Nikkor M 450 F9 - Question

[Drew Wiley]

Bob, you probably remember when our main LF store around here was Adolph Gasser in downtown SF. They had a couple of experienced pro equipment salesmen back then who claimed that they had never gotten a complaint on any Fuji LF lens, and rarely on the other brands either. That was around the time Schneider was re-tooling to catch up with the more modernized mfg of Rodenstock and the Japanese.

[Bob Salomon]

Bob, you probably remember when our main LF store around here was Adolph Gasser in downtown SF. They had a couple of experienced pro equipment salesmen back then who claimed that they had never gotten a complaint on any Fuji LF lens, and rarely on the other brands either. That was around the time Schneider was re-tooling to catch up with the more modernized mfg of Rodenstock and the Japanese.

Gene Lee!

Schneider was coming out of bankruptcy.

[Drew Wiley]

I always appreciate your memory, Bob.

[Michael Kadillak]

Back to the original post. I have the Fuji 450C and several of the Nikon 450 M's and have shot both on my 8x10 Intrepid Mark II with no problem. The camera handles the Nikon lens quite easily.

On contact prints the Nikon 450 M is slightly better on contrast than the Fuji and it covers better. I use it on my V11 and my Canham 8x20 all the time with tremendous / predictable results. I feel that the Fuji is a touch sharper but on a contact print you are really splitting hairs.

[Bob Salomon]

I always appreciate your memory, Bob.

His birthday was a few days ago.

[Bob Salomon]

Bob, you probably remember when our main LF store around here was Adolph Gasser in downtown SF. They had a couple of experienced pro equipment salesmen back then who claimed that they had never gotten a complaint on any Fuji LF lens, and rarely on the other brands either. That was around the time Schneider was re-tooling to catch up with the more modernized mfg of Rodenstock and the Japanese.

Cameraswest in Concord and Rancho Mirage are also very knowledgeable on large format. They have the same owner as the Leica Store SF. Whenever I was in the Concord or Rancho Mirage stores they had large format cameras and lenses in stock.

[John Kasaian]

Or, you learned that their technique was not consistent!

Lighting, atmospheric conditions, processing, eye strength, etc. also, were all the lenses new?

Quite probably the case. When focused and carefully printed, I haven't been able to discern a noteworthy difference between any of the modern lenses.

[Drew Wiley]

The Fuji C's are outstanding for their portability (Compact series) and correction in general usage out to infinity. I have both a 450 and 600. Huge image circles. But they aren't very good for extreme closeups. I use Fuji A lenses or G-Clarons for that kind of work, which are excellent at infinity too. But the extremely rare Fuji A in 600 focal length is about as portable as a derailed box car, and there is no 450 equivalent.