300mm plasmat

[speedtrials]

I recently bought (then sold) a 300mm plasmat lens. I was completely unprepared for the size it! I wouldn't ever know how big it was if I hadn't bought it and held it in my hands. I put this beside a 300mm fuji-c lens...the difference in size was ridiculous. I feel like someone just clubbed me with the clue stick

[Oren Grad]

If you liked the 300, you should try a 360 or - better yet - a 480.

[Gene McCluney]

If you need the extreme coverage and speed of a modern style plasmat, almost no other lens will do. The size makes little difference with studio still-life work.

[speedtrials]

Gene, of course you are right....I should have specified that I was buying it for field work.

[Len Middleton]

Then again, there is the 305 G-Claron which is also a plasmat lens, just a stop and a half slower.

Small enough to fit into a copal 1, and small enough for field work...

[Nick_3536]

The Fuji-W is smaller then the other similar speed lenses. It's still big enough to lose a small child underneath .

For field work it's not like an 8x10 field camera is that tiny either.

[Drew Wiley]

There is a beautiful Fuji 300A on fleabay at the moment. If you want lightweight with
good coverage and excellent close range performance, that's it! 305 G-Claron is also
excellent.

[speedtrials]

Thanks guys. I do also have a Fuji-C 300mm and a 12" Commercial Ektar so I'm not hurting for smaller lenses. My initial plan was to do a 3 way test of these lenses but the Schneider plasmat was so massive that I didn't want to bother. Hopefully I can get around to doing a 2 way test with the Fuji-C and the Ektar.

I AM curious to see how the 300A auction ends, given that you can get a new 300C for $700. I have a feeling the 300A will come close to that.

[sanking]

The 300mm f/9 Nikkor M is also a great lens for 4X5 or 5X7 landscape work.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/300f9.htm

Sandy King

[Mark Sawyer]

The 300mm f/9 Nikkor M is also a great lens for 4X5 or 5X7 landscape work.

I agree with Sandy, and will add that if you don't go crazy with movements, it works very nicely on an 8x10. It's a tessar, but the more I use tessars, the more I like them. If you need a bright 8x10 lens at a reasonable size, the Fuji-L f/5.6 300mm in a Copal 3 is very nice, and also a tessar. Not small, but smaller than an f/5.6 plasmat.

But as Nick already noted, if you're toting an 8x10 outfit in the field, the difference in lens weight is a small part of the total package...