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View Full Version : What's your favorite (CHEAP) 75mm lens?



ericantonio
3-May-2018, 09:19
Hi guys,
I don't know why I have a hankering for a 75mm lens. I do love my 20/21mm lens on 35mm format. I just love wide shots.

What's your good cheap 75mm? Are f/8's really hard to look through? Are the brighter ones worth it? Probably will stop down to at least f/8 f/11 anyway right?

Any good old ones, I love old lenses and I cannot lie, you other brothers can't deny when a lens walks in with an ity bity face and a round lens in your face!

Bob Salomon
3-May-2018, 09:49
What is your definition of cheap?

ericantonio
3-May-2018, 09:51
Hmmmm, not $400+. Maybe like I'm looking at 2-300 buck range? Or better :)
I don't need a modern Schneider or anything like that. I do love my old ass lenses. Did Kodak make one in that range?

Dan Fromm
3-May-2018, 10:19
Hmmmm, not $400+. Maybe like I'm looking at 2-300 buck range? Or better :)
I don't need a modern Schneider or anything like that. I do love my old ass lenses. Did Kodak make one in that range?

I like my little 80/6.3 WF Ektar but it won't cover 4x5.

I just took a look on eBay. There are a couple of 75/6.3 Komuras and a 75/8 Fuji for < $200 delivered. Look for yourself.

mdarnton
3-May-2018, 10:29
I just checked Ebay, and as I suspected, the deal here if you want a bit more speed, appears to be a 75/5.6 Fujinon SWD for around $330, shipped, from Japan.

Pere Casals
3-May-2018, 13:14
The four 75mm in this list are (of course) excellent options: http://www.largeformatphotography.info/lenses/LF4x5in.html

Instead the 75mm I got the 65 and the 90 Fuji SWDs, because I wanted a 65, but the 75 may replace both.

Older 75 Fujis come in Seiko shutter, later ones in Copal. Seiko shutter is also excellent but it can be more difficult to get it serviced, so in practice (beyond multicoating) the major factor is the shutter, it has to be in good shape. If I had to decide between Nikon SW, Fuji SWD, Grandagon N and Super-Angulon sure I'd consider the included shutter more than the glass itself.

ericantonio
3-May-2018, 14:16
Ahhhh yes I need to remember that shutter! I have the wolly 159mm in the old betax shutter and I got it serviced a while ago. I think it's already slow again. It's just so dang old. I needs like a 100K mile engine rebuild with new springs and stuff or whatever is in there!

DG 3313
3-May-2018, 17:26
I have a Grandagon 75mm 6.8. I got it on the LFF in April 2014 and had the shutter rebuilt. I have about $300 invested with no complaints.

Bernice Loui
3-May-2018, 18:27
Watch the market-sellers patiently, and be ready to purchase when the opportunity happens.
Any of the top 75mm wide angle lenses, 75mm f5.6 Super Angulon, 75mm f5.6 Fujinon SWD, 75mm f4.5 Grandagon can be had for $300 or less.

IMO, the best value is the 75mm f6.8 Grandagon which can be had for $200 or less.

Time of the year or seasons affect Foto Gear prices. During peak Foto season the prices are higher, off season the prices are lower. It may take a while to find a good deal, but they are out there.


Bernice

ericantonio
3-May-2018, 19:21
Watch the market-sellers patiently, and be ready to purchase when the opportunity happens.
Any of the top 75mm wide angle lenses, 75mm f5.6 Super Angulon, 75mm f5.6 Fujinon SWD, 75mm f4.5 Grandagon can be had for $300 or less.

IMO, the best value is the 75mm f6.8 Grandagon which can be had for $200 or less.

Time of the year or seasons affect Foto Gear prices. During peak Foto season the prices are higher, off season the prices are lower. It may take a while to find a good deal, but they are out there.


Bernice

Great advice!! Thank you so much!!

DG 3313
3-May-2018, 19:48
Watch the market-sellers patiently, and be ready to purchase when the opportunity happens.
Any of the top 75mm wide angle lenses, 75mm f5.6 Super Angulon, 75mm f5.6 Fujinon SWD, 75mm f4.5 Grandagon can be had for $300 or less.

IMO, the best value is the 75mm f6.8 Grandagon which can be had for $200 or less.

Time of the year or seasons affect Foto Gear prices. During peak Foto season the prices are higher, off season the prices are lower. It may take a while to find a good deal, but they are out there.


Bernice

I paid 180$ for my 75mm lens four years ago......but, chose to replace a sticky shutter.....I agree with Bernice about the price you may pay to get a copy but, in what condition????

Bernice Loui
3-May-2018, 20:10
Two basic flavors to condition.

*Exterior beauty, looks fabulous, optically-mechanically not so fabulous.

*Exterior covered with scars of many expressive images made, optically-mechanically Fabulous.

-There there are the premium ones that offer both. Only way to really know any given lens, make LOTs of images and burn LOTS of film with a given lens then compare with all other lenses available. Eventually, an individual preference for specific lenses will happen.


Bernice

DG 3313
3-May-2018, 20:24
Two basic flavors to condition.

*Exterior beauty, looks fabulous, optically-mechanically not so fabulous.

*Exterior covered with scars of many expressive images made, optically-mechanically Fabulous.

-There there are the premium ones that offer both. Only way to really know any given lens, make LOTs of images and burn LOTS of film with a given lens then compare with all other lenses available. Eventually, an individual preference for specific lenses will happen.


Bernice

Brilliant....mine is in bold...thank you Bernice!

Bernice Loui
3-May-2018, 20:36
Have a 115mm f6.8 Grandagon purchase at the bargain price of $175 due to a tiny peck mark in the center of the front element, lens barrel is mostly OK.
Produces GOOD images...

