Schneider Symmar-s f5.6 240mm lens

[Robert Dunn]

Good day,
I recently bought a Linhof 4x5 with this lens. Haven't had a chance to use it yet. What do others think of this lens?
Thanks,
Bob

[Mark Sampson]

Well, Dan's advice is certainly pertinent. But I will add that Schneider's Symmar-S line of lenses was the de-facto professional standard from the time of their introduction in the early 1970s... until the time the commercial photographers who relied on them went digital.
So I'll venture to say that, assuming that the lens is in good physical condition, it will provide excellent sharpness and contrast. You'd be hard pressed to find something *obviously* superior. The Symmar-S lenses I have used (although never a 240) were stellar performers.
The focal length is a little long for a 4x5 'normal' lens, but you'll soon find out if the way that it sees will work for your pictures. I'm sure everyone here would be happy to see photos you make with it, if you care to share them.

[David Lobato]

I have a 240mm Symmar-S, in Copal 3 shutter, that I use on 8x10. I like it a lot, it has no faults that I've seen. Negatives are sharp and contrasty. With 4x5 you will have plenty of image circle coverage.

[Peter Gomena]

We had one of these around the studio where I used to work. I found images made with it looked different from those from a "standard/common" 210mm lens, if only due to faster fall-off in depth-of-field making tabletop subjects "pop" out from the background a bit. It was a nice look.

[neil poulsen]

I had a single-coated version. It's a heavy lens for a field camera. (Although, a Technika is probably up to the job, though.) There's also a Schneider 240mm Schneider G-Claron to consider. Smaller, and lighter.