thoughts on a "super angulon 75/8"?

[Havoc]

I can get a "super angulon 75/8" for a reasonable price. But I can't find much about them as the 65 and 90 seem to be more popular. Would be to be used on 4x5 with minimal or no movements. The old Schneider page said they are meant for 9x12 but that they have about 20/17mm shift when used with 4x5. Would be fine for my use. Can they be used without a center filter? No idea what shutter it is in.

[Dan Fromm]

Havoc, the list has a link to my article on center filters. Read it. It also has links to Schneider catalogs. Hint: unless the price is very, very right I'd rather have a lens in a #0 than in a #00 shutter.

The CF rule of thumb for 4x5 is that lenses shorter than 90mm need one. But and however, tastes and subjects differ. A 75 mm lens centered on 4x5 will give corners 2 stops down from the center. With the right subject you might be able to live with this. Get the lens, use it and then you'll know whether you should get a CF.

A 50 mm lens on 2x3 is parallel to a 75 on 4x5. I have a 47 SA, shoot 2x3. Sometimes I like the results I get without a CF, some times I don't. I've broken down and bought one.

[Havoc]

I don't know about the shutter, that's a bit a guess. Looking at the price I'd say it will be a #00. Not ideal but if it is in good condition it isn't an issue either. But is that lens a reasonable performer? I read that the older SA's can be a bit all over the place. And as the 75 doesn't look to be popular I'm curious if that might be the problem.

As for filters, the SWD75 I use on the Wista gives me visible vignetting when I rack it up all the way. So more mechanical vignette than fall-off I'd say. But I haven't quantified it and it was on b&w so maybe I don't see it but it is there. Or I can live with it.

[Bernice Loui]

"Mechanical Vignette" or image cut-off caused by the camera & bellows, "when racked up all the way?" rather than the lens image circle?

Fujinon 75mm f5.6 SWD has a spec image circle of 200mm @ f22 allowing about plus or minus 47mm on 4x5 (image circle required of 153mm).
If the 75mm SWD is running out of image circle the solution could be to use a Schneider 72mm f5.6 Super Angulon XL which has an image circle of 229mm @f22 which will increase the usable rise about plus or minus 15mm or 76mm of rise-fall.

If this is a Wista field camera, it would be very questionable if a Wista field camera can achieve that amount (76mm) of rise-fall using the standard bellows and flat bed field camera as delivered. Possible the mechanical vignette is caused by the lens being so far into the field camera body with the flat bed in front cutting of part of the lens image circle?



Bernice

As for filters, the SWD75 I use on the Wista gives me visible vignetting when I rack it up all the way. So more mechanical vignette than fall-off I'd say. But I haven't quantified it and it was on b&w so maybe I don't see it but it is there. Or I can live with it.

[Dan Fromm]

Not to be a complete idiot or anything, but if you a have perfectly fine 75/5.6 SWD why would you want a 75/8 SA? Weight savings?

So you'll know, I still qualify as a complete idiot. I've had a perfectly fine 65/8 SW for a while, also a perfectly fine 65/8 Ilex for much longer. I can justify getting and keeping the SW 'cos its in a #0, not in a #00, and came as part of a bundle. I sold the rest of the bundle, the SW is a free lens. But, I recently recently went crazy and bought a 65/5.6 SA. Heavier, a stop faster, more coverage than I can use but the price was very right.

I don't believe that a modern 75/5.6 SA clone will suffer from mechanical vignetting even wide open when centered on 4x5. Cos^4 is a killer.

[Steve Goldstein]

Mind what others have said about the #00 shutter. Its repair possibilities are very, very limited.

The 75/8 SA takes 49mm filters so will more easily fit into a lightweight system based on smallish filters (I use 52mm). Schneider's CF II was intended for this lens (also the old 47/5.6 SA), and Heliopan made a similar CF that'll require a 49-52 step-up. Both are only 1.5 stops, so really not quite enough, but much better than nothing. Remember that the front thread of CFs can be much larger than the mount, this Heliopan is 77mm in front, the Schneider is 67mm.

I once compared my 75/8 SA with a more modern f/4.5 75 (a couple of them, actually, from different manufacturers). Yes, coverage was more limited and the image wasn't as sharp, but I'll accept that for the portability as I rarely print bigger than 11x14 anyway. And I do have an f/4.5 if I want to carry it along with some bigger filters.

[linhofbiker]

My copy of this lens was very sharp. I used it with my Linhof Technika V 6x9 which allowed quite extensive rise. It was in a modern (at the time) compur 0 shutter. Sold them both a long time ago. Now concentrating on 5x7 and 4x10 B/W. Schneider lenses varied in quality during the 1960's and on. Best to find a "Linhof selected" version if possible. Though some say this is no indication of quality, but I have always been satisfied by my "Technika" marked Schneider's, Super Angulon's and Symmar's.

[LabRat]

When I did interiors, even if a WA lens had a big IC, the fall-off and distortion started to look screwy if even moderate movements were applied, so try to shoot on-axis... Maybe a little front rise, but go real easy on it...

I had a 75mm SA at one time, but a problem came up when trying to use it on a press or technical camera, when in use, the FS would need to be between the front bed rails, and the rear body rail, so no place for the FS mount to sit... A 65mm would ride inside the camera rails, and a 90mm would ride the front... Using recessed or extended boards almost worked, but not for me... I ended up finding a new home for it because I had other lenses that were not too different in FOV on my monorail and folding cameras...

Steve K

[Daniel Unkefer]

Small Super Angulon Collection by Nokton48, on Flickr

I have a 75mm F8 chrome Super Angulon and I like it. Mine is in a special Sinar Norma barrel mount. I also have the correct center filter, mine is engraved "Center Filter for 75mm F8 Super Angulon".

Shown above with my other small Super Angulons (the 47mm F8, two 65mm F8's, and my 75mm F8).

These are good highly usuable lenses. Test first of course, if you can, before buying.

[diversey]

I had one. It is hard for me to use this lens on 4x5 Camera. You have to use small aperture f16-22 to cover 4x5. Center of image is sharp, but peripheral is fuzzy. Definitely this lens is not for 4x5. The image above is the best one I got from this lens.