I have a new 210mm lens and don't know why

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

Hi, my name is Edward and I am an eBay-aholic.

*Hi Edward*

I am compelled to search eBay daily for the perfect deal and place low bids on many things in the process. I don't know if I need or want any of the items but seeing my name on the screen gives me a rush of adrenilin. Yesterday I put a low bid in on a couple of Sinarons in DB mounts. These are much better than any lens I have but not in my optimal focal lengths. I ended up winning the 210mm f/5.6 with a bid of $162. It could have just as easily been the 90mm f/6.8. Maybe this lens will become my new favorite. Do any nature/landscape photographers us a 210mm lens? What do you shoot with it?

[Jay Lnch]

Yes Edward, I too am an eBay-aholic. I own two 210mm lens.. Both great deals.

[Jay Lnch]

Edward their is help. I just quit looking at eBay cold turkey... Now i spend my time making images. I feel much better now, and have more fun then ever.

So yes you can quit too. The light is better outside.

[Nick_3536]

I'm with Jay. I only look at one small part of Ebay.ca in the hope of finding a bigger enlarger locally.

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

My problem is that I "work" for the government and all of my e'Bay time is while I am "working" so it doesn't matter what the light is like. Anyway, now that I have "made the kill" my bloodlust sould be sated for a month or so.

[MIke Sherck]

Hello, Edward. E-bay can become something of an obsession, can't it? Fortunately for me, my wife is obsessed with selling (no, dear: I *like* the cat!) which leaves my role as the more... interesting one! :)

210mm is a favorite of a lot of landscape photographers; many of them use it as their "normal" lens. It works well for their esthetic. Will it work for you? Won't know until you try it! Personally, I prefer 240mm for 4x5; I like to get close and personal. For a wider view there's the Fuji 180. which is one of my all-time favorite lenses. I'm just not a wide-field kind of guy, I guess.

Good luck, and happy hunting!

Mike

[Bob Salomon]

"couple of Sinarons in DB mounts"

So these are not with shutters?

[Dan Fromm]

Edward, be strong, just say NO. Remember than an inexpensive paperweight is still only a paperweight.

About y'r lucky snag, IIRC lenses in DB mount are in barrel and the shutter (one shutter for, perhaps, many lenses) sits behind the lens board. If I'm right, will you be able to use your treasure?

About 210 mm lenses, I have a couple. I use them on my little 2x3 Speed Graphic when I want to include roughly half as much as that format's normal lens sees.

Cheers,

Dan

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

No it is not with a shutter but I do have a couple of Copal 1 shutters. I will just need a new aperture scale.

[Frank Petronio]

If you are shrewd, you can get $40 for the Sinar lensboard and good beer money for the DB mount. Who knows, you may come out ahead?

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

Thanks for the heads up Frank.

[paulr]

you won't know what you think of a new focal length until you spend some time using it ... at least walking around, setting up, and looking through it. you might start seeing things in a new way. then of course, you might not.

personally, a 210 was the only lens i used for a couple of years. it worked for me; i was seeing things in a fairly geometric way, with space abstracted to flat plains. when i started feeling like letting more space into the frame, and loosening up formally (which was real shift in vision, not just a mood swing), i got a wider lens. it took me a while to get used to it, but now i use the 120 well over half the time.

[Jeffrey Sipress]

Edward, you have a few problems and one of them is now mine, too. I don't really give a damn if you ebay your life away, but please get to work and do what ever the hell it is we're all paying you to do all day. If I only knew, I'd straighten your ass out.

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

Jeffrey, I work harder than I let on, but don't tell anyone. I would rather perpetuate the stereotype.

[tim atherton]

dear dear me Jeffrey

"eBay is the engine of the New Economy" - Vice President Cheney - presumably it is the patriotic duty of every red blooded Republican to support ebay. Not to multi-task and use Government time to do that while performing whatever drone like task it is that any civil servant may be doing is surely treason?

That aside - do you actually pay taxes in Canada? We take a dim view of USians interferring in the effecient running of our Public Service (especially now the green peso is so weak and our ebay dollars go so much further in buying up all the LF gear from south of the border...)

:-)

[Jim Galli]

Lightweights! 15 210mm's and counting. I need to compare every version of every 210 ever made and keep the best.....2? 3?? So now you've got a mission. You'll have to scan Ebay looking for the #1 shutter that you're going to need so you can use that nice 210. And heck, since that 210 will cover 5X7 very nicely with an entirely different perspective, you can scan for one of those. It's a bottomless pit. heeellllllllppppppp! I'm drowning...........

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

Jim, I already have two shutters to choose from and don't think I haven't already pondered a 5X7. Maybe in the summertime - a nice 5X7 Tachihara with a 4X5 back. Mmmmm!!!!

[David Karp]

Edward,

I have an older Sinar labeled Grandagon N that was originally in a DB mount. I had it mounted on a Copal shutter, and it is a great lens. The great deal I got on the lens made it economical to pay for the brand new shutter. Since you have the shutter, why not?

You will probably like the 210mm for field work. I use mine more than I expected. It is not all that long, but my lens gap is from 125mm to 210mm, so it seems to come in useful in many cases when my 300mm is too long and I can't walk backwards, or when my 125mm is too short, and I can't (or won't) walk forward and get the same photo. Although I waiver on this from time to time, If I had to choose only two of my lenses, right now I would say it would be these two.

