Where to Buy New Large Format Lenses Circa 2014?

[Andre Noble]

Hello, with B&H hardly carrying any stock and Badger Graphic apparently no longer selling them either, etc etc, where can one still find the big four lens manufacturers large format lenses in currently stock, circa November 2014?

[Christopher Barrett]

Are there any?

Rodenstock doesn't list any analog lenses on their website. Schneider does but almost all of the links to individual lenses show as discontinued. Nikon hasn't produced any in years. I haven't really followed Fuji. The only company that I know for sure that produces any LF lenses at all is Cooke.

[Oren Grad]

The Fuji, Nikon and - most recently - Schneider LF and most of the Rodenstock LF lines have all been discontinued. IIRC Rodenstock is down to just the 135, 150 and 210 Apo-Sironar-S - I'm sure Bob Salomon can confirm. There may be a bit of Schneider and Rodenstock left in the supply chain, so if there's something specific you want, might as well inquire.

[Andre Noble]

Yeah, Ive been away for a while and things have changed a lot in last 5 years.

I missed a brand new Rodenstock Apo Sironar S 360mm being sold by Calumet on Ebay for $1500 about 4 years ago, and a $700 Schneider 90 XL Mint ++ Calumet rental sale L.A. and then I returned a Apo Sironars S 210mm to B&H. All because I got chickened of owning something "too good for me".

I am kicking myself right now. Well I have a Caltar 210 and Nikon 90 f4.5 now, but would like to get a lens for 8x10 portraiture. That 360 Apo Sironar S would have been perfect.Am also interested in Schneider 47XL. So I guess it will have to be EBay.

I saw a 300 f 5.6 Fujinon W brand new for $2250, that would also be a good 8x10 portrait lens, but the sharpness according to web sources (http://www.hevanet.com/cperez/testing.html) is not up to Apo Sironar S levels of 60 and 70 lp,mm.

[djdister]

For 8x10 portraiture, wouldn't you want something like a 450mm or longer?

[Bob Salomon]

Are there any?

Rodenstock doesn't list any analog lenses on their website. Schneider does but almost all of the links to individual lenses show as discontinued. Nikon hasn't produced any in years. I haven't really followed Fuji. The only company that I know for sure that produces any LF lenses at all is Cooke.

The Rodenstock 135, 150 and 210mm Apo Sironars-S lenses are in current production. All other Rodenstock ANALOG lenses have been out of production for a while now. All Rodenstock DIGITAL lenses, except for the 90mm HR Digaron-S, are in production. The 90mm HR Digaron-S was replaced by the 90mm HR DIGARON S/W two years ago.

[jp]

I've bought brand shiny new Reinhold Wollaston Meniscus lenses.