90mm for 4x5: Calumet, Fujinon, or...?

[DDrake]

Would like to get a 90mm lens for my 4x5. Only lens I currently have is a Fujinon 135mm f/5.6—I like the bright GG image with that aperture quite a bit. KEH has a 'ex' rated Calumet 90mm f/6.8 with all-black Copal shutter for $367, and there seem to be plenty of Japanese sellers on eBay offering Fujinon 90mm f/5.6 for about the same.

I assume any modern large format lens is good quality, and KEH has a three month warranty. Not sure how much difference I'd see in the brightness of the GG image, f/5.6 vs. f/6.8.

Any recommendations? Preferences for another 90mm lens in similar price range? I'm not in a big hurry to buy.

[Mark Sampson]

The Calumet is actually made by Rodenstock, an excellent lens. You're right, there are no bad lenses in this class. Generally, the 5.6 lenses are bigger, heavier, and more expensive. They also have larger image circles.
(credential time) I used several Schneider 90/8 SA's (older chrome ones) in the 1980s and finally settled on the Nikkor-SW 90/8. I never had trouble focusing any of them... but it's true, a good loupe and dark cloth will help viewing and focusing a lot.
The Calumet would be an excellent choice.

[neil poulsen]

$367 seems a little high for that lens. 90mm lenses in this class have come down in price in recent years. You might check EBay.

Although a little more expensive, I would recommend a 90mm Nikon SW f8. Their image circles are larger than a typical f8 lens, about the same as an f5.6 lens. They're also a nice, compact size, compared the the larger f5.6 lenses.

[Doremus Scudder]

... I would recommend a 90mm Nikon SW f8. Their image circles are larger than a typical f8 lens, about the same as an f5.6 lens. They're also a nice, compact size, compared the the larger f5.6 lenses.

I second the motion! The 90mm f/8 Nikkor SW is my go-to lens when doing architecture work anymore. I have a nice 90mm f/8 Schneider SA that sits on the shelf a lot now...

But let's back up a bit. The first thing you have to decide is if you want to go more lightweight and portable with your kit or not. If you hike, backpack, do a lot of fieldwork in rough terrain or have to carry your kit long distances (or on a bicycle, which I did/do a lot), then going for a more compact camera and lightweight lenses is the way to go. That was my choice years ago.

If, however, you'll be doing studio work, or working out of your car and want the full range of movements a camera can offer and lenses to take advantage of that, you'll likely want a full-featured monorail and the larger, faster lenses, which have more coverage.

(Of course, there are a numerous shades of gray between the two extremes.)

But, back to your choice: The larger f/5.6 (4.5 for Rodenstock) 90mm lenses are brighter and have more coverage. If you really can't live without either of those features, get one of those. The downside is that they are heavy and don't fit well on smaller cameras (e.g., folding field cameras) or on recessed lensboards, which many cameras need to fully utilize all the coverage one of these lenses has. Personally, they're way to big and bulky for me.

If you go the more compact route, you get an f/8 lens (f/6.8 for Rodenstock). The loss of a stop of viewing brightness doesn't bother me at all. In fact, with a Fresnel screen, I can often use f/8 lenses without a darkcloth. That said, some do have trouble with the dimmer image. You can easily approximate the brightness of an f/8 lens by simply stopping your 135mm lens down to f/8 and seeing what the image brightness on your camera and ground glass will be. If you think the brightness is adequate and want to go lightweight, then one of the smaller lenses may be good.

Let's talk coverage now: Generally, the f/8 (f/6.8) lenses have smaller image circles than their behemoth cousins in the f/5.6 range. That said, the coverage on my Schneider SA 90mm f/8 was adequate for 85-90% of the tasks I gave it, often using lots of front rise when photographing buildings in close quarters in European cities. Still, I ran out of coverage occasionally, which prompted me to acquire a Nikkor SW 90mm f/8, which is still small and compact (and fits nicely on recessed boards), but has significantly more coverage than the SA I was using. It's kind of the best of both worlds for me: small, lightweight but with lots of coverage and I can deal with the f/8 viewing brightness.

If you don't need the coverage and the f/8 maximum aperture of smaller lenses doesn't present a problem for you, then any of the lenses from the big four (Fujinon, Nikkor, Schneider, Rodenstock) will do just fine. If you need lightweight and extra coverage, then the Nikkor SW 90mm f/8 is the best choice. If you need even more coverage, you need one of the bigger f/5.6 - 6.8 lenses and you'll have to have a full-featured camera to take advantage of it's capabilities.

Note: Calumet lenses are rebadged Schneider or Rodenstock lenses. In this case, you can tell which from the maximum aperture.

Hope this helps,

Doremus

[rdeloe]

I have the Calumet Caltar-II N 90mm f/6.8. I like it a lot. I also have Fujinon lenses, and a Nikkor lens. They're all good. I'm not sure how much practical difference the 1/2 stop makes (f/8 versus f/6.8), but I often work in poor light so I'll take what I can get!

For your info OP, I paid USD $255 for my 90/6.8 in April of this year. I don't consider that a "steal", but I thought it was a fair price relative to the alternatives.

[DDrake]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I'll add the additional suggestions to my list, and try to find a better deal on the Calumet lens.

[Bob Salomon]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I'll add the additional suggestions to my list, and try to find a better deal on the Calumet lens.

Bear in mind, all of these lenses, as well as the 4.5 and 5.6 90mm lenses all have fall off which can be corrected with the proper center filter. Nikon never made center filters so if the fall off bothers you you should take this into consideration.
The 4.5 and 5.6 versions have much larger image circles so, while they are larger, faster, heavier and more expensive they will have the fall off start further out from the center then their slower cousins.

[Dan Fromm]

Bob, have you ever read my article on center filters? It is on the French LF site and a link to it is in the list.

Fuji also never made center filters for their LF wide angle lenses.

[Bob Salomon]

A

Bob, have you ever read my article on center filters? It is on the French LF site and a link to it is in the list.

Fuji also never made center filters for their LF wide angle lenses.

Fuji did offer some for their 617 but it did not have the flared rim like the German ones.

[Paul Ron]

ive got the fujinon swd 5.6 90mm and love love love it!

its very sharp, nice contrast and the coating is great. i shot into the sun with no flare. it also has great coverage for 4x5, plenty of swing n tilt freedom as well.

the only draw back on my wista because i have a smaller front standard hole , i have to install the rear cell everytime i put the lens on or off my camera.