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kanishka
31-Jul-2015, 17:30
I'm looking for a good portrait lense to cover 8x10. I'm not into soft focus lenses. I want a really sharp image.

Here I found two images that I like
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mat4226/18268258953/in/dateposted/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mat4226/18671016040/in/dateposted/

Here is the description of the photos
Tachihara 8x10
Schneider Symmar-S 360 f/6.8
1/125th sec. @ f/11ish
Kodak EPN (expired 3/05) @ ASA 80
E6 Process

What kind of film+lense combo do you recommend to have really sharp portraits?

Thanks

Ari
31-Jul-2015, 17:48
360mm lenses of that ilk are very sharp, but also quite large and heavy, so be forewarned. But any of them will give images of excellent quality.

At 8x10, almost everything is grainless, so choice of film is up to you; slower films (100 ISO or less) are better in that respect.

The best way to achieve sharpness is with a solid tripod/head combination, and using proper technique.

http://www.largeformatphotography.info

richardman
31-Jul-2015, 18:29
Isn't this where the Dagor excels in? Relatively small size comparing to Plasmat and yet still very sharp?

Taija71A
31-Jul-2015, 18:34
Quick Answer.

Re: 'Dagor'.

No. Not necessarily...

Richard, a forum 'search' will provide you...
With 'Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Dagor Sex' -- But were afraid to Ask! :o

site:www.largeformatphotography.info Dagor

cikaziva
31-Jul-2015, 19:18
@Taija71a there is no reason for "use search" type of answer. OP's question is legit. he is asking for our recomendations and not for tips on where to search

Kanishka, all modern Plasmats for 8x10 are good! As Mr. Tapiero pointed down side is that they are in #3 shutters and usally around 1.2kg with 95mm or even 110mm fronts... that aside they are really sharp, good corner to corner and really resolution for this big format. some smaller Japanese glass like Fujinon W or A will perform grate stopped down 3 stops... at the moment my portrait 8x10 is 300mm APO Symmar-S that i really love despite the size. it looks grate on all Color materials and i hade really good and faithful color reproduction. hope this helps

Peter De Smidt
31-Jul-2015, 19:27
Remember that doing such tight head shots on 8x10 will be close to working at 1x magnification, and so you'll need double the focal length for bellows extension. For instance, for a 360 lens, you'll need about 720mm of extension. You'll also lose a lot of light, which can make focusing a challenge.

fishbulb
31-Jul-2015, 19:28
*Cough* I'd say you should get a Nikon 360mm f/6.5 ;-)

Taija71A
31-Jul-2015, 19:29
"APO Symmar-S" ???

As discussed below... The 'progression' of Schneider 6E/4G Plasmat Lenses
(from Earliest to Latest) was:

'SYMMAR', 'SYMMAR-S', 'APO-SYMMAR' and 'APO-SYMMAR L'.

http://photo.net/large-format-photography-forum/00CrPb

--
Luka, we of course know what you 'meant' to say...
But the OP 'may or may not' know all of this. ;)

Thank-you! -Tim.

kanishka
31-Jul-2015, 20:02
Thank you guys for all the answers. Reading the opinions of each of you from the experience with different lenses really helps me

John Kasaian
31-Jul-2015, 20:37
How modern?
The 360mm Symmar and the 14" Commercial Ektar were the standard in the 50's 60's and 70's and plenty sharp when stopped down. OTOH you could try 355mm G Claron, now that's dangerously sharp! Especially if your sitter doesn't have a porcelain complexion.

angusparker
31-Jul-2015, 20:48
I might go shorter, like 300mm for portraits. The Fujinon A 300mm f9 is relatively light (410g) and small with 55mm filters. It's special in that it has a lot of coverage at 420mm to allow for quite some movements. If you can handle the weight and size then by all means use an f5.6. The Fujinon A in 300mm is somewhat rare but comes up for sale on the auction site for about $500-600. It's multi coated and in a silver newer Copal 1.

Bernice Loui
31-Jul-2015, 21:56
"Sharp" lens for 8x10 is not difficult to obtain. Does out of focus rendition matter? What is the expected working aperture?

Know images posted in the web is not a goo way to judge image quality due to the HUGE number of variables involved.


Bernice

kanishka
31-Jul-2015, 22:26
My idea is to make portraits but not nearly as close to the subject as the linked images in the first post. I will be as far as I need to have the entire person in focus.
I will be in a studio using flashes and will try to use the lense on the sweet spot (a couple of stops down but not to much to start having diffraction)
I know that a scanned and compressed web image is not good to judge image quality. It was just a reference.

richardman
31-Jul-2015, 22:28
Diffraction for 8x10 starts at.... ?? I don't think you have to worry too much about that with a couple stops down ;-)

Peter De Smidt
31-Jul-2015, 22:43
So full length portraits? Get something in 300mm. Nikon, Fuji, Schneider, Rodenstock all make great lenses. The f/5.6 lenses are big, but they make a very bright ground glass image. I have a 300mm Symmar-S, and I'm perfectly happy with it. If you need something more compact, then a 300mm Fuji C, Nikon M, g-claron, Computar, Kowa-graphic, all should be fine. Some of the older lenses, such as a Commercial Ektar, are just as sharp, but they might be a little less contrasty.