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View Full Version : Will a 210mm f/5.6 Caltar II-N cover 8x10, remotely?



NonFiction
2-Apr-2009, 20:15
I'm offered an 8x10 camera with this lens in a package that seems attractive, however I suspect the coverage of the lens is more suited to 4x5. If I'm wrong, please advise.

Gene McCluney
2-Apr-2009, 20:32
That lens should be good for 5x7, but probably not for 8x10.

Ron Marshall
2-Apr-2009, 20:46
As Gene said, it won't cover: its image circle is 301 mm, 8x10 requires 312 mm to cover, and much more for movements.

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/lenses/LF8x10in.html

Frank Petronio
2-Apr-2009, 20:47
if you shoot close-ups stopped-down it will be fine. At infinity wide-open you'll loose the corners but you could just crop and get 85-90% of the image.

venchka
3-Apr-2009, 05:29
Or trade the lens for one that works.

Drew Bedo
3-Apr-2009, 06:01
The correct answer is "No". Can you make it work?...Yes. As noted by Frank P, Close-up/macro will cover the format w/o movement. When shooting at less than macro, use compositions with a strong central subject. You CAN create effective images with this lens in 8x10...when you get tired of the limitations, follow Venchka's advice and get a lens that WILL cover. In the meantime, shoot what you can, and let your creative Genie out.

Mike Herring
3-Apr-2009, 06:08
Get yourself a 240mm version of the same lens or a Rodenstock Sironar-N MC or Nikkor-W. This would be an excellent moderate wide-angle for 8x10.
Take care,
Mike

The correct answer is "No". Can you make it work?...Yes. As noted by Frank P, Close-up/macro will cover the format w/o movement. When shooting at less than macro, use compositions with a strong central subject. You CAN create effective images with this lens in 8x10...when you get tired of the limitations, follow Venchka's advice and get a lens that WILL cover. In the meantime, shoot what you can, and let your creative Genie out.

Archphoto
3-Apr-2009, 06:23
Now you are starting about a new lens/alternatives:
I have a Sironar-W MC 210mm and it works good on 8x10 with room for movement.

Peter

NonFiction
3-Apr-2009, 22:14
Thanks for the replies. That's pretty much exactly what I expected to hear, making it both a disappointment and a relief.

Love this place.

ic-racer
4-Apr-2009, 08:06
I would not discount the lens unless you or someone has tested it. I do all my 8x10 work with a 210mm Symmar-S and it is sharp right to the edge without vignetting. The MFG specs for that lens show an image circle of 294mm.

Gene McCluney
4-Apr-2009, 09:56
I think the Caltar II N lens is a Rodenstock Sironar N, which has a smaller circle of coverage than a Symmar-S, or a Sironar-W.

Oren Grad
4-Apr-2009, 10:19
I think the Caltar II N lens is a Rodenstock Sironar N, which has a smaller circle of coverage than a Symmar-S, or a Sironar-W.

That's not quite correct. The 210 Symmar-S is specified to cover 70 degrees at f/22, the (Apo-)Sironar-N 72 degrees, the Apo-Sironar-S 75 degrees, and the Apo-Sironar (-W) 80 degrees. Of course, the specifications may not be equally conservative, and the lenses may behave differently at smaller apertures.

John O'Connell
4-Apr-2009, 10:51
The 210mm Caltar II-N covers 8x10. I know because I used one on 8x10 for about a year. It hits the corners at infinity, and gives you less than 1/2 an inch of shift at architectural distances. I really liked it close up, and haven't found anything of comparable price that works as well for macro work.

I sold it because I wanted . . . something else, but I forget what now. Other than the tight image circle, there's nothing bad about that lens on 8x10.

NonFiction
5-Apr-2009, 14:21
Curiouser and curiouser. Not least because I imagine the 8x10 purchase being what kicks a still-life project I have in mind into gear. Hmmm.