Do be aware that the lifetime warranty on the lens and the 3 year warranty on the shutter will not apply to the lens from the UK. Warranty service, if required, will have to be done in the UK.
As I stated above the Apo Ronars are out of production.
Do be aware that the lifetime warranty on the lens and the 3 year warranty on the shutter will not apply to the lens from the UK. Warranty service, if required, will have to be done in the UK.
As I stated above the Apo Ronars are out of production.
Ken, there has not been an advice on the Fujinon so here is mine. I bought one a few month's ago, because it is very small (285g), is Super EBC multicoated, has the larger covera ge if I wanted to use it on a 8x10 camera sometimes and can be obtained at a good price from BadgerGraphic. I am very satisfied with this lens. Otherwise, I'm sure the two other lenses you mentioned are "top class" lenses as well.
I forgot to mention that the Fujinon has the shortest film to flange distance, a n interesting point with cameras such as the Toyo VX I use now. Specs for this lens are not as easy to ge t as for other lenses, so here they are: Fujinon C 8.5 300 Copal#1 / weight: 250 g! / Film to flange: 282.3 / Image circle at 22: 380 mm (66!).
Bob,
Since you state the Apo-Ronars are out of production, and B&H photo is unable to get them, I suppose the lifetime warranty on the lens and 3 year warranty on the shutter is not a debateable point. It would suprise me *greatly* if that warranty was transferrable to me as a second owner of a used lens. Should this prove otherwise, Rodenstock is making a serious marketing mistake by not advertising a transferrable warranty.
If I want an Apo-Ronar, I will have to find one used, or abroad. Either way, no warranty.
When I ordered the lens from Robert White in Britain, they contacted their supplier who has a 7 day availability on the lens. The suppliers is unaware of the line being out of production. There is a disconnect somewhere, and I don't really care as long as I can get one. RW has a good reputation, so if the lens optics proved to be defective, I would ship it back to them. The chances of that are pretty slim, so I will risk it. Copal shutter problems can be fixed anywhere.
Paul, the Fuji-C 300mm is my alternative choice, should the Apo-Ronar wind up not available. This lens is billed as an Apo-Tessar on one of the distributer sites, which I think is a misnomer. A 4/4 construction is no Tessar.
The short flange focus is indeed a plus, and thanks for providing it. I am unable to find specs on the C series lenses. BTW... do you have the overall length for this lens? I keep an XLS of this stuff..
We checked with Rodenstock today. All Apo Ronars are discontinued. White got his from the UK supplier probably and not from munich who does not sell to him.
On the other hand dealers like Ken Hansen, Samys, Glazers, Bear Images, etc could all still have the 300 Apo Ronar in stock.
The warranty is the respponsibility of the importer not the factory. The factory's warranty terms are honored by the factory and not by the distributors.
BTW,
I f you post the serial number of the 300 we can tell you when the lens was made.
Bob,
There must be some confusion: I don't have a serial number, because I am purchasing new from RW in Britain. Yes, RW buys from his distributor/importer, who gets it directly from Germany. The distributor/importer gave RW a 7 day delivery from Germany.
I don't know the others you mention above, but I have visited Glazers as well as bought from them by mail. The price for an Apo-Ronar 300 is nearly twice what I will pay abroad. This is too stiff a fee to pay for a warranty. Typically B&H Photo beats most of the US dealers pretty handily, but even B&H is 50% higher than RW abroad, plus B&H cannot get the Apo-Ronar.
The Fuji-C in 300 clocked in $100 more than the same lens at RW. Add in $50 shipping plus 2~3% for duty, and there is no reason to buy the Fuji from RW. On the other hand, the Rodenstock lenses are all dramatically less expensive in Hong Kong and Britain, than they are anywhere here in the US.
Problem is with Fuji, there is no place to do any research on their products. Their web site has zilch for LF lenses, there is no importer, so I don't even really know where to write for a detailed spec sheet. With Rodenstock, one can get all the details to make comparisons, then an intelligent decision.
As an Internet buyer, I can mouse-click in Britain or Hong Kong, just as easily as I can mouse-click at B&H or Glazers. They have to offer me something to induce me to mouse-click with them. A 50% to 100% higher price is not an inducement. Ken Hansen, Sammy's, Bear Images, et al, don't seem to hit the search engines, nor do any of these vendors get a lot of plugs in the forum pages. Here in Sacramento, I have Pardees' Camera, which is a full service (read: full price) dealer, and they cannot compete on price at all.
But I digress.. this isn't about price directly, but about the quality of the Apo-Ronar, and how to get my hands around that quality.
Simply ask them for the serial number or send it after you have the lens.
Bob,
I will be happy to ask them for the serial and post it here, or will post it when it arrives.
I'm curious though... is there a suspicion you have about the lens, and wanting to verify it by serial? This sends the shivers of paranoia up and down my spine... naaa... I can't give in to that, and worry about being cheated...
I would assume the lens comes in its own box, with a matching serial number on the box, etc.
Q: Is there an optical change in the Apo-Ronar over its production life? I assume multi-coating came in somewhere, but I would think that would be many years back. It would be hard to imagine the lens not being multi-coated in current production.
he lens is not made any longer, the factory sold its remaining inventory to a division involved in OEM sales. You might want to know when it was made under these conditions.
Lenses are always evolving. Lens cells made today will not fit into Rodensstock lenses made 10 years ago.
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