Yes, and since it's on a real Sinar board, instead of a copy, you could get a few bucks for the lensboard, so it's really a good deal. It has a black ring copal shutter, so it's not as old as a lens with a silver ring shutter, so the shutter is possibly reasonably accurate. Lots of cameras use Sinar boards, lots more use the Linhof 4x5-style boards.Originally Posted by TheHulk
https://www.flickr.com/photos/drew_saunders/
So far none of the lenses that you guys mentioned are worth it (I think) but I do appreciate the help.
1) The first one is way to much, guy wants $740...what would be a good offer?
2) The one for $245.00 has tiny specs of dust in it.
3) The one that comes with the 8 x 10 board has "very light marks in the coating from age and cleaning that do not affect image quality. The marks only appear under a really bright led light"
4) The one that's "brand new" for $500 has about 14 negative feedbacks all in the last six months...they all state the same thing, item never shipped so I'm 100% sure it's a scam.
If you guys find any other deals on this lens I'll greatly appreciate it. Thank you.
Let's start from scratch in the good way...
What kind of subjects are you planning to portray ?
Portraits ? groups, half body, head&shoulders ?
Landscape ? you like more a 28mm or a 35mm in SLR ?
Architecture ? want extreme movements ?
Studio vs Field ? Are you to travel or to hike, need going lightweight a lot ?
What film ? Want sunsts in Velvia, or you want BW for the moment ? Need multicoating ?
Budget ? if you are starting you have to acquire many things... (including film and processing gear)
Just right now wanting a lens to start with, to practice and to learn ?
For the moment let me answer for the last case:
1) Start with the normal focal for the format, 150mm if you are to shot some people, perhaps 135mm if not.
2) Start with a cheap&good lens, learn what do you want from a LF lens, later you would be able to puchase glass with some wisdom, anyway it looks pretty impossible to not make mistakes with glass.
This is my choice:
https://www.ebay.es/itm/Linhof-Schne...~0J:rk:12:pf:0
$103, but you can make an offer, so offer some $75 and see what counteroffer.
Features:
> This is an Schneider 150mm f/5.6 that was stamped/selected by luxurious Linhof Technika, so sure it is a good performer.
Please read this: https://kenrockwell.com/schneider/150.htm , read very well what explained about shutter testers, no mechanical shutter is really accurate.
https://kenrockwell.com/tech/exposure-large-format.htm
> If you unscrew (remove) the front cell then you also have an amazing portrait lens, 210mm f /12 . You would have 2 focals to learn.
> "Fully Tested and Works Properly. 6 Months Warranty included! Item pictured is the actual item for sale. "
> It has some schneideritis inside the barrel, but this is absolutely irrelevant.
Ansel Adams and Yousuf Karsh made most of their work with glasses that would not be better than this one.
It is single coated, so it can deliver slight flare when sun in the framing, not as contrasty than multicoated glasses, but this is not necessarily bad, at all .
Let's see if you are able to wear it, way before that you will be an experienced LF shooter.
With this lens you may craft 1m prints that are perfectly sharp and flawless even if inspected with the nose on it, doing at least what a top notch $40k MF digital back is able. You can sell it later for not much less, or to keep the shutter as an spare. In any case you may save more money in the next aquisition than what you spend now, savings from having a own criterion.
Beyond image quality, you will be able to learn about tilt/shift in the aesthetics.
A lot of Japanese Sellers have been selling Fuji lenses for good prices recently. I picked up a really nice Fuji 180mm not long ago for $160 including shipping. You can easily find 135, 150, 180 and 210 focal lengths. If you don't know what you want then go for a 150 or 180. Pretty close to a 50mm normal focal length on a 35mm camera or full frame digital. Don't worry about buying from Japan. A lot of us buy from there and have had great experiences.
Modern Fuji, Nikkor, Schneider and Rodenstock lenses are all sharp and contrasty and render pretty close to the same. Let price and condition be your guide to which to buy. Don't sweat it and just get a lens and start shooting. If you buy a lens and later you would rather have something a bit longer or shorter instead then you can always sell for close to what you paid. It's not like buying the latest digital camera where you lose your butt if you later sell it.
Good luck and welcome to large format!
Hi, for portraits I'd like to shoot head and shoulders or half body.
For landscapes I'm going to get a Nikkor SW 90mm f/8 lens in a year or so but I've heard that 210mm is a great all around focal length for general use (roughly 70mm on 35mm format).
I don't think I need any extreme movements yet. I'm going to be using the large format camera and glass in the field. I do travel a lot but I only plan on having two lenses.
The films I've been using with medium format are:
Portra 160 and 400
Velvia 100
Fuji 400H
For black and white so far I've only used HP5+ and TRIX but there are so many B&W films that I want to try them all.
I have a FUJI GSW690II (28mm) and FUJI GW690III (39mm) that I plan on using mostly and the 4 x 5 only on special occasions, I plan on taking maybe one or two photos a month with it so I will not be developing or scanning it myself, I'm going to be sending them to a lab.
