Michael: That's interesting. I had noticed that the later ones sometimes had larger diameters (at least in the 240 mm lens) so I guess I'll check serial numbers to see when mine were made. Since they all work fine (stopped down to f:22 or below) I'm not going to do anything about it, but it is interesting.
Kevin,
It really is counter to what every believes about copy lenses, and I actually asked the rep to repeat himself so that I was sure that I got it right. He was very clear (in his German eaccent) that they made that change some time in the early 90's.
Generally, it is known that the Fujinon A series and the Nikkor M series were set for infinity, but most people group the G Claron and the Ronars together at 1:1, when the modern G Claron in shutter should really be grouped with the Fujinon and Nikkor.
So, unless you need to stop down the lens to achieve better corner sharpness or better DOF, there isn't a compelling reason to go down to f/22.
This only applies to normal camera use, not an application where the coverage is being pushed due to the large size of the film, or tilts, etc. At this point, stopping down is the only way to improve the corner performance of lenses being pushed beyond what they are intended for.
---Michael
"ut most people group the G Claron and the Ronars"
The Rodenstock process lens most like the G Claron is the wide field Apo Gerogon series. But these will not just screw into a shutter.
Another really wide lens for an 8x10 is the Wollensak WA anastigmat or raptar, 159mm f9,5. Single coated, usually in an alphax shutter. I see them alot(as well as the f12.5 EWA version) on ebay & they go for cheap. Nice lenses though, with an entirely different feel than the G Claron, but also not much available room for movements. I only mention this in the unlikely event that the last 210 G Claron for sale on earth was the target of a martian abduction.
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
If you are still looking a 210mm G Claron (in barrel), one just went up for auction on ebay. It has a buy it now price of $150. I would buy it myself but I am broke until I get my income tax refund in May. I even have a Prontor Press shutter that it would screw into.
FYI, I'm using a fairly recent, factory-mounted 210mm G-Claron with my 8x10 and have observed the following: 1) To my eyes, images apprear to be sharpest when shot at f/16 and progressively less so when it's stopped down; 2) While it will cover 8x10, it does get quite soft around around the edges in the process, which effectively limits the amount of movement available.
The former isn't a problem for me as a lot of what I shoot are flat walls, so I don't need to stop down for DOF; the latter, however, is often a problem for me even though I compose for a square 8x8 format, which, in theory, means I don't need as much coverage as someone shooting full 8x10s. I often have to reposition the camera if I need more than, say, 20mm of shift, otherwise I will end up with one side of the image noticeably softer than the other.
For the money, though, I have no complaints. I'm sure I will ultimately buy another lens with more coverage to replace it, but for now, I can happily put up with its limitations.
Lee: Apparently my prior statement was misinterpretted. What I was trying to say was that in my experience the suggestion that it would be just sharp enough for contacts was incorrect -- that you CAN enlarge the negatives without any difficulty. Sorry this was confusing.
Kevin
thanks for clearing that up Kevin. I have and use a 210 and 305 G-Clarons and I love mine. I use both on my 8x10 and soon maybe I will use the 305 on an 11x14 camera.
leec
Hi
I have recently been in contact with Hr. Werner Bayer from the Schneider Service in Germany concerning mounting of lenses into shutters. Encouraged by my success with having the Apo Ronar spaced for infinity by Linos, I asked if the same was possible for the Repro- and G- Clarons. The answer is no. I used the opportunity to ask if he could confirm that G-Clarons in shutters from the beginning of the 1990s were spaced for infinity. Here is his answer, translated:
"This is not quite correct. Ca. 1974 to 1976, the G-Clarons were completeley re-calculated. The new lens with the new optics was still a lens optimized for 1:1. Due to the new calculation of the optics, these systems could yield good performance also at infinity. G-Clarons were never optimized for infinity. It is beeing stated, that with a serial number over 12.000.000, you can assume to have a lens with the new system. But even that is not always correct. Even after this time, lenses of the preceeding series were delivered to many users, because the older G-Clarons had advantages for these users. The last series of G-Clarons has now been dicontiued for 8 years."
Kind regards - Hening.
Hening
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