last 90mm question ever (promise)

[hnaa]

OK,
so, I got a very good deal on an Ebony RSW45, and now I need to get a 90mm lens for it. This questions is not about sharpnes, performance etc, as all my previous questions, as well as numerous other posts, has convinced me that most every more or less modern 90mm lens will be great at f22.
This is more a question about size/weight with these lenses on my particular camera. I am finding it difficult to find info on the size of the rear elements of these lenses. I am leaning towards the Rodenstock 90mm 6.8, that seems to have a great reputation, and is relatively small. I have been considering the Fuji 90mm 5.6 as well, as it can be found at quite reasonable prices (and I like the look of Fuji lenses on medium format rangefinders). Also, it is just a bit brighter for focusing. But that thing has a filter size of 82mm, and is quite heavy. I can't find any info on the size of the rear element, though. Any lightweight-Ebony users out there using large/heavy lenses?

[Gem Singer]

Faster 90s' are going to be larger, heavier weight , and take bigger screw-in filters.

For it's size,weight, and brightness, the Rodenstock f6.8 Grandagon N is hard to beat.

If you want to save money, look for the Caltar version of that lens.

www.keh.com is a good place to find a wide selection of previously owned lenses.

If you prefer Fuji lenses, KEH is presently listing a f8 Fujinon 90SW at a very reasonable price.

They ship internationally.

[ic-racer]

The Horseman FA is probably more limited by rear element size then your camera, thus, we are keenly aware of these things :)

I'll share the Horseman info which you can also use. If you check out the right-most column it gives the rear lens diameter, even for the lenses that are too big to fit the Horseman.
http://www.komamura.co.jp/e/lens_list.html

[Drew Wiley]

I use a Nikon SW 90/4.5 with its 82mm center filter on my 4X5 Ebony sometimes. No
problem, but I like to employ the rear base tilt to bring the back closer to the lens for focus because this allow more of the focus gear rack to be engaged and makes the
arrangement a lot more stable. This is a big lens, but has more coverage and brightness than most 90's. For backpacking I use something smaller.

[hnaa]

Thanks for that guys, and thank you Ic-racer for that list, very helpful. Now that the camera arrived I see that the opening is actually around 83-84mm, so I guess most lenses will fit. It is just a matter of weight then. With the rather light frame, I am not sure if one of the big 90mm lenses will imbalance the whole arrangement.

[Armin Seeholzer]

I'm quite sure an Ebony will hold any 90mm lens!

Cheers Armin

[Doremus Scudder]

90mm f/8 lenses Like the Nikkor and Fuji SW and the Schneider SA will be the smallest. They take 67mm filters and are much lighter than the f/5.6 or 4.5 versions. The trade off is a smaller image circle and slightly darker image for focusing. No difference in image quality.

If weight and portability are more important than image brightness and coverage, go with one of the f/8 versions. If you need the coverage and don't mind carrying the extra weight, get the largest fastest lens your camera can accommodate, which from the above seems to be any of them.

Best,

Doremus Scudder

[Two23]

I use a Schneider SA 90mm f5.6 on my Shen Hao 4x5 and it is a handfull. It too takes 82mm filters. If I were more into backpacking I would likely go for the f6.8 lens mentioned above. I have a Rodenstock 300mm f9 and it is very small and light, and has good performance. If you mostly shoot in daytime rather than at night these slower but smaller lenses might be a good choice for you.


Kent in SD

[Joseph O'Neil]

If you are backpacking for any real length of time (say 2-3 hours), get yourself a good F8 or F9 lens. They are much darker and harder to focus (carry a good cloth with you to cover over the ground glass) than any F5.6 ot 6.8 lens, but when walking long distances, every ounce counts.

If you tend to drive and not walk too far (say 10-20 minutes), then go with a larger lens, as they are easier to work/focus with.

One last thought - F8 and F9 lenses usualy, but not always, are generally less expensive to buy, especially used. They may influence your choice. One reason I got into G-clarons years ago, I could not believe how cheap they used to go for such a sharp lens because they were "only an F9 lens". Now try finding one cheap.
:)

joe

[Dominique Cesari]

According to the brochures (http://www.thalmann.com/largeformat/brochure.htm) that Kerry Thalmann kindly offers on his site, the rear diameter of the Fujinon 90 mm SWD f 5,6 is 80 mm.

[engl]

90mm f/8 lenses Like the Nikkor and Fuji SW and the Schneider SA will be the smallest. They take 67mm filters and are much lighter than the f/5.6 or 4.5 versions. The trade off is a smaller image circle and slightly darker image for focusing. No difference in image quality.

If weight and portability are more important than image brightness and coverage, go with one of the f/8 versions. If you need the coverage and don't mind carrying the extra weight, get the largest fastest lens your camera can accommodate, which from the above seems to be any of them.

Best,

Doremus Scudder

Just a note about the Nikon SW 90mm F8. This lens is quite unique, having as big image circle as the F4.5, F5.6 and F6.8 90mm lenses from other makers (except the Schneider XL which is not Biogon based). At 360g it is also the lightest of the modern 90mm wides, takes 67mm filters, and in the Thalmann/Perez lens testings it is one of the sharpest lenses they ever tested.

[rfesk]

The Nikon SW 90mm F/8 uses 8 elements compared to 6 elements that the other F8 lenses use. That may account for the image circle that matches the F4.5 and F5.6 90mm lenses which also use 8 elements.

[Gem Singer]

The Nikon/Nikkor f4.5 90SW uses 7 elements, one less than the f8 90SW.

I wonder if the number of lens elements has more of an affect on the size of the image circle or more of an affect on the speed of the lens?

[Michael E]

I wonder if the number of lens elements has more of an affect on the size of the image circle or more of an affect on the speed of the lens?

My guess is: It mostly influences the correction of optical defects like aberrations - caused by the quest for coverage and speed.

95% of my LF photos are taken with 120mm @ 4x5". I recently "downgraded" from a 121mm f8 Super Angulon to a 120mm f6.8 Angulon. The 121mm is a great lens, I loved it. But it was pretty bulky and I had to take it off and store it seperately. The 120mm is tiny, I can simply collaps my Tachihara with the lens attached. It still covers 5x7", but barely. The 121mm was good for 5x7" with movements...

[hnaa]

Thanks for the input,
I think, considering size, performance, weight a.s.o., I'll go for a Rodenstock 90/6.8. BTW the "green line" thing with Rodenstock lenses, is that just marketing, or is it significant in any other way?

[Bob Salomon]

Thanks for the input,
I think, considering size, performance, weight a.s.o., I'll go for a Rodenstock 90/6.8. BTW the "green line" thing with Rodenstock lenses, is that just marketing, or is it significant in any other way?

When Rodenstock introduced the Apo Sironar S series they were making:
Apo Sironar N
Apo Sironar S
Apo Sironar W
Apo Ronar
Makro Sironar
Grandagon N and Apo Grandagon lenses.

To help shooters identify which lenses they had on the shelf they color coded them so it actually results in less handling of lenses to find the one you need in a large lens collection. It also made it much easier to discren specs and coverages in the Rodenstock lens charts and coverage charts.

Today the Apo Sironar N, Apo Ronar and Apo Sironar W are no longer in production but HR Digaron-S, HR Digaron W, Apo Macro Sironar Digital lenses have been added so it still makes it easier to see what series a lens is.

As for marketing, what would be the purpose? We market the lenses by what they are. Not what color their stripe is. For the user it does tell you very quickly if you have a newer or older version of the lenses that were available before the color coding began.