Fujinon W 135mm 5.6 questions

[dan_f8]

I have just acquired a Fujinon W 135mm 5.6 lens from Japan and I had a couple of questions upon inspecting it.

1. The aperture ring has no stops i.e. the movement is completely smooth from 5.6 to 45. Should that be the case?
2. There seems to be no shutter cocking lever. There is a lever but this only releases the shutter. When a cable release is screwed in the shutter fires without cocking each time it is pressed. Is that correct?
3. The shutter speeds only go up to 1/125, whereas I have seen other similar lenses that have a fastest speed of 1/500. Admittedly I should have clocked this in the photos when examining the lens prior to purchase but I am thinking this could be a bit of a hindrance.
4. There is no T option in the shutter speed ring, only B. Is this normal?

Finally it is mounted in a Copal 3 to 0 adaptor and has no standard retaining ring so I can't easily mount it in my Copal 0 lens board. This is a smaller frustration.

I am more concerned about the lack of stops on the aperture ring and the seemingly absent shutter cocking lever. If anyone has any insight into this lens I would be extremely grateful. I am making my first steps into 4x5 and seem to have made an error at the first stage!

Thanks very much.

[Tobias Key]

I have a fujinon 125W, so not the same lens but very similar. It is mounted in a bog standard Copal 0 shutter, it doesn't have click stops on the aperture (none of my lenses do) but it does have a T setting and shutter speeds up to 1/500 it also has a shutter cocking lever. From your description it sounds like your lens is housed in a copal press shutter, perhaps it was supplied as standard equipment to a Japanese 4x5 press camera? If it has been rehoused in a non standard shutter you'll have to check it's been done properly and the spacings between the front and rear elements are correct.

1/125 is probably not that limiting if you shoot landscapes at f22 or f32, but if you want to shoot wide open portraits you might want the extra speed.

[dan_f8]

Thanks very much! That's really interesting. I am in two minds about whether to stick with it or try and find something a bit more "standard" if such a thing exists.

[BrianShaw]

The aperture shouldn’t have click stops as it is intended to be a continuous adjustment rather than discrete.

The shutter is a self-cocking, or press, shutter. They have some benefits and some drawbacks yet will work. For ground glass focus use a locking cable release and the B setting.

If it really is in an adapter it seems that should be removable, or you could get a lens board that fits. Retaining rings can be bought, for instance from S. K. Grimes.

[Steve Goldstein]

Some Copal 0 shutters have aperture clicks at 1/3 stop, but as far as I'm aware these were specials made for Schneider very late in the Copal production life. Later Compur shutters and Prontor Professional shutters (if memory serves) have detents as well. What brand shutter is your lens in? It could be Copal, Compur, Seiko (or Seikosha), or Prontor. A picture or two would help others help you.

As Brian mentioned, you have a "Press" shutter. It's self-cocking and it sounds like it's operating normally. The Copal 0 Press shutter here on my desk it operates exactly as you've described, as does the spare Prontor 0 Press shutter I've got stashed away.

Regarding the adapter, again, a picture or two could go a long way.

[dan_f8]

This is all beginning to make sense to me! Looks like the lens board should be a standard 0 so that's okay providing I can get a retaining ring. Here are some pictures which hopefully will help.

252170
252171
252172
252173

[Keith Pitman]

You can find retaining rings on Ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/296450706009?itmmeta=01J4S3XHKTR23KXA23M7W1Z4VC&hash=item4505d6ca59:g:4EEAAOSwZI5hoKjV&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4DE857IpFhm5jMHWY1OZRirAYX8ibC2HTzqOc1aCmK9x8QrKBircxiD87mr%2BrT4iCU%2FriMXOA84jdG2VrU%2Fajl2%2BPeicSarhIyMqXhRu6X8Ni7NTBiy1ilHDtsRsq67u0n6CewnScL31p4d%2FraqS9Rg%2B8HWoISEMCtsk7Cl%2Bbq3%2BghEmxlFVKz1RjjcuZmOCLMKVBeLQhmNa8rXIJ2fx%2F4OIS%2Bm%2BBC4VNzkHTvFeohEaFe%2Bs4k6TmZuwXfCO4MydSdnCahVdCugViBusrkZyuH4bUx4uwYtTe3mbKQFhi5Y9%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR4qa9qOmZA