I am not an E-Bay aholic, but I do look from time to time. I find that when I just can't get away to photograph due to work and family commitments, my desire for equipment increases. Recently, I salved that itch by calling Jim at MPEX and buying an old 90mm f/8 Fujinon. Hopefully that will satisfy me for a while, and I will be able to use the new lens soon!

[Ole Tjugen]

Hi there!

I'm not as bad as Jim Galli, but I do have a few... A nice Xenar in Compound #3, a very nice "O. Simon Dresden Anastigmat" without shutter, and a Dagor copy lens. I had a 210 APO-Lanthar for a while, but sold it to finance more lenses. The Xenar is nice for 4x5 and 5x7, while the Simon covers 8x10 with room to spare. Combined with the 240 Symmar and 165 Angulon, I think I have a nice set.

The #3 shutter is not a problem on my Linhof Color, but it's a tight fit. A lens in a #1 shutter would be nice, but I've got used to these big, heavy, and most of all BRIGHT lenses ;)

[Jon Wilson]

Ed: I really can empathize with you.....Just got into LF last January and already I have 2 dozen lens and 4 field cameras ranging in size from 4x5 to 8x10. That does not take into consideration all of the "smaller" forms of photographic equipment I have acquired. I have taken an early New Year's resolution and started weening off ebay...slowly! withdrawals can be a B!

As a side note, knowing Jim and where he lives, I am surprised Jim that you only have a few over 20 in 210mm lens. lol

[Mark Sawyer]

I've been looking for a 210mm to fill the gap between my 190mm and 215mm...

Edward, you're going to need a lot more lenses. I'm sure everyone here will agree that only by having several choices in each focal length ever made will you really be able to fulfill your creative potential. And it wouldn't hurt to think about buying a few duplicates, because if your regular one gets mixed in with all the other lenses, you may never find it. And sometimes a dagor in an Ilex shutter just won't do when you really want that classic "dagor in a compound shutter" look to your photographs...

[David A. Goldfarb]

I have a 210/3.5 Xenar and a 5x8/4.5 B&L Tessar (which is a little longer than 210) that I use on my 5x7" Press Graflex, and I have a 210-370/5.6-12 Symmar convertible for 4x5", which I like mostly for portraits, macro and still life.

[Jonathan Brewer]

.....................as I've said before, better off blowing your money on camera gear than fast women and slow horses.

[paulr]

" ... only by having several choices in each focal length ever made will you really be able to fulfill your creative potential."

excellent point. look at edward weston--maybe if he'd had more than a couple of lenses he would have amounted to something.

[Diane Maher]

I have a 210 mm Schneider convertible lens that hasn't been used much. I couldn't get along with the focal length on my 4x5, especially after getting a 203 mm f7.7 Kodak for $50 at a local camera store (in great condition). :) Even though the 210 mm doesn't cover 8x10, I've considered putting it on a board and setting it up just to see what I would get.

[Jim Rice]

I like the 210 focal length for 4x5 quite a bit. Just enough longer than normal to do a little perspective compression and in a pinch it doesn't suck for portaiture.

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

Jim Rice, when ever I see your name I think about 1980s Red Sox baseball.

Jim Galli, I put in a bid on a 5X7 clunker.

[John Z.]

A question for Jim Galli, with no less than fifteen 210mm lenses!! It begs the question; which one or two are the best?

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

The lens came in the mail - actually the notice came in the mail. I had to go to UPS to pick up the lens. It is in excellent condition, as advertised, and from the serial number I could tell it was made in the early 1990s. If the weather holds out I should be able to take a few pictures with it on the weekend.

[Jim Galli]

For John Z., sorry I didn't check back sooner. OK, since you ask, I think the Computar f9 may just be the all around sharpest of the bunch, the Heliar may have the most warmth, and the double anastigmat (dagor) early G-Claron may have the nicest contrast rendition. Added number 16 since posting, a 3.5 Xenar and used it for a night shot just Saturday last, a very nice lens and also plenty sharp.

Luning Nevada

http://www.tonopahpictures.0catch.com/LuningNite.jpg

[John Kasaian]

Great photo, Jim! Wonderful exposure---the incandescent lights have a nice glow without becoming "fireballs" and theres just a trace of headlights from a passing car. It really captures the feel of small town nevada at night! Your talent overshadows whatever benefits that can attributed to the Xenar.

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

I braved the cold saturday morning to take some sunrise pics witht he new lens. Focusing was a dream. I should be getting the transparencies back on thursday. I will let you know how they turned out. Unfortunately I don't have a scanner so I won't post pictures unless they are good enough to blow up.

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

The pics were mostly good. On the ones directly into the sun there was a shadow or flare along the bottom. I have had that happen before. If I can get access to a scanner maybe someone could help me out. The top 3X5 inches look awesome. I will probably try to find a compositional crop that looks good and have a print made.

[Mark Sawyer]

Jim- lovely photograph! Is that the new North American Ilford Headquarters?

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

For what it is worth, the seller I got the lens from (Sinar Bron) has another 210 and 90 at auction.

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

Here is my first shot with the 210mm Sinaron-S. The crop is full width with a little taken off the bottom.

http://gallery.photo.net/photo/3207243-md.jpg