Long Process Lenses for Landscape? 24" RDA? APO-Nikkor 610/9?

[fj55mike]

While slightly shorter than 600mm, the 21 1/4" (540mm) Kodak Copying Ektanon is exquisitely sharp and can be had for peanuts. 15-blade aperture for silky smooth bokeh as well.

[Drew Wiley]

The modern 4-element dialyte design like an Apo Nikkor is likely to give better overall performance than a tessar formula. Being symmetrical, it's superbly corrected all the way from 1:1 clear to infinity.

[CreationBear]

Ha, the Ektanon is precisely the lens I ended up with….I actually sent it to SK Grimes to get it mounted and threaded for modern 77mm filters and still came in for much less than what a 600mm RDA would have cost. (I did manage to pick up a 16.5” RDA in an aluminum frame along the way—since I shoot FP4 mostly under canopy I haven’t missed having a shutter at all.)

[CreationBear]

BTW, Drew, am I remembering correctly that you use a 300ish Zeiss tessar when oof areas are important to you? I wanted to pick up a Fuji 420mm at some point for the same reason, though after falling down the alt print rabbit hole, it’s not quite the pressing matter any more.

[Daniel Unkefer]

30 inch and 40 inch Rodenstock Apo Ronars by Nokton48, on Flickr

I like olde Apo Ronars, I have a set from 150mm F9 (A Gem! have three of them!) to the 1000mm F16 acquired recently from UK. 600 British Pounds, more than I have ever spent on a Dialyte, most likely from an olde Process Camera. Most Apo Ronars are not too expensive in barrel. I have a Zeiss 59cm Apo Planar that is pretty cool (and heavy!) I have used it for B&W 8x10 head shots, I once showed it to Ron Wisner, he said it's "worth every penny". He likes to talk about the mathematics of the lens design Drinking Beer and eating Gourmet Pizza in the basement of MPEX. And getting FIRST LOOK at the once-in-a-lifetime "Great B&J Warehouse Buyout".

[CreationBear]

Excellent, those are some impressive lenses, Daniel—for myself, I’ve decided that an extra 18” rail is about all I am willing/able to handle under field conditions….definitely could see how the wide open landscapes out West could call for a big hammer, though.

[Drew Wiley]

Hi, Creation Bear. Yes, I have a single coated 360/f9 Zeiss-made tessar which has lovely out of focus rendering, along with good 8X10 coverage, but still no shutter for it (it would easily fit in a Copal 3s), so I only intermittently use it via the lenscap method of long exposures. My most versatile lens of that focal length still remains the 360/10 Fuji A, so that's what I routinely carry for 8x10 applications, sometimes 4X5 too.

[CreationBear]

Excellent, thanks Drew—I will admit that I’m a bit of a lens snob when it comes to my MF kit, but still more “bang for your buck” when it comes to LF lenses. Definitely good to know options, though, should my aspirations/skills get to the point where I tackle those California School fine art silver gelatin prints.