Lens Comparison: Veritar, Raptar + Fuji medium format

[Peter De Smidt]

I found a bunch of loaded film holders from over a decade ago. The film has some surface defects, and so I didn't want to use it for important pictures. I took the opportunity to compare some lenses that I haven't used much.


The above image was taken with a Fuji GX180 lens at f/3.2 with at GX680III camera.


The image just above was taken with a Fuji SF190mm lens wide open at f/8.


The image just above was taken with a Wollensak 240mm Raptar at f/4.


The image just above was taken with a 254mm Wollensak Veritar @f/6, i.e. wide open.

[Peter De Smidt]

Finally, this image is with a Wollensak 254mm Veritar @ f/8.

[Tin Can]

Ghostly!

[Jac@stafford.net]

Ghostly!

My imagination filled in the empty space. Horrors!
...how do we report such objectionable images?
Only in our imagination, I guess. Click this option [ ]

Peter, thanks for being a good sport.

[BrianShaw]

Interesting. Did the Fujinon SF have strainer in place or was it naked?

[Peter De Smidt]

Interesting. Did the Fujinon SF have strainer in place or was it naked?

Unlike the Fujion 250 SF lens, the 'sink strainer' aperture isn't removable with the medium format Fuji. So it was in place. You can see it in the glow of the farthest pumpkins.

[goamules]

Nice, I like them all!

[chassis]

Cool Peter. The differences are noticeable in the background pumpkins.

[Whir-Click]

Love those Wollensaks!

[Peter De Smidt]

I appreciate the comments! My personal favorites for this image are the SF Fujinon and the Veritar @f/8. What I don't like about dish-strainer lenses is the aperture shape in highlights. In this case it's not too bad. The Fuji is more contrasty than the Veritar, but the Veritar does have a very pleasing softness at f/8. The 240 Raptar and the Fuji 180 f/3.2 would be excellent for shallow depth photography, as their out-of-focus rendering is very smooth. I'll give both of them a try on some portraits. Unfortunately, the Raptar's cable release mechanism isn't working, and so I had to trip the shutter lever with my finger, obviously not ideal. Btw., focusing the soft focus lenses was _much_ easier under these conditions than doing portraits in the studio.