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View Full Version : Great new 180mm to cover 8x10?



Henry Ambrose
18-Mar-2006, 17:51
So how about a Super Symmar XL 180mm with an image circle near 400mm in a Copal 1 shutter? I'd want it smaller than the 210XL, nearer the 150XL if possible and if that meant f8 thats OK. Oh yeah, no bigger than 95 on the front end.

It seems Schneider can make the 550 and 1100 "Fine Art " lenses for what must be a very small market. I'd think there are enough 8x10 shooters who would buy a great 180. 90mm is very popular on 4x5 so it seems a 180 for 8x10s would be a good seller.

And I wouldn't mind if it was made by Rodenstock for that matter. Somebody just make one!

Anyone else like this idea?

tim atherton
18-Mar-2006, 17:56
exactly...!

there was a nice 190mm f8 Carl Zeiss Dagor on ebay that I just bid on - went for well over $2000... :-(

Steve Hamley
18-Mar-2006, 18:58
Actually a 7" (178mm) Berlin Dagor will cover, just barely. I have one that was in a early rim-set Compur that screwed right into a Copal 1. Tiny glass. Uncoated, but coupled with high saturation color transparency film like Kodak E100VS or Velvia, the effect is very nice indeed.

As for a new 180mm that covers 8x10, I'd buy one. But I'd prefer a multicoated wide angle plasmat like the Computar to cut down on size and weight, although I am a BIG fan of the SS XL line.

Steve

Eric Leppanen
18-Mar-2006, 19:55
On one hand, I like the idea of a 180mm since a 210mm "next lens" would no longer be needed (there are far more lightweight, field-friendly 240 or 250mm lenses available). On the other hand, my SS150XL is one of my most used 8x10 lenses, and I can't imagine giving it up, so in my case an SS180XL wouldn't help me much. I'd prefer Schneider putting the SS210XL on a diet (I don't need a 500mm image circle), or as Steve suggests an f/9 multi-coated wide-angle lens like a Computar or Germinar-W.

When I got into LF six years ago (via 4x5), the SSXL line was newly available, and I chose the SS80XL rather than one of the 90mm designs. So the SS150XL was a better match for me when I migrated to 8x10.

Andrew O'Neill
18-Mar-2006, 20:15
I've been looking for a 180mm for quite a while, with lots of room for movements. I have a huge gap between my 120 nikkor SW and my 210 nikkor. A 180 would fill that gap nicely. I'm sure if Schneider made one I couldn't afford it, though.

Jeff Corbett
18-Mar-2006, 21:24
I agree. I find the SS150Xl very wide on 8x10, but do like the 90mm on 4x5. Would definitely be interested in a SS180XL (in a copal 1).

Lars Åke Vinberg
18-Mar-2006, 22:47
As a counterpoint - with 8x10 you have so much film that a "too wide" lens like the 150XL is very versatile. I use the 150XL as I would use a 90 on 4x5 - I just crop later.

The 150XL for sure is sharp enough for that (I just stuck an 8x10 from the 150XL into the Howtek drumscanner I just bought on ebay. My eyes still hurt, it was that sharp).

Ole Tjugen
19-Mar-2006, 05:48
I don't miss a 180mm, I'm very satisfied with the 165mm Angulon I have.

Armin Seeholzer
19-Mar-2006, 07:15
I don't miss it ether!
I'm so happy with my Rodenstock Grandagon 155mm it would be to near on it.
But would like a small 210mm with about 400mm covering power!

tim atherton
19-Mar-2006, 07:20
Kowa Graphic 210mm.... (or Computar) - f6.8 in a shutter and about 380-390mm

Walt Calahan
19-Mar-2006, 07:46
Fujinon W 180 mm f/5.6.

I got it on eBay for less than $500.

It fills the gap between my Nikkor 120 and Nikkor 240.

It only has millimeters of movement, I think the listed image circle is 305 (might be 306), but there is some wiggle room.

I wish there was a 180 mm with far more image circle without costing an arm & a leg. I love the focal length for my way of seeing.

I use the lens on a lightweight KB Canham 8x10, and always use a bag bellows with this lens.

William Mortensen
19-Mar-2006, 09:31
"I wish there was a 180 mm with far more image circle without costing an arm & a leg. I love the focal length for my way of seeing. "

Don't forget the venerable old Wollensak 159mm. The f/12.5 version has an image circle around 370mm, and with the removal of a single limiting screw opens up to about f/6.6 for focusing, with no apparent focus shift stopping down. I have an old uncoated one which is sharp for contact printing only, and a newer coated one that is about equivalent to a "standard" Dagor for sharpness; in other words, not quite state-of-the-art, but still pretty darn good.

CXC
19-Mar-2006, 11:50
What Mark just said. I gave up on my quest for a 180mm to cover 8x10, and opted for the Wollensack 159mm instead. Cheap and tiny and adequate.

Herb Cunningham
19-Mar-2006, 16:45
I managed to get a Hugo Meyer 180mm barrel lens from Arsenal in Germany, had LensN2 shutter mount it.

Have yet to really try it, but it is alleged to have over 400mm coverage. very small lens.

This may be a stealth lens for the format.