Which of my 5 LF lenses are worth keeping or worth upgrading?

[Bob Salomon]

Bob,

Do you think I should upgrade any of my lens lineup?

90mm 4.5 Grandagon N would be superior to what you have now if you can stand the size and weight. Also, it is in a 1 shutter so won’t fit some recessed boards.

[manfrominternet]

Nice balanced set of lenses. There is NO reasons to change much if any. The only lens that might be worth considering to change is the 90mm f8 (think this would be a Rodenstock 90mm f6.8 Grandagon, not f8), to a Rodenstock 90mm f4.5 Grandagon. This is a physically BIGGER lens, larger image circle, slightly less geometric distortion.. But IMO, not a significant enough "upgrade".

No good reason to keep the 135mm Schneider Xenotar, it is a cult lens that just covers 4x5 (spec image circle at f22 of 150mm, 4x5 required image circle 152mm).
Info on Schneider Xenotar and others of that vintage:
https://www.pacificrimcamera.com/rl/00832/00832.pdf

"Upgrading" to APO will NOT make your images better. Better images will come from image making skills, understanding of lighting and shadows, exposure control, technique and all those FAR more important things that directly affect the images you're creating. Give up the belief lens is the primary factor that affects the images made, while the lens is one item, it is not THE item.


Bernice

Hi Bernice,

Thanks for your note! Yeah, I had a slight suspicion that my lens lineup isn’t really bad enough to warrant a significant change.

I did also want to ask how do I calculate the most optimal f-stop number for each lens?

[manfrominternet]

Also, can anyone tell me what the optimal f-stop range for each of my 5 lenses are, or how I can calculate it? While I want my images to be as sharp as possible from corner to corner, I want to also make sure I avoid diffraction and subsequent degradation of image quality.

So far, this is my estimate. Please let me know if and where I’m wrong. (I’m almost certainly wrong.) :/

-65mm Nikon Nikkor-SW f/4 ——— f/11-f/16 (the more I stop this lens down, the more pronounced the vignetting)
-90mm Sinar (Rodenstock) Sinaron W f/8 (Multicoated) ——— f/16-f/32
-150mm Schneider Symmar-S f/5.6 (Multicoated) ——— f/16-f/32
-210mm Schneider Symmar-S f/5.6 (Multicoated) ——— f/16-f/32
-360mm Rodenstock Sironar-N f/6.8 (Multicoated) ——— f/16-f/45

[Bob Salomon]

Also, can anyone tell me what the optimal f-stop range for each of my 5 lenses are, or how I can calculate it? While I want my images to be as sharp as possible from corner to corner, I want to also make sure I avoid diffraction and subsequent degradation of image quality.

So far, this is my estimate. Please let me know if and where I’m wrong. (I’m almost certainly wrong.) :/

-65mm Nikon Nikkor-SW f/4 ——— f/11-f/16 (the more I stop this lens down, the more pronounced the vignetting)
-90mm Sinar (Rodenstock) Sinaron W f/8 (Multicoated) ——— f/16-f/32
-150mm Schneider Symmar-S f/5.6 (Multicoated) ——— f/16-f/32
-210mm Schneider Symmar-S f/5.6 (Multicoated) ——— f/16-f/32
-360mm Rodenstock Sironar-N f/6.8 (Multicoated) ——— f/16-f/45

They are diffraction limited at f22.

[Bernice Loui]

This is a set of modern multi coated lenses. They would be optimized for about f22, ideally used between f11 to f45. f5.6 was done to aid focusing.

As for the smallish image circle of the 65mm f4 SW nikkor, the image circle would be much the same for other 65mm lenses of this type. To gain a larger image circle, moving to a slightly longer focal length makes a significant difference. The 65mm f4 has a spec image circle of 170mm at f16 which is very, very good. The 75mm f4.5 SW nikkor is spec'ed at 200mm at f16.
http://www.galerie-photo.com/manuels...%20cameras.pdf

The other way to gain a larger image circle would be the Schneider XL series of 110 degrees -vs- the typical and more common about 105 degrees LF wide angle lenses. Choice really depends in image making needs. Know larger image circle often produces more internal lighting flare due to light bouncing off the bellows on to the film. As with most things, it is a trade off.


Bernice

Hi Bernice,

Thanks for your note! Yeah, I had a slight suspicion that my lens lineup isn’t really bad enough to warrant a significant change.

I did also want to ask how do I calculate the most optimal f-stop number for each lens?

[manfrominternet]

It turns out that I have the 90mm Sinar (Rodenstock) Sinaron W f/6.8 (not an f/8, as I had originally written).

Any word on how good this lens is? Should I trade it in for a 90mm Rodenstock Grandagon-N f/4.5?

[aphcl84]

The Sinaron W is a Sinar branded Grandagon-N, unless you need the larger image circle of the 4.5 lens (236mm vs 221mm) I'd suggest you stick with the 6.8. The 4.5 lens is going to have a larger 82mm filter thread, almost twice the weight at 700g vs 460g, is in a larger #1 shutter and has no major differences in image quality other than image circle. The Rodenstock mtf and distortion data suggests that the 6.8 lens is ever so slightly sharper in the corners while the 4.5 has a little less distortion.

[Alan Klein]

Since you're shooting color chromes, how is the vignetting with the 90mm and 65mm without a center filter? Can you show us samples?

[manfrominternet]

Well, I just sold my enormous 360mm Rodenstock Sironar-N f/6.8 (Multicoated) lens on eBay just yesterday. It was a good performer, but just way too massive and heavy to carry.

That said, I wanted to ask you guys if you had any recommendations on what to replace it with. I'm looking for a good telephoto lens in the 300mm - 500mm range to round out my set.

Here's my current lineup:
-65mm Nikon Nikkor-SW f/4
-90mm Sinar (Rodenstock) Sinaron W f/6.8 (Multicoated)
-150mm Schneider Symmar-S f/5.6 (Multicoated)
-210mm Schneider Symmar-S f/5.6 (Multicoated)
-360mm Rodenstock Sironar-N f/6.8 (Multicoated) [Sold]

I wanted to also ask if you guys think I should replace any of the other 4 other lenses I currently have. I have a 6x17 Shen Hao medium format back that I like to use with my Linhof Technikardan 45, but the only lens that has enough coverage for it is my 150mm Schneider Symmar-S f/5.6. :/

[EdSawyer]

Nikkor-T 360mm , and maybe if you want it, the extra 500mm rear group (convertible) would be the best choice in that focal length range.