210'ish lenses for my 8x10

[ericantonio]

Hola,
Can anyone recommend (think cheap) 210mm-240mm range of lenses for my 8x10? I can go the shutterless route if that is pretty cheap (I can do lenscap, lensock or anything). If I do the shutterless route, I can save up and eventually get those installed on something right? LIke lensn2shutter guy.

I've read a lot about the Konica 210 covering 8x10's. I used to see them go for a song but I think since people found out it can be attached to a shutter, they are real expensive now.

[Nick_3536]

. If I do the shutterless route, I can save up and eventually get those installed on something right? LIke lensn2shutter guy.

.


I wouldn't personally plan on that. If you get some thing like the Clarons that you can screw into a shutter yourself that's great but any thing that requires some body to mount into a shutter for you won't save any money.

I think the Fuji-W 210mm is likely the cheapest lens in a shutter that covers 8x10. You need to make sure you get the first series and not one of the later ones.

The G-Clarons if you want some thing without a shutter.

[ericantonio]

I'll look for a Fuji-W 210mm. I sometimes see Fuji 210mm but I'm guessing I need to look for the "W" designation to know it will cover 8x10?

[Nick_3536]

http://www.thalmann.com/largeformat/fujinon.htm

http://members.aol.com/subgallery/byseries.htm

Kerry's website covers how to tell the models apart. I find the filter size usually works. The W is normally the cheapest of the versions being single coated and oldest.

[erie patsellis]

210 angulons can be bought reasonably, I just picked one up for $99 last week. A 210 Symmar or Symmar-S will cover, without much room for movement (some, but not alot). They seem to sell really cheaply these days. This was shot with a 210 Symmar (old convertible style in sychro-compur). The IC on my newer 210 Symmar-S MC is even larger.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r181/epatsellis/stream.jpg

A 210/240/260 Hexanon GRII would cover with lots of room, albeit it's shutterless (and not easily shuttered w/o paying someone to do it) so it's a packard or a lenscap.

[ericantonio]

http://www.thalmann.com/largeformat/fujinon.htm

http://members.aol.com/subgallery/byseries.htm

Kerry's website covers how to tell the models apart. I find the filter size usually works. The W is normally the cheapest of the versions being single coated and oldest.

Nice web site. Guess I'll be doing some reading today
Here's one on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/Fujinon-210mm-W-F-5-6-Lens_W0QQitemZ140143737854QQihZ004QQcategoryZ30076QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Says "8x10 with minimal movements". Not sure what one person's minimal means and another person. I'll start with the thalmann page though.

[Jack Flesher]

I have tried several, and ended up with the Kowa Graphic 210. Prices below are for lenses in shutter.

1) Rodenstock APO W: REALLY sharp and has about an inch and a half of addional IC for 8x10, a bit large-ish in a Copal 3. Regularly sells for over $1000.

2) Fuji 210 W, older single-coated version with 58mm front threads. Good lens and covers about the same as the Roenstock W, medium-sized in a Copal 1. ~~ $400

3) Dagor Gold Dot, Swiss Kern version, coated and very nice, but just covered to the corners of 8x10 after which image quality visibly deteriorated. Tiny lens in a Copal 1. Expensive, usually around $1000.

4) The Kowa is single coated with no filter threads, tiny like the Dagor and in a Copal 1, but covers even more than the Fuji or Rodenstock W, which is why I kept it. Getting more expensive, but can usually be found for $500 in shutter.

5) There is a Computar version of the Kowa, an f9 lens and not the f6.3 version, that is rumored to have even more usable IC, but they are as rare as hen's teeth and priced accordingly.

[Nick_3536]

Nice web site. Guess I'll be doing some reading today
Here's one on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/Fujinon-210mm-W-F-5-6-Lens_W0QQitemZ140143737854QQihZ004QQcategoryZ30076QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Says "8x10 with minimal movements". Not sure what one person's minimal means and another person. I'll start with the thalmann page though.


That's a latter model. You can tell from the filter size.

[Tony Karnezis]

What Jack said. I have a 210 Computar--very light, in a Copal 1. Problem is that they're hard to come by and tend to fetch a good price because of it. Sandy King posted a list of the image circles of the Computar lenses. The 210 will cover 11x14 and the 240 will almost cover 8x20.

The Computar lens and ULF coverage.
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=10255

[ericantonio]

What Jack said. I have a 210 Computar--very light, in a Copal 1. Problem is that they're hard to come by and tend to fetch a good price because of it. Sandy King posted a list of the image circles of the Computar lenses. The 210 will cover 11x14 and the 240 will almost cover 8x20.

The Computar lens and ULF coverage.
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=10255

I have a 210 Computar Symetrigon. I guess its not the same lens :)

[Peter De Smidt]

You're right. The Symetrigon is a different lens which doesn't have near the coverage.

A 210 G-Claron, Graphic Kowa, Computar... all cover about 80* at F45, which gives some movement on 8x10. Note that not all versions of these lenses screw right into copal shutters. Be careful!

[Ole Tjugen]

I've managed to got outside the image circle with a 210 angulon on 8x10", but it took some work: http://www.bruraholo.no/images/Senja_2007/Scan-070713-0003.jpg

Shooting uphill, maximum front rise on a Gandolfi Traditional, portrait orientation, and insisting on keeping the film plane vertical.

I have a Symmar, a G-Claron, and (just received) a Rodenstock Sironar-N. as well as a small stash of 5x7"-210mm lenses, and various barrel lenses. But since I knew what the landscape was like here, I brought the one with most coverage.

