Preferences for 150-165mm lenses in 8x10?

[Vaughn]

Did you use a colour filter to increase sharpness? I must test mine to prepare for use. I have an uncoated one in the drawer with really low contrast, and I suspect it need a yellow filter to sharpen the corners.

No, I have not tried that...but I will keep it in mind, thanks. I have used the lens on my 5x7 and it seems to behave itself nicely there. However my 'test' of the lens on 5x7 also had a camera light leak, so while the coverage and sharpness was good, I am not sure of the lens' tonal capabilities. I'd like to get a FujiW 150mm with inside writing for the 5x7 some day for general use...no rush as my FujiW 180mm is serving me fine. The 180mm has the inside writing and is rumoured to cover 8x10 (barely, with an IC of 305mm) at infinity, but I have not tried it.

[Ari]

150XL is hard to beat, but the price...
Glad I got mine when prices were saner.
There is fall-off in the corners, as Bernice says, but it's easily corrected with a Schneider Digital Center Filter, which was a free plug-in.

[interneg]

I recall that the 165 Angulon was supposed to be an 18x24cm lens at most & have heard so many conflicting accounts about its actual 8x10 coverage that I decided to omit even asking about it.

While the 150mm SSXL may be the 'best' of the lenses, I'm really not keen on the current prices - especially if adding the centre filter to it. I suspect that looking for a later 165/8 Super Angulon + its centre filter (if necessary) may be the best balance between availability and cost - does this seem like a reasonable plan of attack, or are the earlier (cheaper) chrome barreled ones with the integrated Compur Shutter not too bad to service / replace the shutter on?

[Oslolens]

I'd like to get a FujiW 150mm with inside writing for the 5x7 some day for general use...no rush as my FujiW 180mm is serving me fine. The 180mm has the inside writing and is rumoured to cover 8x10 (barely, with an IC of 305mm) at infinity, but I have not tried it.

I had two of those 180mm, I lended one of them to do a art-repro slide, but they are not for 8x10" with an inch or so not sharp.
Regarding the 159mm, I have one uncoated and a coated. I think in order to get sharp pictures is understanding where to focus due to curvature of focus combined a small enough aperture combined with a yellow or orange filter.

[Carsten Wolff]

Scale-up and sample variation notwithstanding, I'd dare say a coated 158mm Cooke VIIb would be a nice choice as well. I used to have its smaller brother (108mm) and used that on 5x7" and 6x17cm a fair bit in colour. Not that often found in decent shutters, mind you, but which vintage lens is these days .

PS: I had a Wide Angle Dagor in ~4 3/8" as well, and the colour-rendering of that lens was definitely a bit too "vintage" to my taste (yellowish colour cast, and low colour contrast). Sold it for that reason. No idea how its bigger sibling would be, but the Cooke was definitely more usable for colour work.

[Mark Sampson]

In my industrial-shooter days we had a 1960s version of the 165/8 Super-Angulon. No complaints about sharpness, coverage, or color rendition. A fine lens but huge and heavy. But then we rarely used it, and the size & weight were not a concern in our work.

[Bernice Loui]

Going the 165mm f8 Super Angulon route, highly recommend procuring one of the later versions with the 90's Schneider lettering, black Copal shutter. The later ones have more modern coatings, lower flare-better contrast. Copal shutters work, later versions of the Compur shutters work, Early compur shutters (the one with the over-sized dial to ease setting) can be a problem to service or wore out. Shop and wait for a good deal, nice ones do come up for under 1K_U$D.

Takes a 105mm front filter size, BIG lens.

Modern wide angle lenses in similar modern vintage shutters work, work good. The current one which is vintage 60's works good, no disappointment in any way with B&W film.


Bernice

I suspect that looking for a later 165/8 Super Angulon + its centre filter (if necessary) may be the best balance between availability and cost - does this seem like a reasonable plan of attack, or are the earlier (cheaper) chrome barreled ones with the integrated Compur Shutter not too bad to service / replace the shutter on?

[ic-racer]

I use a 125mm Fujinon SW mostly because I got it cheap. It is a 4x5 lens, but I use it on my 8x10 camera, the lens does not even fit on my 4x5. I have a bag bellows, but it is not needed as you can see. In terms of sharpness, this lens is fantastic. It is modern design with multi coating. I use it at f22 like I would on 4x5.
The literature on the Fuji lenses is a little ambiguous in terms of coverage. For the way I print (not showing the rebate) this lens covers my printed area. Show are two photocopies of 16x20 prints.

[MAubrey]

Good to know Bernice, in field I now use 5x7

I may or may not try on bigger format in studio

If I get bored during 6+more months of lockdown

Thank you

The Angulon 165's IC is 300mm at f/16. I have a late one in a Compur Electric #3. It makes a nice moderate wide on 5x7 with lots of room for movement, but it will cover 8x10 at f/22. There is no hard stop for the IC, it just gets progressively softer, which can be compensated with smaller f-numbers.

https://web.archive.org/web/20150911...6,8-165mm.html

[Bernice Loui]

Conflicting info.. Page from the Linhof book notes the 165mm Angulon's image circle being 275mm, f22 at infinity. Yes, the image circle grows by moving reproduction ration reduction.. but that is not always relevant.


Even with an image circle of 300mm at f22, to "just" cover 8x10 is 312mm. Stop down more to gain image circle, image resolution drops off. That is a fixed-given trade off.

Been down this road of vintage wide angle lenses with Protar, WA Dagor, Wide Field ektar, and... based on this experience the modern wide angle lenses of the "Biogon" _ish variety has better optical performance. Add the older shutter problem as another consideration to using these older wide angle lens designs brings up other considerations to lens choice question.

The 165mm Angulon in barrel is used on 5x7 as a medium wide for non-geometrically and non-optically performance demanding images. It is small, light weight with good enough optical performance. Images that require better optical performance, the 150mm Schneider SSXL is used or the 165mm Super Angulon. Both have better optical performance than the 165mm Angulon.

Regardless, light fall off remains a factor regardless of vintage or modern wide angle lens. How much light fall off is acceptable, that depends on the image maker and all that.

Older non-"Biogon" _ish wide angle lens designs simply do not have the optical performance of the more modern "Biogon" _ish wide angle lens designs. The older wide angle lens design offer much smaller physical size and lower weight trading off optical performance. Both older and modern wide angle lenses are absolutely capable of producing GOOD images. It is all back to what is acceptable and what is not acceptable for the
image maker and print goals.


Bernice

The Angulon 165's IC is 300mm at f/16. I have a late one in a Compur Electric #3. It makes a nice moderate wide on 5x7 with lots of room for movement, but it will cover 8x10 at f/22. There is no hard stop for the IC, it just gets progressively softer, which can be compensated with smaller f-numbers.

https://web.archive.org/web/20150911...6,8-165mm.html