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walbergb
18-Dec-2014, 01:52
I have 90mm, 150mm, and 300mm lenses for my Shen-Hao PTB 45 camera. Is there any added value to having a 210mm lens, too?

IanG
18-Dec-2014, 02:14
It's personal choice a 210mm lens is a nice additional focal length and there's occasions when they are a useful. I use mine far more than my 300mm which gets little use with my Wista 45DX.

Another option would be a 240mm instead of a 210mm.

Ian

jesse
18-Dec-2014, 02:46
Agree with Ian.

neil poulsen
18-Dec-2014, 04:38
I would add that and a 120mm SW. It's a matter of being able to place the camera at a good vantage point and also obtain the advantage of the entire sheet of film for the image.

Doremus Scudder
18-Dec-2014, 06:21
I have 90mm, 150mm, and 300mm lenses for my Shen-Hao PTB 45 camera. Is there any added value to having a 210mm lens, too?

I used your combination for quite a while. Then I added a 203mm (almost 210mm) and a 135mm. Since then, the 150mm stays at home mostly. I find the 135mm to be my most-used focal length with the 203mm a close second, then the 90mm.

The combination 90, 135, 200/210, 300 gives you a nice progression in +50% intervals and is my "standard" hiking set. That said, I'll often leave the 300mm at home and carry the 240mm instead.

I like more, but smaller and lighter lenses when working in the city and camera positions are limited. Therefore, I'll often carry a 90mm SA f/8, a 135mm WF Ektar, a 180mm Fuji A, a small 200/210 lens (I've got a few...), and a 240mm Fuji A. All those close focal lengths let me frame well without getting in the way of traffic.

Neil probably likes the 120 SW for its great coverage. I like 135mm lenses for the size, but the coverage is often disappointing for regular plasmats... I've compromised with the Wide-Field Ektar there.

Hope this helps,

Doremus

Doremus Scudder
18-Dec-2014, 06:23
It's personal choice a 210mm lens is a nice additional focal length and there's occasions when they are a useful. I use mine far more than my 300mm which gets little use with my Wista 45DX.

Another option would be a 240mm instead of a 210mm.

Ian

Ian,

I built a top-hat board for my 300mm Nikkor M and use it regularly on my Wista DX. Do you have that option?

Best,

Doremus

StoneNYC
18-Dec-2014, 08:36
I never used or needed a 210 when I shot 4x5 and only picked one up for my 8x10 work (as its equivalent to 90mm for 4x5).

It's really individual but 75mm, 90mm, 150mm, and 300mm was my lens lineup.

Of those my most used lenses were 90mm and 300mm, next was the 150mm and last was the 75mm.

I always wanted more than the 300mm but the 450mm wouldn't work on my Toyo45a

I hear the rare 350mm is excellent if you can find one.

But really you have to choose the right lens for YOU.

John Kasaian
18-Dec-2014, 08:45
Do you really need a 210mm? Have you missed having a 210mm? If so, yes. If not, no.
My 2-cents

Robert Langham
18-Dec-2014, 08:53
They are so cheap and available, why not? I've got a 190mm Ektar Wide Field which I love, but it doesn't have enough contrast if you are photographing a canyon wall in the shade. My 210 Schneider is much better for that. I'd get on ebay and try to get any lens I was remotely interested in.

126819
190 on an overcast day at the Hubbell Trading Post in Ganado, Arizona.

126820
120 in the shade at Spider Rock Overlook at Canyon de Chelly.

Ari
18-Dec-2014, 08:56
210 is a great portrait FL on 4x5; it and the 115 were my most used lenses.
I'd even go so far as to say that, for general purpose 4x5 photography, those two FLs will cover 95% of situations.

Old-N-Feeble
18-Dec-2014, 09:00
I agree with Doremus. Within the 90-300mm range, I have a very similar lens set (below). If you want to stay with a 150mm, IMHO, you'd "probably" still find a 210mm lens very useful.

90mm Nikkor-SW
135mm Fujinon-W
203mm Ektar
300mm Fujinon-C

Corran
18-Dec-2014, 09:05
I never use a 210mm (on 4x5).

I have some nice 250mm lenses that I like occasionally, but mostly I stick to 150mm or under. My most-used lens by far is a 90mm.

But that's just me...

Kevin Crisp
18-Dec-2014, 09:05
I'd add 120 to what you have, and a 210. Then you have it covered. But it all depends on what you think you need. The gap from 90 to 150 is just too big for me. And I rarely use a 300 on 4x5.

Old-N-Feeble
18-Dec-2014, 09:11
I'd add 120 to what you have, and a 210. Then you have it covered. But it all depends on what you think you need. The gap from 90 to 150 is just too big for me. And I rarely use a 300 on 4x5.

He could certainly do that... or maybe a 115mm Grandagon. As others stated though, it depends on individual preference. A 1.5X progression in focal length has always worked well for me.

Alan Gales
18-Dec-2014, 10:01
Since you are asking if you need one, I would say you don't. If you later feel a need, then buy one.

I learned a long time ago that I should buy lenses only when I felt a need. Being a gear head, I don't always adhere to this rule, but I should. :)

Luis-F-S
18-Dec-2014, 11:05
For 5x7 I use a 6.5", 9.5, 14" Dagors & 19" Artar. For 4x5 I would carry a 6", 8 1/4" & 12" Dagors. For 8x10 6.5", 9 1/2" 12" Dagors, 19" & 24" Artars. My 2ç's worth. L

Andrew O'Neill
18-Dec-2014, 11:09
It's nice to have something between 150 and 300. I use my 210 quite a bit, on 8x10 as well.

