I happen to have a near mint Symmar 5.6/150, and I've been unable to find any specific info aboutwhether it covers 5x7 or not. Schneider mysteriously says the 135mm Symmar is for 4x5 and the 180mm Symmar is for 5x7, so the 150 seems to fall somewhere in between.
I've found comments by users that their APO-Symmar 150 just and so covers 5x7 with no movements, but no comments from users of the old Symmar like I have on 5x7.
Has anybody used an old Symmar 150 on 5x7?
I used one with a 8 series serial number on an Ikeda 5x7 and got vignetting. It was not rated as a 4X5 lens by Schneider, though the APO's were. Once I found a nice 150 g claron, I never looked back in that focal length on 5X7 and have never used my APO 150 on 5X7.
The 180 original Symmar covers 5X7 with a fair bit of room for movements (maybe 1 1/2" of rise) and it became my most used 5X7 lens.
And I'll add that I tried the 150 Symmar for the first time on a trip and from the gg glass it looked like it was covering. But the negatives told a different story.
My 150 Symmar sorts of squeaks in with soft corners and no movements. It would work for head-and-shoulders portraits.
If I remember rightly, my 150 Sironar-N has a more aggressive field stop and misses the corners.
A 180 Symmar definitely works (I've borrowed one before now). If you have to have a 150, it really needs to be an 80° plasmat (like the APO-Sironar-W) or a proper wide angle design.
When in doubt, go to the horse's mouth: https://www.schneideroptics.com/info...5,6-150mm.html
Cheers guys. Thanks for the link Dan, I got a dead link from my google search of the schneider site for some reason.
Schneider says the image circle at f16 is 210mm, which doesn't tell me how good the corners would be on 5x7, so I guess I'll just have to try it. If the corners are not to my liking, I guess a G-Claron 9/150 is on my shopping list. I do have a Rodenstock APO-Gerogon 9/50 but it's in an M39 barrel and won't go in a shutter like the G-Claron.
I'll definitely keep an eye out for a 180mm lens, my other lens in shutter for 5x7 is an Ilex Acuton 4.8/215 and I think I will prefer something wider for many shots.
Or maybe I need to finally track down an Ilex #4 to put one of my several Ross WA Xpres f4 5-inchers in, I have one that is supremely sharp even wide open and the low contrast it has isn't a problem for me really. 5 inch on 5x7 is the sort of really wide view I enjoy most in smaller formats, 21 and 24mm lenses are my most oft used on 35mm for instance.
I have an old brass 127 mm Series III Doppel Anastigmat (a Dagor before the name) which is tiny enough that you could front mount it forward of a conventional shutter. The 5" Ross will vignette unless you spring for a Copal 3 or a Sinar shutter. Better than both is a 121 Super Angulon. They sometimes go for prices which are thoroughly depressing for owners. Not very compact, but gobs of movement on 5x7 and excellent sharpness and colour. There may be Nikon or Fuji equivalents which fetch even less.
The 150mm Symmar covers only slightly better than an ancient 90mm Angulon: It will get you a picture if you have nothing else, but the corners range from soft to absent. With the right subject I woldn't hesitate to use either on 5x7", but I really try to remember to bring the 120mm Angulon - and the 165mm one too, for good measure. The G-claron is slightly better than the Symmar, but not by muc.
The 121mm Super Angulon can be used on 18x24cm film, slightly smaller than 8x10", if dead centered.
My experience is very different from yours, Ole. A chrome ringed 150 Symmar covers 4X5 with much more movement than a 90mm Angulon. Many of the Angulons are barely passable straight on, some of the later ones maybe have a little room to spare. The 150 g claron (I have two) covers 5X7 with lots of room to spare.
Thanks for the help guys, let's see if I understood.
So, a 121mm Super Angulon would be the one to go for if I can find one I can afford? With the G-Claron 9/150 as the budget option?
What other cheapo options are there? An old Dagor 6.8/120mm perhaps? I saw one in a Unicum shutter very cheap the other day but passed on it as the Unicum, while very pretty, is a bit old for regular use I think. Was I wrong?
Maybe I can front mount my APO-Gerogon 9/150 on the apertureless Copal #1 I have? Or is that likely to be a recipe for vignetting?
The Ross 4/5" has 58mm threads front and back, direct fit into a Ilex #4, that's the only shutter I've ever seen them mounted in. A Copal would be nice, but I doubt I'll ever find one cheap.
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