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View Full Version : Nikkor W 180mm f/5.6 vs Fujinon W 180mm f/5.6



John Rodriguez
30-Dec-2011, 12:36
I currently have a Fujinon 180mm f/5.6 that I'm happy with, but I have the opportunity to pick up a Nikkor version for cheap, which may allow me to sell the Fujinon 180 and another lens to get a 300mm.

Question - anyone have experience with the Nikkor 180mm f/5.6 - any issues? I'm guessing it'll be just fine, but I haven't seen much in the way of posts about them.

E. von Hoegh
30-Dec-2011, 12:43
The Nikkor lenses are just superb. Go for it.:)

Lachlan 717
30-Dec-2011, 12:47
What's lacking with the Fuji? If nothing, why not just buy a 300mm?

John Rodriguez
30-Dec-2011, 13:20
What's lacking with the Fuji? If nothing, why not just buy a 300mm?

I can sell the Fuji for considerably more than I can buy the Nikkor for.

David Karp
30-Dec-2011, 15:21
If that is so, then why not sell and make the profit? I have two 180 Fujinon lenses. A 180A f/9 and a single coated 180 W f/5.6. Both are very nice. My buddy has a Nikon 180. It too is very nice.

ic-racer
30-Dec-2011, 23:44
Which Fujinon 180?? If you have the 80 degree version you are talking about the difference between 305mm and 253mm image circle (8x10 vs 5x7).

John Rodriguez
31-Dec-2011, 06:52
David - that's the idea. Just making sure the Nikon doesn't have any known issues (for example, the 135mm is said to be soft).

IC-Racer - it's an NWS (62mm thread, outside lettering), so a 280mm image circle.

Gem Singer
31-Dec-2011, 07:08
John,

Are you sure that your 180 takes a 62mm screw-in filter?. (See www.willwilson.com/fujinon.html). The chart shown on Kerry T.'s website is from a 1981 Fuji catalog.

With the lettering on the outside of the barrel, and a 280mm IC, your lens is probably a newer EBC coated 180 NW and takes 67mm screw-in filters.

The approximate age of the lens can be estimated by the shutter speed ring on the Copal 1 shutter. Is it silver color or black?

If silver, is it thin, or thick?

("The Nikon 135 is said to be soft"? Mine was blazing sharp.)

John Rodriguez
31-Dec-2011, 08:54
Definitely has 62mm filter threads, is EBC coated and lives in a Copal C.

Thalmann's lens tests showed both of the samples he tested having lower end resolutions figures. My own copy wasn't soft per se, but wasn't as sharp as the Fujinon that replaced it.

Sal Santamaura
31-Dec-2011, 09:12
...the Nikon...135mm is said to be soft...


...Mine was blazing sharp...The 135mm Nikkor W performs quite respectably in the center and middle of a 4x5 frame. At the edges it's not up to the competition's standards. I have one, purchased new many years ago, and it matches the results from two other samples documented here:

http://www.hevanet.com/cperez/testing.html

My solution was to dedicate it to 6x7, where it shines, then obtain other 135mm lenses for 4x5.

None of this has any bearing on how a 180mm Nikkor W would compare to your particular 180mm Fujinon. I've not used either of them nor can I find any relevant test results. Besides, within a given lens design series, one focal length is usually optimum while others perform less well. Even if the 135mm Nikkor W was superb throughout its image circle, that would tell nothing about how a 180mm Nikkor performed.

Gem Singer
31-Dec-2011, 09:35
Hi Sal,

A lens is like a bottle of wine.

The quality and performance depends on it's age and how it has been preserved and handled.

I know that some do, but I don't concern myself with sharpness of the outer edge of the image circle. I merely use a lens that has a larger image circle and crop, if necessary.

A happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year to you and yours.

Sal Santamaura
31-Dec-2011, 10:08
...A lens...quality and performance depends on it's age and how it has been preserved and handled...Like every lens I own, my 135mm Nikkor W (purchased in the early 1990s) has been handled with kid gloves and optimally preserved. Its appearance and performance are indistinguishable from new. LF Nikkor lenses exhibited very consistent performance over the years, with high manufacturing standards almost from the start. Unlike some of its German competition, Nikon didn't need to change assembly methods to increase precision.


...I don't concern myself with sharpness of the outer edge of the image circle. I merely use a lens that has a larger image circle and crop, if necessary...The 135mm Nikkor W's 30-38 lp/mm edge resolution that Chris and Kerry documented was not at the edge of its image circle. Rather, those results (consistent with my sample) are at the edge, i.e. corners, of a 4x5 frame. In other words, without any movements at all. Performance, in my experience, is even worse at the edge of the image circle. To my standards, a lens that achieves such low resolution in the corners of a 4x5 sheet of film when not shifted or tilted is suitable only for contact printing. I don't contact print 4x5 very often.


...A happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year to you and yours.Thank you and the same to you!

roresteen
8-Nov-2012, 15:58
I know this thread is old,but here is a favorite of mine taken with the Nikor W 180. Seems pretty good to me.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/austingranger/7435572354/

I'm thinking of this for a general wide angle for my 5x7, and maybe someday the 90 or 120 for the "super wides".

redshift
10-Apr-2013, 11:33
I know this thread is old,but here is a favorite of mine taken with the Nikor W 180. Seems pretty good to me.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/austingranger/7435572354/

I'm thinking of this for a general wide angle for my 5x7, and maybe someday the 90 or 120 for the "super wides".

That is more than pretty good!

kevin