I really like the 210mm focal length. I used to own a SIGMA DP3 Merrill with the 70mm lens and really liked it. I have a Nikon D700 and F100 and like using the 50mm lens with both but I prefer the 70mm length. I would really prefer to just get a good deal on the 210mm lens and be done with it.
Here you have a discusion about portrait lenses: https://www.largeformatphotography.i...rtrait-lenses/
While that article also throws some personal opinions it illustrates very well how refined are LF resources regarding portraiture glass. By 1890 plates had beyond 100MPix worth information and soon it was realized that this was too much for the wrinkles, in 1926 it was released the Universal Heliar, this is the 1902 model but with a ring to adjust spherical aberration by displacing the internal element outside the "right" place.
http://www.antiquecameras.net/heliarlenses.html
https://www.ebay.es/sch/i.html?_odkw...r+210&_sacat=0
This 1902 lens was advanced enough to not have a pentagon in the aperture, but a nice circle for the bokeh sake. Are today's lens designers ignoring that ?
It followed (for example) Rodenstock Imagon and Fuji SF (soft focus) series: We can think that a sharp image is rendered, but on it there is another image of adjustable blur. Beyond the amazing vault of portrait glass from the XIX...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodenstock_Imagon
https://www.ebay.es/sch/i.html?_odkw...magon&_sacat=0
Many general photography lenses are Plasmats or derivatives of it, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasmat_lens). The simetry (or quasi) allows for a very good correction in a large circle in such a fast lens for the format.
Plasmats are the design of choice, in general, for mid range focals. But the out of focus rendering of plasmats is a tad harsh. In that sense many prefer older good designs. To note a case, Yousuf Karsh, shot a lot (8x10) with a Commercial Ektar 14" https://www.ebay.es/sch/i.html?_odkw...14%22&_sacat=0
https://karsh.org/overview/#thumbnails
The 14" equivalent for 4x5" is 7" so 180mm. If wanting closer shots then a 210 or 240 is a choice, but IMHO better to start with 180 or 150, in LF you always can crop with no practical quality loss, while a too long lens will limit you in perspective terms if you have to shot from too far.
I've one... I purchased it very cheap with a crack in the rear element, it is in the periphery and nothing is noticed in the image. Many wide angular are Biogon derivatives. I've a 90 and a 65, but perhaps I'd advice to have a 75mm replacing both, as said in LF you always can crop for a composition, but if the lens does not take all you want to include then you can't do nothing, so IMHO better if we go a bit wider, it's more flexible.
Ok, but beware, LF is addictive
Please see this example, and notice movements, the focus plane...:
https://www.largeformatphotography.i...=1#post1204000
The nose tip is slightly OOF, but there is a tilt/shift, the plane of focus is inclinated, taking the shoulder and the face. You may notice that the image has a powerful 3D feel, a depth, from "plane of focus" management, this is LF.
Because 35mm and 4x5 are different aspect ratios it's a bit hard to compare lens equivalents without taking into account the aspect ratio of the final print. If you print your 35mm shots as 4x5 (or 8x10) aspect ratio there's a 4x multiplier so a 210 is closer to a 50mm on 35mm. If you want to check my math the 35mm film cropped to 4x5 aspect is 24x30mm, or 38mm on the diagonal. 4x5 film's image area is about 96x120mm or 154mm on the diagonal. 154/38 = 4.05. To get to a 70mm equivalent you are really looking at about 280mm. So consider 240mm or 300mm lenses. 300mm is too long for close up portraits on a lot of cameras and is hard to work with compared to shorter lenses. I'd still recommend the 210 as a great starter lens, but just don't want you to be surprised when it's not exactly what you expected.
If you plan to print your 4x5 negatives with a 3:2 aspect ratio your multiplier will be 3.4x and a 240mm would be almost dead on.
If you plan to travel with the 4x5 consider weight. As plasmats get above 150mm they start getting fairly heavy. Check out https://www.largeformatphotography.i...s/LF4x5in.html as a great comparison source. If you want lighter weight lenses I'm very happy with the Nikon M 200 f/8 and 300 f/9 lenses. Fuji makes a Fujinon A 240 f/9 that's also well regarded and light weight. I don't think any of these are cheap any more, but might be worth considering. A small budget lens is the Geronar. It's a simple formula and was the entry level lens in Rodenstock's line up. They are surprisingly sharp if you stop down to f/22. Wide open they will be a bit less clinical which might be nice for portrait (I've never tried).
If you value price over size pick up one of the numerous plasmats that have been discussed above. I've shot Nikon and Caltar II - (Rodenstock) 210's and I can't tell the difference on the film. The good news is there are so many out there a bargain should show up if you are patient.
Edit: 2 fuji's for sale over at photrio: https://www.photrio.com/forum/thread...-210mm.164683/
Last edited by Larry Gebhardt; 14-Jan-2019 at 13:54.
Can you guys and gals confirm that these two lenses:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sinar-Sinar...v/192755139551
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rodenstock-...5/113414605031
are indeed the same lens as this one:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/RODENSTOCK-...Y/332946293588
Thank you.
The second one is an older version of the other two.
Have you seen https://www.largeformatphotography.i...538-on-Copal-1
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