210 g-claron

[David Hempenstall]

just missed one (2nd hand).

need a small, light short lens for the 8x10, and this lens has made it to the top of the list.

anyone know where one is?

anyone got one they don't want?

cheers, d.

[Ernest Purdum]

They show up on eBay quite regularly. They are easy to search for because you can just type in "Claron" right fropm the home page. If you don't use a computer, a friend wqould probably be happy to do this for you.



If you find one in barrel, the cells will thread right in to a #1 shutter, Copal, Seiko or Compur.



I'm bothered by your statement that you will be using it on 8" X 10". Though some people report finding the image circle much larger than Sinar rates it at (260mm for the later ones), it still seems too small to me.

[John Kasaian]

david,

If I'm not mistaken, the "G" in G-Claron stands for "Galli" You might see if Jim has any available.--------Cheers!

[Ted Harris]

As a follow-on to Ernest's comments, although it is well established that Schneider rates their lenses very conservatively in terms of image circle I too question this choice for 8x10. Unless the 260 mm is an extreme understatement I can't conceive that you would more than bare coverage with no movements. Why not consider somethign that has ample coverage and is even smaller and lighter than the 210 G-Claron? Something like the 240 mm Fujinon A.

[Brian Ellis]

I used the 210 G claron for 8x10 for several years and it works just fine for that purpose when stopped down to F22 and smaller (sorry Ted, I sold it a couple weeks ago through rec.photo.marketplace). The design of the G Claron lenses is such that the more you stop down the larger the image circle becomes so that especially when you get down to F45 or F64 you have plenty of room for movements, at least I always did using it for landscape and exterior architectuve. I've always thought that the effects of diffraction with small apertures even on enlarged images is often overstated but since I was making only contact prints diffraction was no concern at all. There used to be a more scientific explanation by Ron wisner of why the G Clarons' quoted image circles are so small but their actual working image circles are so large in the bulletin board on the Wisner web site. I don't know if it's still there or not.

[Brian Ellis]

Ooops - the "sorry Ted" should have been "sorry David."

[Kevin Crisp]

David: I did what others have suggested. Bought an inexpensive barrel mounted G Claron, screwed it into a Compur 1 I had left over from something else, checked the element spacing (which was perfect)and used it. If you don't want a homemade f stop scale (copy it over from the stops on the barrel the lens comes with), SKGrimes Co. can engrave you one for $45, more or less. The lens does cover 8X10 with some limited movements, even though officially it isn't supposed to. It isn't just sharp enough for contact prints on an 8X10 negative, you can enlarge it without apologies. (An a 150 G Claron will cover 5X7 with some movements, but it isn't supposed to, the 240 G Claron gives quite a bit of room for movements, and a 270 G Claron will max out movements on any camera...) Make sure what you buy or bid on is a G Claron, not a Repro-Claron, since those have significantly smaller circles. Good luck.

[tim atherton]

Yes, the 210 G-claron will cover 8x10 at f22 and smaller and will give you an inch or two of movement at the smaller apertures.

If you can find a Kowa/Computar/Kyvytar 210 f9 on ebay in or out of shutter (most fit straight in a copal 1) it will cover significantly more, become a f6.8 once it's in the shutter, probably be sharper and most likely cost less.... only problem is lack of filter threads

[Ted Harris]

Brian, no sorry needed! In fact, I have never owned a G-Claron but will not put it on my list. I used to try and shoot 8x10 every once in a while with a 210 Apo Symmar and, as we all know, it just didn't cover. I will research the lens design and look at Ron's site. If I didn't already own 2 240 mm's I would actively start to look for one ... perhaps after I get rid of one of the 240's.

[Michael Mutmansky]

Kevin,

For 'normal' use, you are better off getting a more modern G Claron in a factory shutter, because the modern lenses are actually spaced to be optimized at infinity.

I know, I know, this is counter to accepted understanding of the G Clarons, but I was specifically told this recently by a Schneider rep. He said that in the early 90's, Schneider decided to optimize the shutter G Clarons for infinity because that's what they were mostly being used for (as a wide angle for large cameras mostly). The barrel versions were still optimized for infinity to the end of the production runs.

---Michael