PDA

View Full Version : fujinon A 300 f=9 coated?



Randy Unruh
23-Jun-2004, 15:25
Is the Fujinon A 300mm f=9 a coated lense? Ok for color? Enough coverage?

Dan Fromm
23-Jun-2004, 16:12
To answer your question, this is one of the worst lenses made. Like all Fujinons, it is not coated. It suffers severe chromatic aberration and must be used with a monochromatic filter, e.g., yellow, to produce acceptable image quality when shooting black and white. For color, it is unusable. It covers a 65 mm circle, so it isn't really usable on formats as large as nominal 6x6.

Sorry,

Dan

Steve Hamley
23-Jun-2004, 16:21
Randy,

Yes. Good for color, coverage is 420mm.

http://members.aol.com/subgallery/

Steve

Gem Singer
23-Jun-2004, 16:33
Hi Randy,

The only version of the Fujinon f9 300A that was made had Fuji's outstanding EBC coating (electron beam coating). It is mounted in a Copal 1 shutter. With a 70 degree angle of coverage and a 420mm image circle, it is an excellent lens for the 8X10 format.

If you can find a previously owned one, in excellent condition, for a price that fits your budget, grab it. If you don't want it, I do. It's an extremely rare lens that I would love to add to my collection.

Gem Singer
23-Jun-2004, 16:38
P.S. the Fujinon "A" series are Apochromatic lenses. That's what the "A" stands for. They are 6 element process type lenses, optimized for flat surface close-up photography. However, they work just fine at infinity when closed down.

Kerry L. Thalmann
23-Jun-2004, 16:59
The only version of the Fujinon f9 300A that was made had Fuji's outstanding EBC coating (electron beam coating). It is mounted in a Copal 1 shutter. With a 70 degree angle of coverage and a 420mm image circle, it is an excellent lens for the 8X10 format.

Actually, samples made before ~1980 are single coated. Samples made from ~1980 - ~1990 are EBC multicoated. I don't have my collection of Fujinon brochures in front of me, so I can't nail down date of the transition from single coating to EBC multicoating. However, it's easy to tell just by looking at the lens. If it's single coated, the labeling will be around the inside of the front barrel as seen here:

http://www.thalmann.com/largeformat/images/fuji180.jpg

If it's EBC multicoated, the labeling will be around the outside of the front barrel as seen in this photo:

http://www.thalmann.com/largeformat/images/fuji360a.jpg

Kerry

Gem Singer
23-Jun-2004, 20:40
Thanks for chiming in Kerry. I got my information from the members.aol.com/subgallery website.

Was that pre- 1980 single coated f9 300A mounted in a Seiko shutter? Or, was it mounted in a chrome ring Copal shutter? It would also help to have that information in order to verify the age of the lens on the used market. I'm looking for the later model with EBC coating.

Donal Taylor
23-Jun-2004, 22:39
Dan - what are you talking about...? (or were you just hoping to fleece Randy out of an excellent lens?)

Kerry L. Thalmann
24-Jun-2004, 00:16
Was that pre- 1980 single coated f9 300A mounted in a Seiko shutter? Or, was it mounted in a chrome ring Copal shutter?

Eugene,

I've only seen one single coated 300 A and a couple single coated 360 As. They were all in older style Copal shutters (like the one shown in the picture of the 180 W linked above).

I also just did some checking in my Fujinon literature, and have discovered that the single coated 300 A and 360 A were only made for about a year. No wonder you don't see very many of them. In fact, NONE of my official Fujinon brochures list them (and I have AT LEAST one brochure per year from the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s. Of course, I know they exist, as I've seen them. They are also listed in some of my D.O. Industries price lists from that time. Here's what I've got:

D.O. Industries Fujinon Lenses Price List dated August 15, 1979 lists the 180, 240, 300, 360 and 600 all as single coated (I believe the 600 was no longer being made and they were probably selling remaining stock on hand).

D.O. Industries Fujinon Lenses Price List dated March 1, 1980 lists the 180, 240, 300, and 360 all as single coated AND and the 180 and 240 NAS series as EBC multicoated. Obviously this was a transition period when they were phasing out old stock single coated samples and starting to sell the newer EBC models.

D.O. Industries Fujinon Lenses Price List dated August 15, 1980 lists the 180, 300, and 360 as single coated AND and the 180 and 240 NAS series as EBC multicoated. Evidently they'd sold out of the single coated 240 A at that point. According to my Fujinon brochures, the 240 was the first of the A series to be offered with EBC multicoating.

D.O. Industries Fujinon Lenses Confidential Dealer Price List dated April 5, 1981 lists just the 180 and 360 as single coated AND and the 180, 240, 300 and 360 NAS series as EBC multicoated.

D.O. Industries Fujinon Lenses Confidential Dealer Price List dated February 1, 1982 doesn't list any single coated A series lenses - just all four focal lengths (180, 240, 300 and 360) in the NAS series as EBC multicoated. The transition from old stock to new was complete.

The earliest official Fujinon brochure I have that lists the 300 and 360 A series lenses is dated October, 1980 - and they are listed as multicoated. So, it looks like the single coated versions of these two focal lengths were actually only manufactured from about mid-1979 (no mention of ANY 300 and 360 A in the February, 1979 brochure) until about mid-1980.

