135 or 150 sironar S ???

[chris6869]

I have read good reviews about the sironar S 135 and 150.
My problem is (money is solved) which one to choose ?

135 is a good focal length, but the image circle seems to be a little bit small for some applications.
The 150 is great, has a larger image circle, but 150 might be not as versatile as 135.

I am sure that some have had the same dilemma.

Can anyone help me ?


Nota : I already have a 90mm, 125mm, 200mm

Christian

[Steve Goldstein]

The 135's image circle at infinitiy is 208mm at f/22, the 150 is 231mm. The 135 can just about cover 5x7 straight-on at infinity. Assuming you're using 4x5, you'll need a lot of movement to run into trouble.

There's not much difference between 125mm and 135mm. Do you plan to keep and use the 125? If so, buy the 150. If you plan to sell the 125, get the 135 - sometimes it can be really difficult to step back, but it's always easy to crop!

Oh, and the 135 is 10 grams lighter. That could make a real difference some day

[Bob Salomon]

Far and away the 150S is the more popular lens. For every 135 Apo Sironar S we sell to dealers we sell 6 of the 150mm Apo Sironar S.

[David Karp]

125 and 150 is a good combination - almost like 35mm and 50mm in 35mm film camera terms, only I think the 125 is even more usable in 4x5 than the 35mm lens is in the small camera world. 135mm and 125mm are going to be too close, in my opinion.

[chris6869]

Thank you Steve and Bob.

My 125 is a fuji NW which is great, but its image circle is smaller than those of the 135 Sironar S.
I think there will be a great difference of sharpness and tonality between these two lenses.

I understand, the 135 will probably kill my 125. If I want to keep the fuji, i buy the 150.


Christian

[David de Gruyl]

based on your existing lenses, I would choose the 150.

[Larry Gebhardt]

I love the 135mm Sironar S. I'm surprised that the 150mm is so much more popular. I think the 90, 135 and 200 set is just about perfect, and is what I use if I just want to take three lenses. Frequently I go out with the 135 and 200 since they are used for 80% of my images.

[Bob Salomon]

I love the 135mm Sironar S. I'm surprised that the 150mm is so much more popular. I think the 90, 135 and 200 set is just about perfect, and is what I use if I just want to take three lenses. Frequently I go out with the 135 and 200 since they are used for 80% of my images.

The most popular set is the 90, 150 and 210mm.

[memorris]

I found the 135 to have little movement. It was a 135mm Sironar S and at f/22 there was little room for movements. I sold it an am buying a Schneider Super-Symmar XL 150 to use on the 4X5 (very good coverage) and 8X10, adequate coverage but very wide.

[Bob Salomon]

Let's get specific:

The 135mm Apo Sironar S covers a 208mm circle at infinity at f22. This means that there will be 37mm of rise and 32mm of shift in landscape position on 4x5.

The 150mm Apo Sironar S covers a 231mm circle at infinity at f22. This means that there will be 59mm of rise and 51mm of shift in landscape position on 4x5. Using this lens on 5x7 you would have 17mm of rise and 13mm of shift.

There are very few 4x5 cameras with more movement then the 150 S has on 4x5.