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View Full Version : Classic/Used 24 in or 600mm lens



Ken Lee
17-Jul-2005, 12:37
If 600mm Fujinon C lenses were abundant in the used marketplace, I'd get one of them. However, people seem to hang on to theirs !

Can anyone recommend an alternative in this range that is small, light, and affordable ?

(I have a 450,Fujinon C and want something longer. My Shen-Hao 8x10 has a bellows draw of 800 mm, so I presume I can use a 600 on it. If anyone knows otherwise, that would be very helpful also !)

I suspect that coverage will far exceed my needs (8x10 currently), but more is always welcome.

Many thanks !

David A. Goldfarb
17-Jul-2005, 12:41
Hard to go wrong with an Artar for 8x10" in that focal length. Red Dot versions are coated, but even uncoated Apo-Artars are pretty good.

Michael Kadillak
17-Jul-2005, 16:10
I have the Fuji 600 and the 24" Red Dot Artar and use them regularly.

Given the reasonable price and availability of Red Dot's in barrel or in shutter in the used market, I would go that direction. Don't get me wrong, the Fuji is a fabulous lens. But the Red Dot has made a name for itself over the years for a reason. It consistentlymakes marvelous images and I reach for them interchangably without hesitation. Usually the closest one to me gets the nod.

Cheers!

Ken Lee
17-Jul-2005, 16:47
Thanks - Is there a site where lenses like the Artars are listed, categorized, etc ? For example, the filter sizes, weights, coverages, serial numbers etc ?

David A. Goldfarb
17-Jul-2005, 16:53
Do a search, and you can probably turn up that information here, but filter sizes and weights vary with these lenses that were produced over a very long period of time, and in any case, they aren't modern standard sizes in general and aren't all in the same type of shutter if they are in a shutter at all. There might be a Goerz catalogue at www.camera-eccentric.com.

Ernest Purdum
17-Jul-2005, 17:15
I can give you what little Goerz supplied in their brochure. The 24" (610mm) Red Dot Artar was listed to cover 12' X 18" at infinity. The outside diameter of the barrel was 69.5mm. (Interesting that it was specified in millimeters.) It was the largest size available in shutter, a Number 5 Alphax.

The brochure is undated, but probably the lenses were unchanged from the time the "Red Dot" designation was adopted, until the firm was taken over.

Michael Kadillak
17-Jul-2005, 17:29
I had Grimes make me a 67mm step up ring for the lens as it is a standard filter size for me. You could either use this (or a larger size at your preference) for screw in filters/hoods or for a Lee filter adapter ring. My 24" Red Dot will cover 12x20 so your 8x10 will be a day at the beach (shooting or drinking a cold one!).

Have fun!

Ken Lee
18-Jul-2005, 05:47
Thanks so much for the info - thank heavens for this forum.

By the way, are APO Ronars in the same league, or do they differ in a substantial way, with respect to image quality, size, coverage, weight, etc. ?

Ernest Purdum
18-Jul-2005, 07:41
Both have the same basic construction, the "dialyte" which has been used for many fine lenses, mostly small aperture process types, but also the Kodak 203mm f7.7 and the Goerz Dogmar. It is a fairly simple design, two separate elements on each side of the diaphragm, and it is not appropriate where large coverage angles are needed, but is particularly noted for tolerance of wide variation in image/subject size ratios. The Apo-Ronar has been made more recently than the Artar, but users of both seem well-satisfied with their performance, so I'd say they can be considered equivalents. Somebody may give you a passionate preference one way or the other, though.

In recent years, the largest Apo-Ronar regularly available has been the 480mm. It is listed to cover 8" X 10" with an image circle of 396mm at infinity and f22. It takes a 70mm push-on or 67mm threaded filter mount.

For a larger Apo-Ronar, if you figured the coverage to be a 46 degree angle. you would be quite close, I think.

Ken Lee
18-Jul-2005, 07:53
Thanks - That explains the recommendation of Artars in the 600mm range.

Much obliged !

Tony Karnezis
18-Jul-2005, 17:52
Ken, the APO Ronar is an f/9 lens whereas the Artar is an f/11. More glass and a heavier barrel (brass vs aluminum?) make the Ronar feel about twice as heavy. It's a big lever arm to put at the end of a field camera. I bought the Ronar but quickly bought an Artar to use instead because I didn't want to lug the Ronar around. It's a really big and heavy lens. A few reputable people who have used both say that you'd be hard pressed to notice much of a difference between the two. Resolution is similar, but the Ronar has a bit more contrast...stressing "a bit." I haven't done the comparison. One look at Michael Smith and Paula Chamlee's prints and you won't question the quality of the Artar.