 8x10 landscape set. They make a very portable outfit when combined with my Phillips Compact II and a few holders. As a bonus, all three take 52mm filters.

[Bill Glickman]

Paul... wide super symar XL 150mm, that should be first assuming you do landscapes, normal.. the ones mentioned above...long is a matter of choice between 360 - 600mm, beware of wind, you may want the tele designs by Nikor or Fuji...on 4x5 I would not use the teles due to be less sharp than their non tele brothers, but on 8x10 unless you make huge enlargement you would not notice it any difference...

[Paul Schilliger]

Thanks gentlemen. You are unanimous on the 3 Fuji's and this choice seems to me as deadly as the 3 stones David had in his pocket in his war against Goliath! At less than 300 g ea ch and reasonably priced! ... The A 240 though is tight on the format. I use extensive movements with the 120 (now 110)mm on my 4x5. Is there an other choice in the 200 mm range without going into the huge Su per-Angulon categories? The Super-Symmar HM has a little more: 356 mm against 336 for the Fuji A, but th is is not much more and the lens is huge! The Nikkor W 240 has also 336 mm. Perhaps Schneider will complete the range of Super-Symmar XLs with a 210 XL? Seems to me having 3" or more rise possibility in the vertical format in a 1 Kg lens should be nice ! Are there other available options I haven't thou ght of? Of course in ultra wide-angles, the 150 XL and even the 110 XL have amazing capabilities !

[Michael_527]

Paul,

Schneider is going to introduce a 210 XL this spring. There is some information at:

http://www.lotusviewcamera.at/lenses_e.html

The lens will weigh 2 kilos! and is really quite excessive coverage for an 8x10.

You may have noticed my post a week or so ago regarding this very same issue. I was thinking about the 240A, but am concerned about coverage, and there aren't that many other lenses in the 210-240 range that are small and with sufficient coverage.

I have been thinking of a Rodenstock Sironar-S 210 as possibly my only option. It will cover 8x10 (barely) and the focal length is closer to my preferred 90mm for 4x5.

One other that I might add to the list for lightweight lenses in the 300mm range is the Nikkor 300M. It doesn't spec the image circle as large as the Fujinon 300C, but several sources state that the lens actually has a larger circle than the 300C when stopped down.

---Michael

[Sal Santamaura]

Paul, before deciding on the Fuji 240, I spent a long time considering a 240mm Apo-Sironar-S, which has an image circle of 372mm at infinity (vs. 336 for the Fuji). However, the Rodenstock requires an 86mm filter and weighs considerably more than the Fuji, though not even close to 2 kilos! In the end, I decided to primarily rely on back tilts with a Fujinon. This has not been much of a problem, since my typical situation at this focal length is a near-far composition with the camera pointed down. Restoring the back to vertical is required anyway for straight trees, which puts all film inside the Fuji's small projected image.

[Paul Schilliger]

Thanks Michael, I had passed on this post! So the 210 XL is already made. Unfort unately at 2 kilos, and financially probably out of my reach. But this will certainly be a nice lens, a bit excessive as you say.

[Paul Schilliger]

Sal, you probably took the only valid option. Hey, what is this Phillips 8x10 yo u use? Michael is planning to get one and an other guy I contacted recently said he would get this "Ultra Ligh t" Phillips also? I couldn't find anything on the net about it.

[William Marderness]

I have had some coverage problems with the Fujinon 240A. I have used it with architecture, with significant rise, which means as much direct rise as my Wisner Traditional allows. The negatives show reduced density at the top corners, about a 1 zone loss. I have tried taking a vertical shot with extreme rise, as much as I could get with my camera by using direct and indirect rise (through tilts). The negatives show fall off, but the corners are not out of the image circle. I wish for a lens like the Fujinon, but without the fall off.