How often do you use your 450 /500 mm?

[Paul Schilliger]

I actually own a range of lenses for use with a 4x5" and the next addition shoul d be a 450 or 500 mm. If the 300 mm is an indispensable tool, am not sure however that the 450 would b e worse buying and carrying around, shots made with that length of lens being pe rhaps uncommon. How useful is this lens for landscape photography? (I thought of a Fuji C or maybe a NikkorT)

[William Marderness]

I have used a Fujinon 450C with 4x5 and was very happy with it. It is not that long of a lens, and I found it useful many times. I did not have a 300mm though. I had a 210mm and a 300mm. Now I use the 450C on an 8x10, and I am still happy with it.

[William Marderness]

I have used a Fujinon 450C with 4x5 and was very happy with it. It is not that long of a lens, and I found it useful many times. I did not have a 300mm though. I had a 210mm and a 450mm. Now I use the 450C on an 8x10, and I am still happy with it.

[Bill Glickman]

Paul, I shoot only landscapes also... On the long end of my lenses, I own a 360W Nikor 450M Nikor and 600C Fuji... Of these 3 lenses on 4x5, I actually use the 600mm the most. I use it to shoot things very far away and sometimes use a 6x9 roll film back with it, so that makes the 600 even appear longer, but rarely ever have use the 450 and only occasionaly use 360. (On my 8x10 the three most used lens in order are 150, 360 600. So my reccomendation is, if you are going to go long, go as long as you have bellows for. Under ideal circumstances my 600C offers the sharpest shots, however, all of them are very prone to the smallest amount of wind or vibration. The likely hood of good shots with long lenses in nature is slim, unless you catch that perfect day with not a breeze in the air... otherwise get an unbrella, or a pop up tent to get reduce the wind shaking the bellows! Sometimes I swear the camera is perfectly still, but the proof is in the chrome, and I am often wrong... this never happens with my short fl lenses at all, so I am confident this is the cause...

[Bruce M. Herman]

Paul, I have a Fuji 600 mm telephoto, in addition to a 355 mm Sch. Gold Dot Dagor, and some shorter lenses. I use my two longest lenses as much or more than my 210 and 135 mm lenses. I like very much the visual compression these lenses provide. Given my own photographic style, I would agree with the previous writer that you should skip the 450 mm and get a 600 mm lens. The Fuji 600 mm requires slightly more extension than the Schnieider 355. They have a comaprable weight. Unless your subject is relatively 2 dimensional (either flat or vertical), these focal lengths require very small apertures to achieve the moderate depths of field, as I'm sure you know. Long exposure times and extended bellows increase the likelihood of camera vibration degrading your image. You will need to worry more about wind and the stability of your tripod. If you enjoyed using an 80-200 when you worked in the 35 mm format, you'll find the 600 mm lens a welcome addition to your 4x5 system.

Best wishes, Bruce

[Paul Schilliger]

Thanks for your useful comments and advises! I have a Linhof Tech V and 440 mm bellows extension. I made this choice to prese rve as much as possible my mobility and my back! The Fuji C450 would have been a good choice for both it's price and weight. Also, as it seems most 4x5 users switch sooner or later to 8x10, the lens would have been still useful if I make this choice and decide to stick to the back of the car! Then th e 600C would be nice having too. The Nikkor and Fuji T 600 are way too huge for my Linhof. The Fuji C 600 on tube would certainly be unstable, unless two tripods were used. The Nikkor T 500 could be a possibility if the 720 component was usable but it is not. Now for the price and weight difference, I would prefe r the Fuji C 450 and crop if necessary. I appreciate your advice on the 450 being too close from the 300 mm. I think I w ill go with what I have for a while and try evaluate the needs that would be met by a 450mm. As I use roll f ilms also, this is a way to encrease the ratio but with some loss of sharpness.

[Paul Schilliger]

Coming back on Bruce's suggestion of the Fujinon T 600 mm, has anyone used it su ccessfully on a Linhof Tech V? I fear that the weight of the lens (1Kg!) on a 324 mm extension would be rather unstable. Perhaps I am wrong? Is the lens the good performer I think it is?

[Bruce M. Herman]

Paul, I use my Fuji 600 telephoto on a Linhof Technikardan. I'm not sure how it compares to the Technica in rigidity.

The lens is fairly sharp. Perhaps not quite as sharp as the Nikon 360 telephoto, which I once owned. I've owned the lens for less than a year, and am still learning how small an aperture is required. It's certainly sharp enough that I use the results for exhibtion prints.

Be sure to keep the sun off the front element as flare can be a problem, as it seems to be for all of my Fuji lenses.

Bruce