Lens for 8x10 Intrepid newbie

[knjkrock]

Looking to get busy with 8x10 Intrepid. Hoping mostly landscape, outdoor. Thinking 240 to 300 range. Size is a consideration. On a budget for this. Nikkor m 300 and fujinon A 240 have caught my attention. Comments and suggestions welcome.

Regards

Ken

[John Kasaian]

How long do the bellows get?

[knjkrock]

Kickstarter page said 40 to 600. I haven’t measured.

[jnantz]

Kickstarter page said 40 to 600. I haven’t measured.

Look for a Schneider (Linhof badged if you can find it ) symmar convertible ( "plasmat" design i think .. )
it will also give you a longer focal length, but it will take a large amount of bellows to focus converted
( focus node is far back so for example it takes 450mm to focus a 370 at infinity ) I have a 210/370 and love it.
They sometimes have "schneideritis" so the black paint inside the barrel looks kind of wonky, don't worry it won't effect the image.
( they tend to be "sleepers" )
have fun!
john

[Peter De Smidt]

I use 240 more than 300, but that's personal preference. Both are terrific lenses. The 240 might be usable as a convertible lens. My 240 Doctor Optic is, giving about 450mm with the front removed. I use this lens on an Intrepid MK II.

[Keith Pitman]

Have you looked at thelens spreadsheets on the LF Home Page listed at the top of this page? If no, review the options and go shopping. Asking a question such as you asked will get you a lot of personal opinions, not much useful information. Doing your own analysis will get you further.

[Michael Kadillak]

Have you looked at thelens spreadsheets on the LF Home Page listed at the top of this page? If no, review the options and go shopping. Asking a question such as you asked will get you a lot of personal opinions, not much useful information. Doing your own analysis will get you further.

Having recently outfitted an 8x10 Mark 2 Intrepid myself recently I can share with you that for me there was a dominant theme relative to my objective to get off of the beaten path with the camera. The primary drivers with optics for me were diminutive size, lightest possible weight and largest coverage available. My Intrepid 8x10 lens kit includes a 159mm Wollensak Extreme Wide Angle (the image circle does not catch the front camera bed), a 240mm Docter Wide Angle, a 300mm M Nikon and a 450mm Fuji C. The camera will not accept a lens longer than the 450mm unless you employ a lens board extender. There are options for the 240mm (Fuji A) as well as the 300mm (Fuji C) and there may be a Docter 450mm that could be found as the 450c appears to be as rare as the Fuji 600c these days. Do some research and you will find what works for you.

[Peter De Smidt]

As I said earlier, if you have a Doctor 240 Germinar-W, then you also have a 450mm lens with the front cell is removed. I had SK Grimes makes an adapter to use 52mm filters on the front of the shutter.

[Corran]

Looking to get busy with 8x10 Intrepid. Hoping mostly landscape, outdoor. Thinking 240 to 300 range. Size is a consideration. On a budget for this. Nikkor m 300 and fujinon A 240 have caught my attention. Comments and suggestions welcome.

Regards

Ken

Seems like you've already zeroed in on two perfectly acceptable lenses. What more do need to know? Everyone will tell you their personal favorites now, but that's mostly irrelevant. Find a lens and start shooting.

[Drew Wiley]

That 240 W Germinar is a pretty darn expensive 240, but if one can budget it, or even find one. You might think about a 240 Fuji A instead; it's what I use in that focal length. The Nikkor M 300 will cover 8x10, but with very little wiggle room for movements - not a particularly versatile lens on this format, wonderful on smaller sizes. The Fuji C 300 would give you a little bigger image circle at the same light weight. The Fuji 360A is the lightwt cat's meow in its particular focal length class for 8x10, but scarce and pricey. 450C's come up for sale reasonably often, and are a lightweight wonder for 8x10. I think 600 C's are getting seriously overpriced nowadays, but they are compact. I don't know how much bellows you have to work with, or even if a camera like this has a serious enough front standard to keep a lens in a no.3 shutter truly stable at 600+ mm extension. I use one on my Phillips 8x10, but do have to be very aware of the slightest breezes (and as most people now know, I don't use any kind of tripod head for sake of maximum stability).

[Michael Kadillak]

As I said earlier, if you have a Doctor 240 Germinar-W, then you also have a 450mm lens with the front cell is removed. I had SK Grimes makes an adapter to use 52mm filters on the front of the shutter.

I did not know that it dually served as a 450mm lens. Thanks. Great little lens.

[Michael Kadillak]

As I said earlier, if you have a Doctor 240 Germinar-W, then you also have a 450mm lens with the front cell is removed. I had SK Grimes makes an adapter to use 52mm filters on the front of the shutter.

At lunchtime I set up the 8x10 and removed the front element of the Doctor 240 Germinar W and sure enough, what looks like a fine 450mm image showed up on the ground glass. Might you have some correlating ratio as to effective f stops for this optical configuration ie. did you get Grimes to add another f scale? Many Thanks

[Peter De Smidt]

I shoot BW, and so I just add 2 stops to the lens markings.

[Michael Kadillak]

I shoot BW, and so I just add 2 stops to the lens markings.

I shoot B&W as well. Just to make sure I understand what you are saying, if your normal exposure would come in at f45 you would shoot the image at f22 (just using f stops) absent the front element.

[Peter De Smidt]

Yep. Also, as I said earlier, I had SK Grimes make an adapter that goes from my shutter to 52mm. That way I can use 52mm filters on the lens. I use a clear one for some protection of the inner lens surface. If it's perfect weather and conditions, I don't, but if it's dusty, rainy....then I do. I've only used the camera this way a few times last fall, but I hope to do more of it when the weather here gets a bit warmer.

[Michael Kadillak]

Yep. Also, as I said earlier, I had SK Grimes make an adapter that goes from my shutter to 52mm. That way I can use 52mm filters on the lens. I use a clear one for some protection of the inner lens surface. If it's perfect weather and conditions, I don't, but if it's dusty, rainy....then I do. I've only used the camera this way a few times last fall, but I hope to do more of it when the weather here gets a bit warmer.

Good idea to protect the shutter and the lens and also get a filter in play. I was similarly impressed by the increased coverage of the single rear lens element. Going to make a negative with this configuration and see how it prints. Thanks again.