Can I get some feedback on choices for a used lense. I am wanting a wide angle somewhere in the 150-180mm range. Need enough coverage for 8 x 10. For color landscape and architecture. Price range $ 300-800
Can I get some feedback on choices for a used lense. I am wanting a wide angle somewhere in the 150-180mm range. Need enough coverage for 8 x 10. For color landscape and architecture. Price range $ 300-800
Randy, there have been a couple of post on this recently
A few options - 159 Wollensak f12 (or 9.5) - later coated models are fine for colour (never tried an uncoated for colour) allows you some movement
6 1/4" (159mm?) WA Dagor f9
A not pristine 165 Super Angulon f8 - gobs of movement - big and heavy - right at the top end of you price range - even then it will probably have to be a bit battered... (as mine is)
You'd be amazed how small the demand is for pictures of trees... - Fred Astaire to Audrey Hepburn
www.photo-muse.blogspot.com blog
woops should be - 6 1/2" WA dagor and Wollensak 159mm f12.5
Here's a few other posts - also do a search for some of the lenses I mentioned (I'm sure others will come up with a few more)
http://largeformatphotography.info/lfforum/topic/498851.html
http://largeformatphotography.info/lfforum/topic/497044.html
http://largeformatphotography.info/lfforum/topic/227614.html
http://largeformatphotography.info/lfforum/topic/214304.html
http://largeformatphotography.info/lfforum/topic/492920.html
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/lfforum/topic/304382.html
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/lfforum/topic/491916.html
There is also the 190mm Wide Field Ektar - I had one for a short while but hated it - barely covered and found it softish
There is also the legendary 190mm Carl Zeiss Dagor f8 or 9? If you find one of those in a shutter, you've hit the jackpot!
You'd be amazed how small the demand is for pictures of trees... - Fred Astaire to Audrey Hepburn
www.photo-muse.blogspot.com blog
Another option is to save up and buy a 150mm Schneider Super Symmar XL. It's still a good sized lens (95mm filters), but has the advantage of modern glass in a sharp aspheric design and a modern shutter. Plus, the f/5.6 aperture gives a wonderfully bright image on the GG. Ummmm, yummy. ;-)
Hey - that puppy weighs almost as much as my camera! (actually it's rather lighter than my Super Angulon). How's the falloff on it?
If you are going to save up there are also other newer bigger more expensive options (some still made, others not) A (decent) Super Angulon 165mm f8, Nikkor 150mm SW f8, Grandagon 155mm f6.8
You'd be amazed how small the demand is for pictures of trees... - Fred Astaire to Audrey Hepburn
www.photo-muse.blogspot.com blog
Tim - I haven't felt the need for a center filter with the 150mm SS XL shooting B&W, but I might if I shot color chromes. But, I typically don't use excessive movements, so a good portion of the fall-off may be falling outside the image area.
Here's a scan of a straight 8x10 contact print:
<small>Fog off the coast at Patrick's Point, North Coast, California - HP5+, 150mm Super Symmar</small>
I'd hope and wait for a new Cooke wide angle anastigmat series VIIc 158mm, why carry such a chunk if you'd be served by something maginally heavier than the #1 shutter alone
Cheap, light and very little movements: Angulon 165mm/f:6.8 - not "Super".
Ralph's suggestion is a good one I think. I picked a mint used 150mm SS XL for a kilobuck, just slightly out of Randy's specified range. The lens came just a few days ago, so I haven't had a chance to shoot with it yet. I'll post how it works on color when it stops raining long enough to give it a whirl. It is heavy, but at 760 grams, not exceedingly so for a wide angle 8x10 lens with movements.
The 95mm filters are a pain, and the center filter costs almost as much as I paid for the lens - should you decide to buy one (I won't unless absolutely necessary). The lens caps are also essentially useless becuase of the size and the proximity of the glass to the edge of the cell barrels, and I'd really hesitate to carry this lens in a pack with the OEM caps. New ones are on the way from S. K. Grimes.
Steve
I'm pretty fond of the 159mm f9.5 Wollensak, a nice lens and certainly within your price range. While it dosen't offer a lot of movement, it is very small and lightwieght especially when compared to a 165mm Super Angulon. Cheers!
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
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