Older WA project lens, 90mm to 120mm

[Wayne Crider]

I'm researching information for an older lens for a single lens WA 4x5 project camera. My max bellows draw is at 125mm max +/- with a reversed recessed board. I was thinking about either a 120 or 105 with a 90mm just being a little too wide to shoot all the time. In 105mm there's the Nikon 105WA which might be the best recent lens but I'm wondering about anything else around it and perhaps less expensive. Thanks.

[Dan Fromm]

Wayne, among older lenses that can be found without waiting longer than forever you might want to consider a 100/6.3 WF Ektar or a 105/6.8 Leitmeyr or a 100/6.3 Meyer Aristostigmat. Or maybe a Cooke Ser. VIIb; I think there's 4.25" one in barrel up now on ebay.co.uk.

If it were my money and I wanted an older lens in shutter I'd look for a 100 WF Ektar. They're known to be good.

FWIW, I have a coated 100/6.3 Aristostigmat in barrel; its cells won't go into shutter. These beasties were also sold in shutter. Anyway, all I've learned so far from mine is that f/6.3 is for focusing, not for shooting, and that it may (great stress may, I botched the test and haven't redone it) not be very sharp at f/16.

[aduncanson]

Per conventional wisdom the 105mm Nikon W will not cover 4x5. The Fuji 105W reportedly will.

The Kodak 100mm/f6.3 Wide Field Ektar seems like a good choice. See:

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=23705

There are other older WAs between 100 & 110mm from companies such as Wollensak, Goerz and many others. Then of course there are 90 & 120 Schneider Angulons.

Good Luck

[Nick_3536]

The Fuji 105 SW will cover 5x7. It's an F/8 lens if that matters. If you can find one they tend to be cheaper then similar 90mm lenses.

[Wayne Crider]

The Fuji 105 SW will cover 5x7. It's an F/8 lens if that matters. If you can find one they tend to be cheaper then similar 90mm lenses.

According to the spec's I'm reading, 77mm filters and a weight of 1.26 lb puts it out of my interests. Probably the 125 Fuji CM-W would be a better lens at 67mm filters and a weight of .58lbs. But I've got a 127 sitting in the drawer and I really didn't want to go out that far because of close focusing requirements.


Per conventional wisdom the 105mm Nikon W will not cover 4x5. The Fuji 105W reportedly will.

Yea I forgot that Nikon is rated at 155mm at F22.

[Jim Galli]

The 4 1/4" EWA Wollensak would be very nice on a 4X5. On 5X7 the corners seemed weak to me. There also was an f8 Wide Field Dagor of about 108mm that is a sweet lens. I have one I tried to peddle 6 or so months ago without success.

[Mark Tweed]

I have one of those f6.8, 4 1/4" (108mm) Wollensak Raptar Wide Angle lenses. Its Rapax shutter is comparable in size to a Copal 0 and they're extremely reliable. The lens elements are quite compact, about the diameter of a dime. The mint sample I have is extraordinarily sharp, I've tested it against other wide angles I have, a 100mm Wide Field Ektar, a 90mm Rodenstock WA Geronar, a 90mm late vintage Angulon, a 110 Rodenstock Perigon and a 120mm Apo-Symmar and in the central area, it is the sharpest of the group.

Jim's right, even though these are touted to cover 5X7, they're really more suited to 4X5 with gobs of coverage.

If you're interested, I could be persuaded to part with it as it's being unused at the moment. Carol Flutot just CLA the shutter about a year ago an it has been in the drawer since then.


Mark

[David Karp]

In addition to the Fuji SW 105 f/8, the aforementioned 105mm Fuji NW (will say "w" on the outside of the barrel - a used lens, seems to usually go for about $300 give or take,) will cover 4x5 with very little movement.

[Nick_3536]

According to the spec's I'm reading, 77mm filters and a weight of 1.26 lb puts it out of my interests. Probably the 125 Fuji CM-W would be a better lens at 67mm filters and a weight of .58lbs.

I've got an older one in a Seiko shutter. It's only 67mm filters but I doubt it's any lighter.

[aduncanson]

Yea I forgot that Nikon is rated at 155mm at F22.

Perhaps 155mm IC @ f/22 would be satisfactory for your purposes.

I was refering to the Fujinon CMW 105mm/5.6 not the far more expensive Fujinon SW 105mm/8.0
(see http://www.badgergraphic.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=164 )

The 105/5.6W is also available used in older versions for far less money. Also, in many Fuji lenses the older versions seem to have better coverage than the newer ones.

[Ole Tjugen]

If 90mm is too wide, I would move up to a 120mm. Either Angulon, Weitwinkel-Aristostigmat, or Leitmeyr Anastigmat (the latter is 121mm, but that doesn't matter). I don't mention British, French or American lenses for the simple reason that I don't know them well enough.

[Really Big Cameras]

Wayne,

Does it NEED to be an older lens, or just small, light and reasonably priced. The 120mm f6.3 Wide Angle Congo (http://www.cosmonet.org/congo/w120_e.htm) (as sold as the Osaka, by Bromwell) is a very compact, lightweight lens that covers 4x5 with room to spare (220mm image circle). The flange-to-focus distance for infinity focus is 114.3mm

Current samples are multicoated and come in Copal No. 0 shutters. The new price for the 120mm Osaka Wide Angle is $495.00 from Bromwell Marketing. If you can find a used sample, they are usually quite affordable. I have an older single coated sample that is in a Seiko shutter. I don't remember what I paid for it off the top of my head, but it was very reasonable.

Another older wide angle that would meet your needs is the 4 3/8" (111mm) f8 WA Dagor. These came in both factory mounted Ilex Acme No. 3 and Compur No. 1 shutters. If you could find one in a Compur shutter, it will be considerably smaller and lighter than the more common Ilex Acme version. Good luck finding either at a reasonable price.

Kerry Thalmann
Really Big Cameras (http://reallybigcameras.com)

[Wayne Crider]

Perhaps 155mm IC @ f/22 would be satisfactory for your purposes.


Too tight. I'll look at the suggestions tho.


Wayne,

Does it NEED to be an older lens, or just small, light and reasonably priced. The 120mm f6.3 Wide Angle Congo (http://www.cosmonet.org/congo/w120_e.htm) (as sold as the Osaka, by Bromwell) is a very compact, lightweight lens that covers 4x5 with room to spare (220mm image circle). The flange-to-focus distance for infinity focus is 114.3mm

Another older wide angle that would meet your needs is the 4 3/8" (111mm) f8 WA Dagor. These came in both factory mounted Ilex Acme No. 3 and Compur No. 1 shutters. If you could find one in a Compur shutter, it will be considerably smaller and lighter than the more common Ilex Acme version. Good luck finding either at a reasonable price.

Kerry Thalmann
Really Big Cameras (http://reallybigcameras.com)

I read your review on the Osaka and will keep an eye out for the Dagor. Any idea how old the Dagor is? From what I understand post WW2 lenses were better.

[john borrelli]

There are two Fuji 105mm fuji F5.6 lenses on sale at KEH.com.

This is the older version of this lens and I understand it is tighter on 4X5 than the newer version. Some of these are purported to be multi-coated some are single coated. I have never used one.

You get less coverage with this older version but it is more compact and takes a smaller filter size than the latest version.

FYI, the pictures at KEH are not of the product you are buying, so any time you purchase something from them take a close look at the product upon delivery and make sure you got what you paid for.