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View Full Version : 360mm f9 Nikkor process lens for 8x10?



John Burnley
2-May-2002, 08:38
Does anyone have experience using the 360mm f9 Nikkor process lens for their 8x1 0? Comments on the qualities of this lens would be greatly appreciated. How doe s it stack up compared to other modern optics? And what is the image circle? T hanks so much.

Per Volquartz
2-May-2002, 10:25
Unbelieably sharp. Large image circle.

Best at close distances but still very good at infinity, Especially if you make contact prints.

Drawback = a bit on the heavy side - and in need of a shutter...

Duane
2-May-2002, 13:07
I helped a friend adapt a shutter by making a threaded ring that attached the shutter to the front of the lens. It looked a bit hokey but it worked quite well. The aperture of the lens was still set on the lens itself rather than on the shutter.

We put some 8*10 chromes on the light table and they were stunning! One shot had an eagle in a tree about 500' away. Under the loupe I would say that the resolution & color were not much worse than an equivalent image shot with a 300 mm lens for 35 mm format. Resolution was quite even over the entire image.

I can't comment on the coverage, but from the images I couldn't see any vignetting.

Cheers,

Duane

Robert Johnson
3-May-2002, 08:40
I have been using Nikon Apo-Nikkor process lenses in all focal lengths from 150mm to 1870mm for years now. Remember that though they were discontinued in 1984, they were the top-of-the-line glass made at the time and cost in the thousands of dollars. They are probably the best bargains going in apo lenses today, if you can live with the fact that they are all in barrels and above 455mm are very hard to fit to shutters. In fact, fitting to shutters is NOT recommended, as that will knock off the fine edge of sharpness these lenses are famous for. Presumably if you are interested in them, you are interested in sharpness, and if you shoot a fine-grain slow film, you can use a spare darkslide or equivalent as the 'shutter' a la the 19th century. The results will astound you!

300mm and larger Apo-Nikkors will cover 8x10 with some room for movements.

Robert