New to 5x7: Are 240mm and 300mm lenses in one kit redundant? Opinions sought...

[bklynjohn]

Hello everyone.

I'm new to 5x7, coming mostly from shooting 35mm. I primarily shoot portraits and landscapes.

I have access to a 150mm lens, and now have the ability to purchase both a 240mm and 300mm lenses at reasonable prices. I'm considering getting both, however my instinct tells me that the 240mm and 300mm focal lenses would be a bit redundant. I'm wondering if this necessarily true and I'm hoping that someone with experience in the format might share some opinions on this.

I have a variety of lenses in my 35mm kit, mostly wide to normal (28mm - 75mm). I enjoy having a close spread of focal lengths in that format, but since 5x7 is my "secondary" format I imagine that I'll settle on a two-lens or at the most a three-lens kit, at least in the near future.

Thanks.
John

[Gene McCluney]

I find that I need them both for my style of work in 5x7.

[Kevin Crisp]

Me too. The 180mm is most used, then a 150 G Claron, then 305, then a 240mm. The 305 fits in the shutter for the 240, which is handy.

[Ken Lee]

If you like to fill the 5x7 frame exactly, and prefer not to crop, then it's nice to have a range of lenses which will let you do just that.

Cropping issues aside... I currently have a 210 Heliar, a 240 Fujinon A, a 250 Tessar, a 300 Heliar, and a 300 Fujinon A. Each lens has its own personality, and it's fun to experiment with them all. I use them all.

Some like to visualize the scene first, and then choose their equipment accordingly. Some like to choose their equipment first, and then find a photo to match. Some do a little bit of both. Some find it gratifying to introduce an element of spontaneity into their shooting, and having a variety of lenses is one way to do it.

[Ole Tjugen]

If you intend to have few lenses, then I would recommend a greater difference. If you can find a good 210mm instead of the 240mm, that would IMO be better.

Personally I use 90, 120, 150, 180, 210, 240, 270, 300, 360, 420, and 500mm lenses for 5x7"...

[Walter Calahan]

You can't have too many lenses. If you can afford buy them, do it. Once you have them you'll learn if they are redundant or not pretty quickly.

[Ron Marshall]

For 5x7 I use 120, 210, 300 and 450.

I would prefer a 180 to the 210, but that is what I happen to have.

I think 240 is a good step from 150. A 360 would be a better step from 240 than a 300.

[Bruce Watson]

I have access to a 150mm lens, and now have the ability to purchase both a 240mm and 300mm lenses at reasonable prices. I'm considering getting both, however my instinct tells me that the 240mm and 300mm focal lenses would be a bit redundant.

You won't know what you need or want until you gain some experience using your 5x7. When you find that you are seeing scenes you'd like to capture but that you don't have the lenses to do it, and this happens over and over, then you need (or want) an additional lens.

But... just for fun, run the angle of view numbers:

Your 150mm lens, across your 7 inch film dimension, gives you a angle of view of 61.3 degrees. That's how much of the scene in front it the long dimension of the film can "see" when the lens is focused at infinity. Similarly, a 240mm lens gives you 40.7 degrees, and a 300 gives you 33.0 degrees.

The more interesting thing here is the delta between lenses. There's a 21 degree delta between the 150 and the 240, but only an 8 degree delta between the 240 and the 300.

I personally like 15 degree "steps" between my lenses. Others like 20. Some like very small steps and therefore have shelves full of lenses. But I believe your instinct is correct and that you might find that the 240 and the 300 are redundant. The numbers show that they are fairly close together.

[Gem Singer]

I use a Nikkor f8 120SW, a Fuji f5.6 180CM-W, a Fuji f6.3 250CM-W, and a Nikkor f9 300M for the 5X7 format.

That combination is my favorite four lens set. However, If I only wanted to use three lenses for 5X7, it would be the 120, 180, and the 250.

Most 240 and 300 mm lenses are large, mounted in a Copal 3 shutters. The Fuji 250CM-W and Nikkor 300M are smaller lenses in Copal 1 shutters. A Fuji f9 240A is smaller, yet.

If you're talking about a 300 and a 240, also in a Copal 3, you are in for carrying a lot of weight around.

[Gene McCluney]

You know, it all depends. I don't want to scare off a new LF enthusiast. FOR MY WORK, which involves trying to "fill the frame" with subjects that sometimes have to be shot within confined spaces (no room to back up) I need various focal lengths, and I can never have enough choices. For a beginner who is not trying to accomplish what I need to accomplish, who can afford to pick his subjects to fit his equipment, then you can make quite good images with just a few lenses, but be prepared to move your camera around to "fit" the subject to the film size.

I can't pick my subjects to fit my equipment. If you are shooting for pleasure, you can just choose to shoot images that work in harmony with the equipment you have.