Favorite Lens

[HughC]

If you had to pick just one lens for your landscape photography, what would it be.
Or what is your favorite and most used lens for landscape and why.

[Greg]

Which format?

[HughC]

Sorry, 4x5

[rfesk]

You mean 4x5 I assume.

Rodenstock Sironar -N 135/5.6. I have two - one is folded up in my Busch Pressman and another on a Graflex lensboard
for use with other 4x5's.

It's a versatile focal length - approximately the same horizontal coverage as a 40mm lens on a 35mm camera.
I use it for landscapes, for architecture and small groups of people.

[Renato Tonelli]

You mean 4x5 I assume.

Rodenstock Sironar -N 135/5.6. I have two - one is folded up in my Busch Pressman and another on a Graflex lensboard
for use with other 4x5's.

It's a versatile focal length - approximately the same horizontal coverage as a 40mm lens on a 35mm camera.
I use it for landscapes, for architecture and small groups of people.

Same here (and same lens) and for the same reasons. It stays on the the folded Linhof Tech. camera, ready to go.
For when I need a longer focal lenght, I carry a Schneider G-Claron 240mm lens.

[Peter De Smidt]

110 Super Symmar XL.

[Tin Can]

Love the one you're with

[Havoc]

I think I use the CM-W 125/5.6 most for "landscape". Most versatile for me. I'd love to go wider, but we don't have landscapes that are so open you can use wider without having crap in the frame somewhere. In cities I have to go wider because everything is so cramped.

[Roberto Nania]

I like the 150mm for landscape and for portrait work; I like its neutral prospective. If I have to go for one lens only, I'd go for it without doubt.
I use a Symmar-S and a recently purchased Sironar-N.
On small format, my go-to lens is instead the 35mm.

[John Layton]

My single "go to" for 4x5 has been a 135 (Sironar-N) for years and years...but I think it just might be supplanted by the 150 - of which I currently own two: a G-Claron and an Apo-Symmar-L. But I still cannot deny the sheer versatility of the 135 for the 4x5 format.

[Doremus Scudder]

A quick scan of my exposure records shows the 135mm focal length to be the most used. I like the 135mm length better than the 150mm because it's just a bit wider and I can always crop a bit if needed.

Next on the list for landscapes is 90mm followed by ~200mm (I've got 203mm and 210mm lenses, so it depends on which I'm carrying).

Best,

Doremus

[jnantz]

ilex seminat 6"
it renders and image unlike any lens I have ever used
stopped down it is sharp and contrasty like a modern lens, wide open things look like a Japanese silk painting.
like anything it takes some getting used to figuring out how to use it

[Jim Noel]

A 150 Dagor for 4x5.

[willwilson]

Fuji 135mm NW. Small, light, sharp, and cheap. It is multicoated with the 52mm filter thread. Great little lens, definitely my go to.

I have a CM-W too but really no difference between them except the CM-W is bigger. Honestly, it needs to get sold.

[Greg]

Depends on what project I am pursuing at the time to photograph...
90mm f/5.6 Super-Angulon XL: When I was doing a lot of WA architectural photography that required extreme rises.
150mm Repro-Claron: When I was shooting Chromes of CUs in nature.
500mm f/7 Komura Tele: Favorite lens in the fall here in New England.
180mm FUJINON W: If had only one lens with my 4x5.

[Salmo22]

As some have already said; "it depends". My two favorites are the Nikkor SW 120mm f8 and Fujinon A 240mm f9 lenses. Both are excellent performers and have generous image circles that allows me lots of 4x5 camera movements when needed.

[Rick A]

When I shot 4x5 my favorite lens was a Ysarex 127mm scavenged from a Polaroid 110B. It lived on my Speed Press and rarely got switched out for any other focal length. I never warmed up to 135 or 150mm, my next favorite is a Kodak #32 Anastigmat, and a 210mm Wistar.

[Michael Graves]

10 inch Gold Ring Dagor...by a long shot. No pun intended.

[linhofbiker]

when I started with 4x5 about 50 years ago the camera came with a 135 Symmar. I used this lens exclusively for many years till I needed a 90mm Angulon for interiors of my wife's commercial interior design projects. I still remember shooting tungsten film with hot lights. Those were the days - I even shot a wedding with same outfit. The 8x10 prints were amazingly sharp being much better quality than those from a Hasselblad according to the lab that did the processing. Later I still used the 135 Symmar to make copies of my wife's watercolor portraits on Fuji 64T. Some clients wanted giclee copies up to 30x40. The prints made were as good as the original according to the artist (my wife).

[Dugan]

My first 4x5 lens was a Schneider 210mm f6.1 Xenar.
That was my only lens through college, and for years afterwards...I shot everything with that lens and a Calumet CC-400. It did almost everything I asked of it.

[John Kasaian]

For nearly all my earlier work, I used a 14" Commercial Ektar because that was all I had.
It's still a favorite.
It's a heavy lens, so if there is any hiking involved I'll press a svelte little 240mm G-Claron into service, so I supposed that it's become my new favorite.

[DDolde]

Schneider Super Symmar XL 110mm

[Pete Roody]

9" f4.5 P&S Synthetic on Graflex Super D

[Eric Woodbury]

150mm f/5.6 Sironar W

[Mark Sampson]

300/9 Nikkor-M, 135/6.3 Kodak Wide Field Ektar.

[Joseph Kashi]

Original Fujinon 135 W slightly beats Fujinon 125 NW because both are nicely sharp but the older 135 W also covers 5x7 with some movements, so it works with both kits while still being very small and light. It even fits inside a closed press camera like Linhof or Meridian.

[Simon Benton]

8 3/4 inch Verito on 4 x 5 Graflex Super D

[JLNims]

150mm f/5.6 Sironar W. Huge bang for buck.

