Does Caltar II - E 150mm cover enough ?

[larry chambers]

I am considering purchasing a Caltar II - E 150mm lens for my toyo 45ax 4x5 fiel d camera. My question concerns the image cirle for this lens which is 180mm. Wil l this lens be limiting in terms of movements with my camera? Or should I perhap s look at spending some extra $ for a lens with larger coverage? I will primaril y be using the lens for landscapes. Responses would be greatly appreciated.

[John O'Connell]

I gave it a day to see if someone more knowledgable than me would bite, but...

My only lens is a 150 with a claimed 214mm image circle @ f/22. I'd like more coverage for everything sometimes, with the exception of simple landscapes and macro. Most of the shots I take would require a good deal more skill than I possess if I only had 180mm of coverage @ f/22.

I (personally) wouldn't buy it. It might be fine for you if you are a minimal user of movements. It wouldn't be enough for me. I think multi-coated Caltars are marked "MC," by the way.

If I was to buy it, I wouldn't pay very much for it. I was offered a clean, well-used 90mm f/6.8 Caltar II MC for $300 USD in a nice Copal, sans board and CF -- and I passed it up because of the aperture, the unknown image circle (there is no Rodenstock-branded version I know of with that aperture), and the fact that $300 means a lot to me. A 90mm is a lot more desirable than a 150mm, and the store that lens was in isn't cheap on anything.

I got as many old filmholders as I wanted, a graphmatic, a cable release, a box of TMY, a mint (if heavy) 20" monorail (with geared rise, fall, and focus), and my lens for $550. I feel like I should have tried to do better, but I didn't. Good luck, Larry!