135 Lens for Shen Hao 4x5

[soboyle]

Looking to pick up a lens for a Shen Hao 4x5.
Since this is an experimental foray into LF, I want to pick up a good, but not overly expensive lens to try my hand at this format. I picked up a stock of polaroid film for the camera, so will experiment with that first. I do have an old schneider 90, but I am getting inconsistent results, and don't think it is worth the expense of a cla on that lens. Any suggestion on a good choice for a lens in the 120-150mm range?

[Cletus]

Where'd you ever get a "stock of Polaroid film"??? It isn't Type 55 is it? Either way - and I'm not much of a Polaroid guy, so I could be wrong - but Polaroid film has become a valuable commodity since the demise of the company and you might want to hang on to that. Heck, just buy some Arista EDU film from Freestyle if you wan to do some cheap trials and testing, I'd say.

Oh, as for the lens....Not too long ago, I got a Fujinon W 135/5.6 from Fleabay for, like $120. KEH.com should be able to come close to that price too and I don't think you'd have any regrets whatsoever with that lens. I also think that's a great choice for a first lens. Might be the only one you ever need. (Yeah right) :) still, a very good, versatile and relatively inexpensive focal length to start out with.

[Andrew]

if it's the polaroid's giving patchy results is that because the polaroid isn't behaving well?
by now, it's past it's use by and if it wasn't stored well it might have degraded

esp. if you're still experimenting I'd suggest getting any modern coated plasmat design in a functioning copal shutter....
the plasmats like sironar-n, nikkor-w, fujinon-w etc should all do a similar job and they'll be fairly cheap at that focal length
check out the filter sizes because that may be an issue if you're trying to fit in with other kit

the tessar types like the 135 schneider xenar only just cover the format so I'd stick to a plasmat design

and later you can read all the net-hype and get a 110 super symmar xl and probably be no happier with it
.

[soboyle]

I misspoke. It is Fuji Instant film. I managed to find the film holders for the instant film (which are damned hard to find) that is still available from Fuji, both B&W and color.

[David Schaller]

I'm out of town this weekend, but I have a bunch of 125-150mm lenses if you have a board or boards for your Shen Hao. I'd like to see that camera myself. Send me a pm, and we can arrange some time to get together if you'd like.
Best,
Dave (in Williamstown)

[RawheaD]

I'm suddenly seeing many LF shooters in MA these days :LOL: We should do a big meet up. Anyhoo, I have a Nikkor SW 135 in great shape that I can let go for a competive price (read: 5~10% off from Ebay "going" prices).