Dan, thanks
Yes... "They are at least as good as their Apo-Ronar, Apo-Artar, or Apo-Nikkor counterparts and were sold on Western markets at a premium price" (https://www.arnecroell.com/czj.pdf)
I was looking in the wrong pdf for czj: https://www.arnecroell.com/eastern-block-new.pdf
How long are the bellows on your 4x5?
A 210 G Claron will do nicely on a 4x5 and cover 8x10 when stopped down
A 190mm Kodak Wide Field Ektar will also cover 4x5 and 8x10.
If you have accommodating 4x5 bellows, a 240 G Claron should be an excellent long 4x5 and semi wide 8x10
Just sayin'
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
I can use the 210 G with my 4x5 and bag bellows. Also on 8x10 with bag bellows. I can go to about 300 to 360mm on my 4x5 with standard bellows. Need to get an 8x10 with a regular bellows possibly to use the big lenses, like 450 and up, looking at extar 14 in and the Voigtlander 12 Heliar in as mentioned earlier. I like the 210 on my 4x5. Have not tried a 240 but would.
There are several lenses in the 240/250 range that nicely double as either longish normal on 4x5 or moderately wide for 8x10 with realistic wiggle room for movements. I happen to use both a 240 Fuji A and a 250 G Claron. Both are precise all the way from macro to infinity. Both are also quite small and lightwt, suited for portability. The Fuji is a bit contrastier due to its multi-coating, but both lens series share a similar optical design. The big brother 360 Fuji A is my favorite 14 inch lens, but it's rather rare and expensive now. Even it is small and portable for its focal length.
I think I saw at my local camera shop today a fuji 420 for around 899 I think. I might be wrong on focal length but it is a fuji or is that Fujinon? They also had a caltar. And another older one both were big as hell probably like a copal 5. The shutter was as big as my hand and then somebb
After a while you will buy more lenses than is reasonable.
Lenses are easy to buy and hard to sell for the same price.
I have read about the past when Pro Shooters could sample iterations of the same lens, select the best and return the lesser.
Which implies many famous lenses are not so good...
I cannot find my Burke & James Chicago Lens Rental pages from about 1967. Amazing variety. Very low prices.
I bet Dan Fromm has a copy.
Last edited by Tin Can; 5-Sep-2019 at 05:50. Reason: Spelling corrected Dan!
Tin Can
It's difficult to predict if a lens is "good" or "crappy" if we don't understand what you're trying to achieve. All of this is very subjective. I happen to think a Gundlach Hyperion is a good lens. Dan Fromm would tell you it's perfectly awful. We're both right. I make images with a single element of a Turner Reich that's nearly worthless that I think are spectacular. $money$ and hyperbole mean very little. No Kodak 12" lens is worth $1200. Not even a NOS Kodak Portrait lens in the Yellow box should fetch that number. Be careful. I sold a lovely Kodak Commercial Ektar 12" 6.3 in the big shutter for $365 and thought I did well. I never liked Ronar's much but I do like RD Artar's. So there you go. All subjective because Dan will tell you if you made identical negs with those two brands it would be literally impossible to determine which lens did what. Both are heavy enough to kill you if they hit you at a good velocity.
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