A few years earlier, Fuji had switched all of their lenses, except the 150mm f6.3 W from Seiko shutters to Copals. So, it doesn't look like any 300 or 360 A series lenses were originally sold in Seiko shutters.

P.S. an EBC multicoated 300mm Fujinon A sold earlier today on eBay for $442.55 - a tremendous bargain. That's the first time I can remember seeing one sell for less than $600 (I sold mine about a month and a half ago for $625 - which I thought was a very fair price for both seller and buyer).

Kerry

Gem Singer
24-Jun-2004, 07:08
Thanks for the info., Kerry. I'll keep my eyes open for a 300A (EBC) in a chrome ring Copal 1 shutter. I'm also looking for a 360A (EBC). $625 was a good selling price for your 300A. It must have been in mint condition.

Randy Unruh
24-Jun-2004, 09:59
Thank you all for your guidance in choosing a lense for my 8 x 10 Deardorf! I won the e-bay auction mentioned by Kerry for the Fujinon A 300 mm for $442.55. Sounds like I made a great buy and choice thanks to all of you, except for Dan who must have been bidding on this lense also to write such b.s. about the lense!

Kerry L. Thalmann
24-Jun-2004, 14:15
Randy,
You got a GREAT deal on a very desirable, hard to find lens. Enjoy!

I think Dan was just pulling your leg. We get a lot of posts around here asking about items that show up on eBay. Were we to rave about all of them, we'd probably drive the prices so high none of us would be able to affod to buy them.

Kerry

Kerry L. Thalmann
24-Jun-2004, 14:26
$625 was a good selling price for your 300A. It must have been in mint condition.

Actually, I've been watching the prices on Fuji lenses for several years, and this is near the bottom end of the range (prior to Randy's eBay steal of a deal). Typical selling prices dating back to the mid-1990s are in the $650 - $700 range. I've seen them go as high as $850 (I've seen the 360 A go for as high as $1500 and rarely less than $1000). This is a very desirable lens that is hard to find. Like the 360 A, it hasn't been made in almost 15 years. The longer A series lenses were also quite expensive when new - which limited how many were originally sold making them so rare on the used market.

The sample I sold wasn't mint. I rarely call anything mint. I find it hard to believe that a 20 year old USED lens will show absolutely no signs of use. Still, I think the selling price was fair for this particular lens. Which goes to further emphasize what a good deal Randy got.

Kerry

Dan Fromm
24-Jun-2004, 19:09
Donal, Kerry, the praises of the 300/9 Fujinon A have been sung loud and far. So loud and so far that a simple query on this forum or out on the web via Google or AltaVista (yes, still there) or ... would have found the information Randy sought.

I was giving him a hard time for not trying to help himself first. People who ask for info without even going through the motions tend to be treated like young birds who beg for food. They get stuffed with partially-digested worms, bugs, and sometimes fish.

Cheers,

Dan

Donal Taylor
25-Jun-2004, 00:19
Well Dan,

That's mighty big of you.

And instead of - you know - just keeping quiet you went to all that trouble just so you could pontificate about it.

Randy Unruh
25-Jun-2004, 05:11
Dan, If you had read my first question regarding large format lenses you would know that I knew nothing about them 3-days ago! This forum I have found is "taking the motions" to find the information I need to make a wise lense choice! I have done searches for information on lenses and where do I find they lead me? Right here seems to be the best place to get experienced and intelligent feedback, most of the time anyway! There is also the fact that the lense was bidding out in a matter of hours, I needed answers quick, which I did get here from Eugene, John, Kerry, Donal, Jim, and many others, except for one person who wanted to play with my ignorance on the matter for his enjoyment. I am wondering if you were starved for food and pushed out of the nest causing such anger toward others that you would stoop so low and be so un helpfull to others. Anyway, I know now that your opinion isn't worth the time to read it! Seems to me that you are the kind of guy that if asked for directions would send a person the wrong way! Why??? Anyway this is not what this foum is here for, so I won't participate or respond again to your worthless opinions! Again, I want to thank all of you for your guidance in making a wise choice. I am sure I will be back for more in the future!

Doug Dolde
8-Aug-2004, 15:40
Would the Fujinon A 300mm be preferred over a Nikkor M 300mm?

Ken Lee
8-Aug-2004, 18:11
It depends on your requirements. Compare weight, coverage, size, filter size, and availability. And image quality, of course.

Joseph Santos
20-Sep-2004, 22:27
Just for information sake: is there really a noticable difference between the 300mm-A and the C version. I own a Fujinon 240mm-A, a 300mm-C and 360mm-W. I found the 300mm-C to be razor sharp and snappy when used with a proper lens hood. I don't have an A version to compare, but are we splitting hairs here. Are their any numbers on the web that say the A version beats out the C? BTW a proper lens hood is manditory with all 8x10 lenses or your contrast (sharpness as well) will definately be affected. I've learned the hard way about using a good lens hood. Good Luck.

Arne Croell
21-Sep-2004, 10:12
In practical terms, the main difference is probably the coverage. The "A" series has 70° coverage, the 300mm C 66° (less for the 450 and 600mm). That is a difference of 30-40 mm for the image circle. The A is officially a lens optimized for reproductions, and the C for infinity, but the "A" lenses work perfectly well at infinity.