Hello everybody.
I am looking for 150mm lens that will cover 5x7 with image circle 260-290 mm. I know the tab made by Michael K. Davis and it is not much helpful to me plus all new lenses seem to me a bit too expensive.
Is there other lens that fits my demand? What are your experiences with older types of lenses?
Thanks for help.
Peter
The Graphic-Kowa and Computar 150mm f9 have an IC of 290mm, as well as being tiny.
The G Claron is small and relatively inexpensive. I've never run out of movement so at a minimum you can get an inch and a quarter or rise.
6" Dagor covers beautifully.
The three mentioned are all great choices. The 150mm f9 Graphic-Kowa, also sold as the 150mm f9 Computar and 150mm f6.8 APO Kyvytar, would be my first choice. They are getting hard to find, but if you find one in a barrel, the cells will fit directly into a Copal No. 1 shutter.
Another hard to find lens that is similar to (but even better than) the G Claron is the 150mm f9 Germinar-W.
Additional modern 150mm lenses that cover 5x7 are the 150mm f5.6 APO Sironar-W and the 150mm f5.6 Super Symmar HM. The APO Sironar-W was originally sold as just the APO Sironar (no "-W" suffix). You can tell it's the right lens (80 degree coverage) by the 72mm filter size.
You didn't mention a budget, but you did ask about older lenses. These two aren't 150mm, but they are close. The 135mm f6.3 Wide Field Ektar and 135mm f6.8 Meopta Largor will both cover 5x7. These are older single coated lenses made in the 1940s and 1950s. The 135mm f6.8 Meopta Largor was made for the 13x18cm Meopta Magnola camera and came in a Prontor 0 shutter. It's absolutely tiny (weighs 102g, including the shutter). And since it was made in your home country, you can probably find one locally at a very agreeable price.
Kerry
The APO Symmar is officially, per Schneider, a 5X7 lens, I don't know what the actual coverage is and have never used mine for that format. Since the older Symmar wasn't rated for 5X7 and certainly won't cover it in my experience, I suspect the 150 just barely covers.
The 150/9 lenses Kerry listed (G-Claron, Computar, Germinar-W) are sharp and have the coverage you request, but I find them a bit slow and dim for anything but outside use. The 80 degree Sironar-W and Super Symmar HM are fantastic lenses, but expensive and only about 250mm of coverage. This is enough for field use, but probably won't cut it for architecture. The 135/6.3 WF Ektar is also a great lens, but coverage is a bit tighter than you requested on 5x7, also about 250mm stopped down. There are two 165mm lenses which have ample coverage; The 165mm f6.8 Angulon (Kerry is selling one) and the 6 1/2" f8 Wide Angle Dagor. Of these two, I have found the f8 WA Dagor to be sharper, but obviously a bit dimmer, and generally more expensive.
Many of those lenses mentioned above are primarily designed for graphic / process applications. They are doing perfectly well for certain reproduction ratios while i am sure they wouldn't be performaing their best at infinity; at least without stoping them down beyond f22. Having said that another such process lens that would cover 5x7 with generous extra coverage spared for the moves, is Konica Hexanon 150mm f9 GRII. But again these are process lenses. OTOH it might be a good idea to look into Nikkor 150mm f8 SW for a general purpose lens.
The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax. Albert Einstein
Is there really any need for discussion about whether a G Claron works well at infinity?
The difference is the 150mm Graphic-Kowa/Computar/APO Kyvytar (Copal 1, Compur 1, Prontor 1), 150mm G Claron (Copal 0, Compur 0, Prontor 0) and 150mm Germinar-W (Copal 0, Compur 0, Prontor 0) are all driect fit in the standard shutters listed here. The 150mm Konica Hexanon GRII is not a direct fit in any standard shutter. So, it is much less desirable than the others mentioned.Originally Posted by redu
The 150mm f8 Nikkor SW is a huge lens with a 400mm image circle that is overkill for most 5x7 applications.
Kerry
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