opinions on fuji 65mm or 58mm schneider xl

[Ron betcher]

I am looking for opinions about what people have found for differences/positives and negatives with either of these lenses? I will be using one of these ultra wides for interior shots.

[Ted Harris]

The coverage of both lenses in terms of angle of coverage and imge circle is very similar, take a look at the stats. The 58mm has slightly wider coverage but only slightly and maybe not enough to matter for your particular purposes. This also holds tru for the current 58mm and 65mmofferings from Schneider. You may want to look at their chart at http://www.schneideroptics.com/photography/large_format_lenses/super-angulon/chart.htm for a quick comparison.



Both lenses are superb optically and your choice and the choice of others regarding Schneider v. Fuji is a matter of taste as much as anything else. I curently own lenses from both and, for that matter, don;t know why you are limiting yoru exploration to the 58 mm offerings from just Schneider and Fuji withou talso considering those from Rodenstock and Nikon.



Of equal importance is the way each of these lenses behaves/works with your camera. You need to ask questions about the need for a bag bellows and if yoru camera can accommodate same. There are a few field cameras and a few more rail cameras taht work fine with the 65 mm with standard bellows although bellows compression dramatically limits movements. There are even fewer cameraas that will allow you to work with the 58 mm lenses without bag bellows and if you do use standard bellows the movement limitations are even more severe.



Finally, take a hard look at your requirements. Neither may be the best answer. I jus tcompleted an assignment where neither of these lenses would have done the job. I went to a Noblex 150 MF Panoramic Camera to gt the coverage the client wanted. he was delighted with the pano shots and not happy with any of the wide angle LF shots. The point here is that camera placemetn is often severly limited when you are shooting interiors and you may need a pano format to do the best job.

[Matt Brain]

The light falloff in my grandagon-n 65mm makes it hard enough to focus the corners, this could only get worse with a 58mm.

[Bob Salomon]

" The light falloff"

Are you using a fresnel screen?

[steve simmons]

If you have a 75mm then I would get the 58. It is a new lens with a very good design. Movement is possible. Schneider always slightly under promotes the real life coverage.

I would also always use one of the screen brighteners.

steve simmons

[Matt Brain]

Yes Bob, I use a fresnel screen. The light fall off is substantial, I can only occasionally use my reflex viewer with the 65mm. I am not saying it is impossible to focus but it requires moving your head around a lot under a dark cloth to see the corners, particularly when used in low light.