What is the difference between a 210mm and 240mm, especially having regard to cost

[neil poulsen]

It's definitely a "tweener" for me. I've always liked a 180mm, like Steve Sint from days old. A 240mm makes a nice, longer lens for close up, portraiture, table top, etc. For me, a 210mm doesn't make sense for either. Either too long or too short.

My 240mm Symmar-S has been replaced by a 250mm f6.7 Fujinon, which doubles as a wide field 8x10 lens.

[John D Gerndt]

I'll echo what Andrew says about the function of a 240mm being a reason for the added cost. A bunch of us shoot multiple formats and having a double-threat lens is nice. Lenses that cover 8x10 fetch a premium price.

[Frank Petronio]

They sold a lot more 210s to students and beginners (Fred Picker promoted 210s) so there are many more used 210s on the market (Symmars and Sironars). Thus the price is less than a 240 of the same type. Most of the late model, big brand ones are excellent, so you can't go wrong. FWIW, I prefer a 240 but if you can't get the shot with one or the other, the 30mm difference isn't going to be much help. The main advantage of the 240 is the increased coverage for 5x7 and 8x10.

[Frank Petronio]

If you're looking for distance rather than movements for landscapes or portraits, look at the older Tele-Arton and Roletar lenses in the 270 length - not too expensive or large.

[Bill_1856]

A word of caution. The 240mm Symmar is usually mounted in a big Compur shutter without any mechanism for opening the shutter blades to focus, except to move the speed dial to "T". Later models, such as the Symmar-S are usually in Copal shutters with press-focus levers.

[Jim Galli]

There are 240's and there are 240's. What if you could get a 240 that was lighter than all of the 210 Symmars and Sironars plus sharper plus covers 8X10? A little Fuji 240 f9A went for $400 bucks yesterday on Ebay. Y'all were snoozing. The 240 G-Claron already mentioned has great coverage for 8X10, WAY more than the Symmars, probably just as sharp as the Fuji but with a bit less contrast, I sell them all the time for under $400, a great lens. As to your original question, if there were only the giant Symmars in Copal 3, I'd skip this size too.