After decades of optics trading, ability to perform creating expressive images is more important than winning the G-A-S "Beauty Contest"?


Bernice

Mark Stahlke
4-May-2018, 06:54
Don't overlook the Caltar lenses. They usually sell for less than their Rodenstock cousins. My Caltar II-N 75/4.5 is my got to wide angle.

JMO
4-May-2018, 08:23
...

IMO, the best value is the 75mm f6.8 Grandagon which can be had for $200 or less.

Time of the year or seasons affect Foto Gear prices. During peak Foto season the prices are higher, off season the prices are lower. It may take a while to find a good deal, but they are out there.


Bernice

+1 for the 75mm f6.8 Grandagon, and that good ones can be had for very reasonable money on eBay if you're patient and have good timing. I scored one in VG condition, seemingly little used, and mounted in a real Linhof recessed board in equally fine condition (that itself would cost north of US$300 if purchased new), for about $300 Canadian a couple of years ago. Since then I've appreciated my results with it on 2-3 compositions in the field. 187mm IC is enough for 4x5in, and at 340grs with 58mm front element ring-size it's fairly light and compact among the others mentioned.

Tobias Key
4-May-2018, 09:30
I managed to get a 90's model 75mm Super Angulon in the latest black copal shutter for £249 from a dealer. So you should be able to get most lenses with your budget.

miket-nyc
4-May-2018, 22:38
I like my little 80/6.3 WF Ektar but it won't cover 4x5.

I just took a look on eBay. There are a couple of 75/6.3 Komuras and a 75/8 Fuji for < $200 delivered. Look for yourself.

I have a slightly weirder question. I just bought two 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 Speed Graphics (one for parts), and I seem to like lenses slightly shorter than the long dimension of the format. (My favorite lens in 35mm is 28).

So has anyone tried using 2 1/4 square lenses for the 6x9 format? The ones for the Mamiya TLR seem to be going ridiculously cheap. (I just saw two 80mm/2.8 lenses for the camera on eBay -- one currently going for $28 and one for $12.62!) The taking lens is mounted on the lensboard with a retaining ring, and once you get it off, I don't see why it wouldn't work normally on a press or small view camera. If it would cover.

Mark Sampson
4-May-2018, 22:59
miket, it's unlikely that the Mamiya lenses will cover 2x3- but at those prices it's worth a chance. The Kodak 80/6.3 Wide Field Ektar was designed for your Graphics and should do very well. A clean one will be far more expensive than the Mamiya lenses- but will be worth the money.

Dan Fromm
5-May-2018, 05:55
Mike, look here http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?138978-Where-to-look-for-information-on-LF-(mainly)-lenses for a link to the so-far definitive list of lenses no longer than 65 mm that cover at least 2x3.

If you do the arithmetic, you'll find that the focal length on 2x3 that's equivalent to 28mm on 24x36 is 65 mm.

If you want to play and throw a little money away, try using a 65mm lens from a Mamiya TLR. There's no evidence that anyone uses these lenses on 2x3, and there's a hint.

miket-nyc
5-May-2018, 14:32
I came upon an 85/3.5 Wollensak in a box of my own old camera stuff. It was apparently mostly sold on Ciroflex TLRs. I put it on a lensboard and checked it at infinity on my Speed Graphic, and it covers the format and seems equally sharp to the edges on the ground glass. (That, of course, is a far cry from using it, but it's worth a try). Has anybody used one of these?

The Ciroflex TLR seems to have less-than-wonderful reviews online, and some people say it was driven out of the marketplace by the much sharper lenses on Japanese TLRs. That suggests that a Japanese TLR lens like the one I saw for the Mamiya TLR would be sharper and might also cover the format. But what I was looking at was an 80mm Mamiya. My experiement with the Wollensak suggests that that will cover. A 65mm Mamiya is much less likely.

LabRat
5-May-2018, 14:46
I came upon an 85/3.5 Wollensak in a box of my own old camera stuff. It was apparently mostly sold on Ciroflex TLRs. I put it on a lensboard and checked it at infinity on my Speed Graphic, and it covers the format and seems equally sharp to the edges on the ground glass. (That, of course, is a far cry from using it, but it's worth a try). Has anybody used one of these?

The Ciroflex TLR seems to have less-than-wonderful reviews online, and some people say it was driven out of the marketplace by the much sharper lenses on Japanese TLRs. That suggests that a Japanese TLR lens like the one I saw for the Mamiya TLR would be sharper and might also cover the format. But what I was looking at was an 80mm Mamiya. My experiement with the Wollensak suggests that that will cover. A 65mm Mamiya is much less likely.

The Ciro with the premium Optar lens is good as the SG lenses...

There is a jump in usable coverage when using a 6X6 75mm that the lens might barely (or not) cover 6X7, but 6X9 is even tougher... Like Dan, I use a 80mm WF Ektar on my baby SG, and that will clip the corners on a 4X5...

The Mamiya press lenses are made for 6X9, and can be a bargain...

Steve K

Myriophyllum
8-May-2018, 17:30
Watch the market-sellers patiently, and be ready to purchase when the opportunity happens.
Any of the top 75mm wide angle lenses, 75mm f5.6 Super Angulon, 75mm f5.6 Fujinon SWD, 75mm f4.5 Grandagon can be had for $300 or less.

IMO, the best value is the 75mm f6.8 Grandagon which can be had for $200 or less.

Time of the year or seasons affect Foto Gear prices. During peak Foto season the prices are higher, off season the prices are lower. It may take a while to find a good deal, but they are out there.


Bernice

+1, i got me a mint Grandagon-N 4.5/75mm in black Compur 0 for 250 Euro last year.
Great Lens, I love it, much easier to set focus than with my 8/90mm.
Like the OP I like 75mm for 4x5".

Best
Jens