[John Layton]

...must be a huge bang - cause that's a lotta bucks!

[tgtaylor]

I was lucky - my most favorite turned out to be the very first LF lens that I bought, a 150mm Apo Sironar-S. I bought it based on the lens, true or not true, hype that was going around at the time. But the clincher for me was finding that it gave me the same FOV as the 75mm on the Pentax 67 which was my most used lens at that time.

[JLNims]

Well John, you made me think about it. I was wrong. Rodenstock Sironar <nothing>. So, not a W :(. Oh well, it's pretty good; and inexpensive fun.

[Vaughn]

The one I have on the only lens board I have for the 4x5 PocketView since 1982 -- a Caltar IIN 150/5.6. With larger formats I seem to have drifted towards the wide side of normal...not too unlike the 135mm on 4x5...(5x7/180mm, 8x10/300mm, 11x14/360mm). I have not yet been tempted by different 'looks' some glass has, including soft-focus.

[Corran]

90mm of any stripe, but Nikkor 90mm f/8 especially, until the shutter exploded itself. So now using a Rodenstock.

[rfesk]

90mm of any stripe, but Nikkor 90mm f/8 especially, until the shutter exploded itself. So now using a Rodenstock.

The Nikon 90mm f/8 is one lens I will never sell. It's worth getting repaired or a new shutter.

[Larry Gebhardt]

135mm Sironar S. It’s almost certainly my most used lens in 4x5. But I use the Nikon 300mm f/9 quite a bit too. I wouldn’t give up either.

[Axelwik]

I don't do much 4x5 anymore, but for 5x7 my favorite is a Fujinon-A 180mm f9. Very small and light, and sharp.

[Drew Bedo]

My two favorite lenses are a Fujinon 150mm and a Caltat II N 20mm. If sliming down to just one for landscapes, I'd go with the 150.

If I could choose any lens, and someone els pays for it, I might be looking at a new Schneider APO-whatever. . . .probably in 150mm.

[Darryl Baird]

I'd love to see some examples. Mine is 9.5" Wolly Velostigmat with variable diffusion.

[Vaidotas]

Schneider Super Angulon 165/8.
Technically sharp and with its own signature.
King of the LF lens to me.

[StrangleMeRandy]

How many shots do you need before you know it's your favorite?

I shoot 5x7, for some reason, so my choices would likely be different from a 4x5 shooter anyway, but the one shot I've taken thus far on my Grandagon 115 sparks joy. Roughly equivalent to 24mm on 135/full frame. I need to design and print a slightly recessed board for mine and my camera, just another 5mm or so for comfort.

I just got a Fuji NW 180/5.6 (~35mm EFL) which I have high hopes for. It's neat, a 6/6 design. I am almost certain I will love it.

I've used a Kodak 203/7.7 (~40) and damn, that's a sharp lens. I think it would be a fun choice for a long landscape lens on 4x5, it's super sharp and renders super cleanly.

Lastly, my Fujinar 250/4.7 (50, like right on the money which I find satisfying) is a little sensitive to flare (massive front element with some scratches, what can ya do), but I think I like it. Needs more testing. Maybe foggy days, or if I ever start lith printing. My favorite lens in terms of size and appearance, it sits rather nicely in its Copal 3.

I think I need to shoot a lot more before I'm set on a favorite. I could see the 180 being my most used, as I love 35mm and its equivalents on other formats. I'm definitely a little limited by my camera at the moment, which doesn't help.

[John Layton]

I've long been curious about trying a 135mm fl for 5x7 - and am wondering about the relative merits of the 135 WF Ektar vs the 135 Fujinon-W. Anybody care to comment?

[Drew Bedo]

Caltar II N; ,210mm f/5.6.

Fits my inner eye and bellows com is a prefiguted snap at 1/4 stop per inch of extension.

[GuillaumeZuili]

Ektar 190mm f/5.6
On my Super D. Terrific lens

[AJ Edmondson]

135mm f5.6 Fujinon W in Seiko Shutter. Has ample coverage for 5x7 and is small enough to stay mounted on my Wista SP. Single-coated and has been my favorite lens for years.

Joel

[Heroique]

Schneider XL 110mm/5.6 = Spouse
Schneider 150mm/9 g-claron = Mistress
Fuji A 240mm/9 = Best friend

Need I say which is my favorite? :rolleyes:

[Robert Opheim]

This is a very difficult question! Most used lenses for 4x5 landscape are: 3 5/8" WA Dagor (92mm) 4 3/8" WA Dagor (112mm), 90mm Grandagon, and 75mm Grandagon.

[Mark Stahlke]

My favorites are a 75/4.5 Caltar II-N and a 210/6.8 Caltar II-E.

[PatrickMarq]

My records shows:
Rodenstock Sironar -N 150/5.6.
Nikkor 300/9

But from time to time I need something between those two

[paulbarden]

What discussions like this usually reveal is that everyone has their own favorite (which is great) and rarely do any two people have the same "favorite". It would be a mistake for anyone reading these reports to conclude that there is any such thing as a "best lens" - there are only personal favorites.

[Joseph Kashi]

135mm f5.6 Fujinon W in Seiko Shutter. Has ample coverage for 5x7 and is small enough to stay mounted on my Wista SP. Single-coated and has been my favorite lens for years.

Joel

+1 The early inside-writing 135/5.6 Fujinon W lenses are quite consistent and sharp for their era, suggesting good quality control. the 250/6.7 W is likewise a very good lens.

[PatrickMarq]

What discussions like this usually reveal is that everyone has their own favorite (which is great) and rarely do any two people have the same "favorite". It would be a mistake for anyone reading these reports to conclude that there is any such thing as a "best lens" - there are only personal favorites.

I Agree, and also what can you afford …