APO Sironar S lenses in 300mm + in today's market

[Luis-F-S]

If you are satisfied with your $5.00 lens, fine, you aren’t doing work that requires more. But if you aren’t then yo7 might learn how to use those graphs!

Bob, I didn't say I had a $5.00 lens, I said Edward Weston apparently did, and he seemed to do ok with it. I have MTF charts for lenses, well before the company you used to work for rep'd Rodenstock, and frankly I've never chosen which lens to used based on charts. I may be missing the boat, but I don't think so. L

[Bob Salomon]

Bob, I didn't say I had a $5.00 lens, I said Edward Weston apparently did, and he seemed to do ok with it. I have MTF charts for lenses, well before the company you used to work for rep'd Rodenstock, and frankly I've never chosen which lens to used based on charts. I may be missing the boat, but I don't think so. L

Of course you are missing the boat. The real test is to shoot with them. Apparently you didn’t do that.
As for your having charts before I represented Rodenstock, starting in 1986, that is possible.
But you do know that I was also a rep for EPOI when they introduced the first Nikon LF lenses in the 1970s and while I repped for them as the Sinar distributor we also handled both Schneider and Rodenstock LF lenses!
And, when I left EPOI and joined HP Marketing as a rep first we sold both Rodenstock and Schneider LF lenses.
And before either of those I was with Rollei of America and, even in the early 70s Rollei was also publishing their lens curves!

So how far back do your curves go?

[faberryman]

But you do know that I was also a rep for EPOI when they introduced the first Nikon LF lenses in the 1970s and while I repped for them as the Sinar distributor we also handled both Schneider and Rodenstock LF lenses!
And, when I left EPOI and joined HP Marketing as a rep first we sold both Rodenstock and Schneider LF lenses.
And before either of those I was with Rollei of America and, even in the early 70s Rollei was also publishing their lens curves!

None of which has anything to do with lens selection, but if it makes you feel more important to reecite your career history, have at it.

[Bob Salomon]

None of which has anything to do with lens selection, but if it makes you feel more important to reecite your career history, have at it.

Read where I said the real test is to shoot with them. How could you miss that? It is the second sentence at the top of my post!
Also note, I always use my name, I don’t hide it behind a nickname! So you know who I am. Who knows who you are!

[Corran]

I wonder if all this is this helping the OP? Sheesh.

[StuartR]

Luis -- Thanks for mentioning Guðmundur. He is a friend and I had already met him about this, but I do not have the camera yet, so I have not been able to borrow a lens etc. He had recommended a 250mm f6.7 Fujinon I believe. I wound up finding a decent deal on a 1980s vintage 305mm G Claron. People seem to be of two minds about them, but it was 1/7th of the going rate of a used APO Sironar S, so I will try that first, and if I spot a good deal on a 300mm Plasmat like the Apo Sironar S or a late model from Schneider etc, I will give it a try. In the meantime I will see if the G claron meets my needs.

[StuartR]

Bryan -- It's helpful, though of course not all of it. Still, these discussions bring up a lot of good opinions and options, and I find that useful. As Bob said, the best test is to shoot them, which unfortunately is easier said than done these days, unless you want to spend over 10,000 dollars and then spend all the time reselling all the lenses that did not work. Personally, I do not!

[Corran]

Fair enough, but the squabbling and bickering about test charts and all that is what I was referring to...

Regarding your G-Claron 305mm - I have two, you'll want to check if yours is a Dagor or Plasmat design. If you Google those terms along with 305mm G-Claron you'll find a thread I started that will be helpful. It's probably a Plasmat, as the older Dagor is pretty uncommon. Both perform fine. I use the Dagor-type on my 8x20. It's sharp, but, is single-coated (as is the Plasmat) and so the usual care should be taken with regard to flare.

I shot this w/ my 305mm GC Dagor on 8x10, two sheets of it actually and stitched together:

[faberryman]

But you do know that I was also a rep for EPOI when they introduced the first Nikon LF lenses in the 1970s and while I repped for them as the Sinar distributor we also handled both Schneider and Rodenstock LF lenses!
And, when I left EPOI and joined HP Marketing as a rep first we sold both Rodenstock and Schneider LF lenses.
And before either of those I was with Rollei of America and, even in the early 70s Rollei was also publishing their lens curves!

None of which has anything to do with lens selection, but if it makes you feel more important to recite your career history, have at it.

[StuartR]

Thanks Bryan,
The serial number is over 14 million and it is in a Copal 1 black shutter (although this could be later), so I guess it is more likely to be a plasmat version. I will have a look when I get a chance to see it. Unfortunately I am not going to get a chance to start shooting until late August, so it will be awhile between updates..