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Thread: Which 210mm F5.6 for portraits?

  1. #1

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    Which 210mm F5.6 for portraits?

    Hi Folks,

    I've been trawling the Portrait threads and have noticed that in regards to more modern lenses, there seems to be a preference to 210mm F5.6 lenses for general portrait work on 4x5.

    As I'd like to upgrade from the Caltar II E 210 F6.8 that I own, I was wondering whether there were preferred lenses for portrait work in this length?

    I'm not looking at spending mega $$'s (preferably < $500 S/H), so is there anything that is recommended?

    Cheers

  2. #2

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    Re: Which 210mm F5.6 for portraits?

    The II E is a Geronar, does not ? this was a budget lens compared to the Sironar pro standard. Still the Geronar is a very good lens...

    A Sironar N MC would be perfect, also a Symmar-S or the Nikon W. Sironar N and Symmar S are more than perfect for portrature, pick a multicoated (MC) version if you want that.

    I don't find an "APO" version or top Sironar S may offer much more for portraiture than the non APO or the Sironar N MC.

    Anyway I don't think you will find a very noticeable difference for portraits, from IIE, beyond bokeh nature. I'd search image samples with the different lenses at flickr (etc) to see the Out Of Focus nature of Geronar vs other, I guess the OOF mood is more important than ultimate optical performance for portraits, as in portraits little is in the perfect plane of focus, and corners are usually irrelevant.


    .. then if you want lenses with more personality and (perhaps) less optical performance then there are a lot of classic choices...

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    Re: Which 210mm F5.6 for portraits?


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    Re: Which 210mm F5.6 for portraits?

    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew Plume View Post
    Andrew, this is a really good article, well worth to read it.

    A very interesting side by side is the APO Lanthar vs Sironar S. Anyway it can be pointed that in the post-process (or in the taking, front hud) a photographer can also control the result by substracting flare and adjusting contrast, toe, shoulder, etc. Of course an APO Lanthar is a very different animal than a Sironar S, but the (flare/contrast) difference can be zeroed or shortened by the photographer.

    Click image for larger version. 

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  5. #5

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    Re: Which 210mm F5.6 for portraits?

    Quote Originally Posted by Pere Casals View Post
    The II E is a Geronar, does not ? this was a budget lens compared to the Sironar pro standard. Still the Geronar is a very good lens...

    A Sironar N MC would be perfect, also a Symmar-S or the Nikon W. Sironar N and Symmar S are more than perfect for portrature, pick a multicoated (MC) version if you want that.

    I don't find an "APO" version or top Sironar S may offer much more for portraiture than the non APO or the Sironar N MC.

    Anyway I don't think you will find a very noticeable difference for portraits, from IIE, beyond bokeh nature. I'd search image samples with the different lenses at flickr (etc) to see the Out Of Focus nature of Geronar vs other, I guess the OOF mood is more important than ultimate optical performance for portraits, as in portraits little is in the perfect plane of focus, and corners are usually irrelevant.


    .. then if you want lenses with more personality and (perhaps) less optical performance then there are a lot of classic choices...
    TIL! (Today I learnt). I never knew the Caltar design, so thanks for filling me in.

    As for it being a capable lens, yes it is. I have been relatively happy with what I have done thus far, but I have hardly pushed the boundaries. A couple of quick samples:
    Dave by Ashley Hoff, on Flickr
    Sophie by Ashley Hoff, on Flickr

    As for your suggestions, they are designs that I have seen mentioned numerous times and were on my "I wonder if" list. I know that there are different manufacturers for each design. Is there a preference of one over the other?

    And using lenses with personality, well, yes, of course! Isn't that what we always strive for? I actually have a 150mm Cooke Triplet Barrel and a 150mm Tessar compur mounted, unfortunately without flash sync. I suppose what I want to do at the moment is learn how to shoot portraits with flash - I am having fun enough without having to worry about trickery to co-ordinate dimming the lights, tripping the shutter and firing a flash manually! Lets just say, I want to get more experience using modern lenses (relative speak) with modern shutters!

    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew Plume View Post
    Thanks for that! I forgot about the portrait lens article on here.

    BTW, I have to admit I've been having a lot of fun trawling through Flickr as well. If I have added anyone's images to one of my galleries over the last few days, I whole wholeheartedly thank you for continuing to have your images hosted there! Flickr is an awesome resource and I regularly use it for inspiration!

    Cheers

  6. #6

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    Re: Which 210mm F5.6 for portraits?

    Pere and Ashley

    many thx

    regards

    Andrew

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    Re: Which 210mm F5.6 for portraits?

    Just get one either a Symmar or a Sironar. You won’t be able to see much difference. Or better keep the Caltar and get an Imagon 250.
    Last edited by Luis-F-S; 7-May-2018 at 14:36.

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    Re: Which 210mm F5.6 for portraits?

    Quote Originally Posted by hoffy View Post
    I know that there are different manufacturers for each design. Is there a preference of one over the other?
    Well, sometimes there is a single manufacturer and different commercial channels. A lens manufactured by Schneider or can also be stamped with Technika (Linhof), a Rodenstock can have the SINAR lettering, or sold as Caltar.

    Lens manufacturing had a variability, not all samples are exactly equal, in theory Linhof (Technika) and SINAR performed an additional QC to ensure the lens fulfilled their standards, because that lenses stamped SINAR and Technika are a bit more priced, while Caltars perhaps are a bit cheaper, speaking in general. Probably in practice it would be difficult to notice a general performance difference.

  9. #9

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    Re: Which 210mm F5.6 for portraits?

    Quote Originally Posted by Pere Casals View Post
    The II E is a Geronar? this was a budget lens compared to the Sironar pro standard. Still the Geronar is a very good lens...
    I doubt you'd see any difference between your Caltar and a more expensive lens for portrait work. But since it appears you have the itch to get something else, do so and then let us know if you see any difference.

  10. #10
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    Re: Which 210mm F5.6 for portraits?

    Quote Originally Posted by hoffy View Post
    Hi Folks,

    I've been trawling the Portrait threads and have noticed that in regards to more modern lenses, there seems to be a preference to 210mm F5.6 lenses for general portrait work on 4x5.
    Hoffy,

    What specifically do you mean by "more modern"? Are you looking for a plasmat? There are any number of lenses in the 210mm neighborhood which would be wonderful for portraiture on 4x5, but they tend to be a bit older.

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