IanG
18-Dec-2014, 11:33
Ian,

I built a top-hat board for my 300mm Nikkor M and use it regularly on my Wista DX. Do you have that option?

Best,

Doremus


I guess I could make a top-hat board for my Wista in fact I saved something that would be ideal a few years ago with it in mind. I find that the Wista is relatively unstable with the 300mm Nikkor M and I rarely use long lenses anyway. It would be fine in good weather on bright days, I bought the 300mm as I planned to start shooting 10x8 although that didn't happen for another decade.

After Christmas I'll have a go and cut the top-hat board and give it another try.

Ian

Doremus Scudder
18-Dec-2014, 12:15
I guess I could make a top-hat board for my Wista in fact I saved something that would be ideal a few years ago with it in mind. I find that the Wista is relatively unstable with the 300mm Nikkor M and I rarely use long lenses anyway. It would be fine in good weather on bright days, I bought the 300mm as I planned to start shooting 10x8 although that didn't happen for another decade.

After Christmas I'll have a go and cut the top-hat board and give it another try.

Ian


I made mine out of Masonite and birch. It's a "square hat," really just a box, and is just over 6 cm in length. That lets me focus down to about 2.5 meters or so. I find it quite usable. When I need longer, I have to unpack a larger, heavier camera and reach for the 450... I can get the DX and my usual kit of 90, 135, 203, 300 easily into a lumbar pack and really be able to scramble.

As for stability: I don't have much of a problem with the 300 on the DX, but I avoid using the set up (or the 240mm, which extends the bellows quite a bit too) in windy situations.

Best, (with apologies for the hijack)

Doremus

Old-N-Feeble
18-Dec-2014, 12:34
If you don't want to make an extension board there's THIS (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lens-Board-Extension-Tube-Set-0-1-3-Linhof-Wista-Tpye-96-x-99mm-pick-3-/201043934192?pt=US_Lens_Boards&hash=item2ecf26fbf0).

IanG
18-Dec-2014, 12:58
If you don't want to make an extension board there's THIS (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lens-Board-Extension-Tube-Set-0-1-3-Linhof-Wista-Tpye-96-x-99mm-pick-3-/201043934192?pt=US_Lens_Boards&hash=item2ecf26fbf0).

Ilford 40" rolls of paper come with two end pieces, strong plastic same shape as a top-hat board, just a case of cutting or filling the flat square end to shape and a hole to mount the shutter :D.

Ian

Preston
18-Dec-2014, 14:47
I find the 210 very useful on 4x5. I have a Schneider Symmar-S that's nice and sharp with excellent contrast. It fills the gap between my Fuji 180 and Nikkor-M 300.

I also have a 1970's Schneider-Xenar f-4.5 in a Copal 3 that's quite sharp, and not very contrasty, since it's single coated. It's ideal for higher contrast subjects.

Which ever lens you opt for, be sure it has the correct retaining ring. SK Grimes had to custom mount my Xenar on a Tecknica board.

A 240mm would also fit well in your current kit.

--P

Peter Yeti
18-Dec-2014, 18:07
It all depends on what you shoot and how you shoot. My very first 4x5" camera came with nothing but a 210mm lens and that was what I used for a long time. It's perhaps the most versatile in the studio. For my taste it also gives the most "natural" perspective. When outdoors, I usually pack a set of 90-150-210-300 but I hardly ever use the 150. When space is an issue, I just take 90-180-300. And if I was limited to just one lens, it would be a 210 (or my 90 years old 4.5/180 Tessar which folds up inside the Linhof Technika).

Peter

angusparker
18-Dec-2014, 23:30
I'd add 120 to what you have, and a 210. Then you have it covered. But it all depends on what you think you need. The gap from 90 to 150 is just too big for me. And I rarely use a 300 on 4x5.

I'd echo this. A125mm Fuji W 5.6 or the more expensive 110mm SSXL would be a nice addition. I think 90 to 150 is a big gap. 210mm less useful at least for me.

walbergb
19-Dec-2014, 02:28
Thanks to everyone for sharing your thoughts. I'm thinking that I will hold off buying one at least for a while. It helps that the Cdn $ is going in the wrong direction! The idea of a 240mm has me thinking.

IanG
19-Dec-2014, 02:33
Doremus mentioned the 203mm f7.7 Ektar, my light weight backpacking kit consists of a 90mm f6.8 Angulon, 135mm f5.6 Schneider S and a 203mm Ektar in a Prontor SVS shutter. These are great small lenses that perform exceptionally well, mine has excellent coatings, they typically sell for around £100 here in the UK ($160), I should add that they were made in the UK as well as the US, the UK versions are all in #0 shutters. Eraly versions were in Epsilon shutters, then the Prontor SVS and a few late versions in the last typeCompur.

Ian

Armin Seeholzer
19-Dec-2014, 02:42
My setup was since a long time 75mm, 135mm,210mm,300mm my most used is the 135mm 2. 75mm 3.210mm

But thats me not you!

steveo
19-Dec-2014, 04:25
I've only been using 4x5 for a few months now but I can't seem to get on with 150mm its a bit of a nowhere focal length for me. I recently got a 210 and I'm finding that quite useful and the 90mm is hardly off the camera but I have nothing in between. Though with the RB67 I was usually happy with a 65mm and 127mm.

Timothy Blomquist
21-Dec-2014, 20:35
When I bought my first Sinar f 4x5 in the early '80s, my two lenses I could afford were a 210mm Symmar S and a 90mm Super Angulon f5.6. The 210mm was and is a great all around lens, from portraits to landscapes. The 90mm Super Angulon I found to be too wide for many applications.

The 210 on 4x5 would serve you well with plenty of movement for almost any application.