[B.S.Kumar]

This is a "Copal for Wista" Press shutter. This version was made specially for Wista cameras. It is an excellent substitute for normal Copal shutters, and was offered in #0 and #1 sizes. In Japan, new lenses were offered in a choice of Copal and Copal for Wista shutters.

This shutter differs from the regular Copal Press shutter in these ways:

1. There are two cable release sockets. One socket is for the normal cable that triggers the shutter. The second one is for a special cable that connects the shutter to the back of Wista metal cameras. It behaves exactly like the Sinar Auto Cable. When the film holder is inserted into the camera back, it closes the shutter. When the holder is removed, it opens the shutter for focusing.
2. There is no T function.
3. The aperture preview lever opens fully, regardless of the set aperture. To view the image at the set aperture, a locking cable must be used at B.
4. Factory made adapters for Copal #1 to #0 and #0 to #00 could be ordered.

The "retaining ring" in your photos is the top section of a three part extension lens board like the ones you see on eBay.

Kumar

[dan_f8]

This is all tremendously helpful! Thank you so much.

Okay, so from initially thinking I might have bought something that wasn't working properly, it now seems like it all functions as intended which is great.

My next question is - given that I am a newbie to LF photography, would this be an okay first lens? I am okay with metering etc as my most used cameras are a Leica and a Hassleblad with no meter so that's fine. It's more around the limited shutter speed. My main subjects to start with will be architecture and landscape rather than portraits, I think. Plus I am in the UK so super sunny days aren't as plentiful as we might wish...

I would welcome your thoughts.

[Dan Fromm]

Plus I am in the UK so super sunny days aren't as plentiful as we might wish...

There goes the need for high shutter speeds. More seriously, many LF photographers shoot at f/16 and smaller apertures with relatively slow films. Think a little about which films you're likely to use, and you may well decide that 1/125 is more than fast enough.

[Tobias Key]

I am based in the UK and couldn't tell you the last time I used 1/250th or 1/500th while shooting architecture or landscape. I have been shooting a project on local Saxon Churches and my most used settings are probably 2 seconds at f32 for interiors with 400 film. Outside you will probably be shooting 1/60 at f32 in sunny weather with fast film. Add a filter and you are nowhere near needing anything faster. My main piece of advice would be to make sure you stop down the lens enough. Depth of field is always a concern, but diffraction is very rarely an issue with a big sheet of film.

[xkaes]

Thanks very much! That's really interesting. I am in two minds about whether to stick with it or try and find something a bit more "standard" if such a thing exists.

While your shutter is not the original shutter -- who knows for what reason? -- the lens is a beauty. It is a Fujinon NW 135mm f5.6. It is an improved version of the earlier W and W S 135mm lenses with full air-spaced design and EBC coating. The fact that it is simply labeled "W" leads to some confusion. It's great for landscape work.

http://www.subclub.org/fujinon/byseries.htm

[Mark J]

This is an excellent lens. I have one and the earlier 'W'. The NW will cover sharply to the corners of 5x7" when stopped-down. I assume you're probably using 4x5" , but there is plenty of shift potential.
A 'wide standard' like this is a very useful focal length for many subjects.

[dan_f8]

This is fantastic! Thanks for making me feel more confident about this lens. Yes, it's in great shape, so on that front I automatically love it. I just need to get it into the lensboard and start working with it. I have HP5 and Delta 100 so a range of speeds to work with. I am looking forward to getting used to the differences between this and medium format. It's a whole new world!

Thanks again everyone.