[Brian Ellis]

The 240mm G Claron is a great choice for 8x10. But mine and all the ones I've seen come in a shutter and perhaps cost more than you want to pay. Using a lens cap or something similar instead of a shutter is going to be limiting. You'll need exposures of at least a half second, preferably longer, which means that in any kind of bright light you'll be stopping down a lot which means little chance of isolating a subject against a background, also means everything in the photograph will have to be perfectly still, etc. etc. It's doable but not something I'd want to do.

[ericantonio]

The 240mm G Claron is a great choice for 8x10. But mine and all the ones I've seen come in a shutter and perhaps cost more than you want to pay. Using a lens cap or something similar instead of a shutter is going to be limiting. You'll need exposures of at least a half second, preferably longer, which means that in any kind of bright light you'll be stopping down a lot which means little chance of isolating a subject against a background, also means everything in the photograph will have to be perfectly still, etc. etc. It's doable but not something I'd want to do.

I'm starting to think, in the long run, a shutterless lens will probably cost a lot more in time, money and resources for me. I might as well look in to a lens in the 210mm-240mm. I'll look for the low cost Fuji (single coating is fine cause I mainly shoot B&W). I think I heard good things about the G Claron too.

[Henry Suryo]

Ole, nice scenery. I do believe the bottom cut-off was the result of bellows vignetting, I've experienced a similar thing with a 6.5" lens on the 8x10 when I use extreme movements on the compressed bellows. I do believe the Angulons don't have a field stop so eventhough the image circle is quite large, it goes noticeably soft at the extremes but not an abrupt cut-off like on the bottom of your image.

[sanking]

I have a 210 Computar Symetrigon. I guess its not the same lens :)

The Computar Symetrigon is not the same lens as the Computar f/9. It is a good lens, but does not cover as much.

For coverage the Computar f/9 is one of the best combinations of size and coverage around. 210 covers 11X14 (barely), 240 covers 7X17, 270 covers 8X20 and 305 covers 12X20.

The performance of the Computar is similar to that of the G-Claron, but it covers a lot more at no greater size or weight. The 210 Computar would be a great light weight wide angle lens lens for 8X10, if you can find one.

Sandy King

[John Kasaian]

I got my G-Claron as a barrel lens and later mounted it in a shutter. Its a great lens for 8x10. In barrel form they aren't very expensive and press shutters (copal and prontor with a 127mm Tominon or Ysaron on board) occassionally show up cheap.

[Ole Tjugen]

Ole, nice scenery. I do believe the bottom cut-off was the result of bellows vignetting, I've experienced a similar thing with a 6.5" lens on the 8x10 when I use extreme movements on the compressed bellows. I do believe the Angulons don't have a field stop so eventhough the image circle is quite large, it goes noticeably soft at the extremes but not an abrupt cut-off like on the bottom of your image.

That's correct: The softness at the top is the end of the image circle; the dark bit at the bottom is bellows vignetting. I could have reduced the softness a little by stopping down to f:64 or so - this was shot at f:22. The uncoated pre-WWII angulons have a smoother sharp/soft transition at the edge of the image circle than later models, although those have a slightly larger sharp coverage at wider stops. i believe that with a newer lens the sharp zone would have gone a little bit higher up the mountain, but the very top would have been much softer 8at the same f-stop).

[tim atherton]

A 210 G-Claron, Graphic Kowa, Computar... all cover about 80* at F45, which gives some movement on 8x10. Note that not all versions of these lenses screw right into copal shutters. Be careful!

The Kowa and the Computar will give far more coverage than the G-Claron and both cover 8x10 with plenty of movement at f22

The Computars have coverage of about 95 degrees. The Kowas around 85+ degrees. And the G-Claron seems about right at 80 degrees

[ericantonio]

The Kowa and the Computar will give far more coverage than the G-Claron and both cover 8x10 with plenty of movement at f22

The Computars have coverage of about 95 degrees. The Kowas around 85+ degrees. And the G-Claron seems about right at 80 degrees


There is a Kowa now on viewcamera magazin web site for sale ad. I've seen g-clarons on ebay go for affordable to "what are you nuts!". I'll keep an eye out on them

I just saw a fuji 210mm but the guy said the image circle is 352. Not sure that is enough though. I'm pretty sure my Korona can't do much shifting and tilting anyway!

I don't know how much is "a little movement" is. One's little movement is a lot for someone else.

[tim atherton]

There is a Kowa now on viewcamera magazin web site for sale ad. I've seen g-clarons on ebay go for affordable to "what are you nuts!". I'll keep an eye out on them

I just saw a fuji 210mm but the guy said the image circle is 352. Not sure that is enough though. I'm pretty sure my Korona can't do much shifting and tilting anyway!

I don't know how much is "a little movement" is. One's little movement is a lot for someone else.

The Kowa's can be a bit difficult - though they seem to have the same coverage, one version doesn't screw into a shutter and you would have to use in barrel (I have one as a paperweight... kept it in case I need an enlarging lens) - the other unscrews from the barrel and screws right into a Copal #1 shutter - but it's hard to tell.

The Fuji is good, but about the same amount of movement as the G-Claron

About 1.25"+ rise fall at f22/32 or so. Which, If you photograph buildings isn't much on 8x10. If you photograph wide open vistas or low rise cityscapes (or say claustrophobic forest interiors) may well be enough... just depends what and how you photograph