Rodenstock Grondagon-N 115 f/6,8

[Stefano Gatti]

Hello.

I have the opportunity to buy a Rodenstock Grondagon-N 115mm f/6,8 in perfect sh ape. It is not the latest type, I think it is a ten years old lens, but it has a Copal black shutter. I need advices on its optical quality. I am concerned abou t the weight of this lens: I am going to use it with my Toyo A45. Also, anybody can tell me what would be a fair market price for this lens? Thanks a lot, Stefa no

[DJACKSON]

I kept mine for about 5 years and sold it for about what I paid for it, within a week of placing it on consignment. I preserved its value by keeping it wrapped whenever I placed in the bag. The cost of a new lens had almost doubled in price in those 5 years. It takes quite an investment to get all the appropriate 82 mm filters: polarizer, graduated center filter, yellow, green, warming filters, etc. You might want to consider the 110 XL -- it is more compact, weighs less, and takes 67 mm extra-wide filters. Although the 115 N can cover 5 x 7, drop off on 4 x 5 was marked with lens shifting exceeding 20 mm and aperture open wide at 6.8. Did not occur when lens closed to f32 or f22, and perhaps f16 as well. 115 lens required change to bag bellows on my camera. Lens is quite large -- fills up pouch in camera bag and weighs close to 50% of my tripod's weight. The N lens series reportedly is inferior to the Rodenstock S series for 16 x 20 enlargements, but I do not know what is the nearest equivalent Rodenstock S series lens. I almost never make enlargements greater than 11 x 14, so this is not of great concern. If you buy the 115 N, I expect that you will be very happy. It is moderately wide angle and provides a near normal perspective; closed down to f22 or f32 it offers substantially more depth of field than a 135 or 150 lens. I suspect, howver, that the Rodenstock Sironar S 135 and 150 lenses are sharper, simply based on their reputation. Do not use non-brass cheap filters-- they will lock up or damage the threads too readily. The rear element of the 115 is quite large. You should check to make sure that it will fit within your bellows witho

[Gudmundur Ingolfsson]

The Rodenstock Grandagon-N 115mm is a great lent that covers 8x10" at a close range like for interieor architecture. The optical quality equals that of a Super Symar XL 150. If you are photographing landschape on 4x5" only it might be somewhat of an overkill and it might a bit too havy.