Macro lens for 11x14. Will the 300mm Rodenstock cover?

[Bob Salomon]

Good for you for going big! Would love to know how this works out.

In the meantime...a very teachable moment here for everyone - that in the spirit of efficiency and respect, when we pose questions such as these it would be really nice to give some idea, to the extent that we might envision this...of our goals for an actual end result. Just sayin'

One of our dealers equipped a super studio in his area with several LInhof 810 camera systems and factory matched Apo Ronar lenses for doing color catalog photography of mostly jewelry. The studio would set up several pages on a shooting table so the art directors could get multiplayer pages in one shot.
Problem was that while the center items were very sharp the ones further from the center were not as sharp. These were all shot in the 3:1 to 1:3 range.
They then switched to the 210 and 300mm Makro Sironars and all of the objects were then equally sharp.

[John Layton]

To the OP…with sincere apologies if I’m preaching to the choir:

Knowing that you would be truly exploring the limits of what is possible, you will need to absolutely verify the position of your actual film plane, and possibly make some adjustments to this - based on the environmental conditions present at the time of film capture, and the actual positioning of the film plane relative to the earth’s gravity…to further ensure that this verified and exact plane will be both useable and repeatable.

Thing is, if you truly want to squeeze every ounce of optical quality out of that lens, you will also need to establish what would be the “ideal” aperture value for that lens (you did mention that "sharpness is primary"), and while this might typically offer at least one f-stop’s worth of deviation from this value for most of us (which we appreciate to help ensure good focus)…your own requirements will likely mean that you’ll need to view this “ideal” value as absolute, lest the effects of diffraction (which can basically level the playing field of otherwise “decent to excellent” lenses), work against you.

I have had some experience here, both as a camera designer and as one who pulls 40x60 wet prints on a regular basis and who is mildly addicted (depending upon subject) to achieving results that are somewhat “crispy.”

Not suggesting impossibility here…but you will want to test your setup thoroughly - and at the very least you might want to consider (at least for a “down angled” camera position) the careful use of some double sided tape from the outset, thinking of how a film’s deviation from a true plane tends to be uneven.

[Oren Grad]

For the record, the coverage spec for the 300mm Macro-Sironar-N is 550mm at f/22 and 1:1. So enough for 11x14 with movements.

[John Layton]

I would think that if the OP were able to use this lens and get everything properly dialed in (and assuming great scanning)...the results could be spectacular!

[Torontoamateur]

For the record, the coverage spec for the 300mm Macro-Sironar-N is 550mm at f/22 and 1:1. So enough for 11x14 with movements.

Thank You very much for this information.

[xkaes]

At 1:1, even the "short" Fujinon A 180mm will have a 500mm image circle.

[Kiwi7475]

At such magnifications a LOT of lenses cover. Here's an example of a 11x14 at ~3.5x magnification taken with a Heidosmat 150mm @ F64 on Fuji HR-U 11x14 x-ray film rated at 80. I believe the exposure was ~3 min minutes due to reciprocity. Developed with Rodinal 1:100 for about 9.5 min at ~17C.

[xkaes]

That's one hunk o' glass!

[Torontoamateur]

I can cover with my Grandagon 150mm and my Schneider 210 XL but the 300mm Macro has the best correction for close up. When I am shooting with 11x14 Ektachrome 100 in Canada and the cost of each exposure is $90 CDN I want the best sharpness I can get. I will test of course because the final image is very expensive. Then add to that the cost of a scan to print 150PPI to 7 or 8 feet and then the actual printing. This takes the beginning to end production of the final image to over $1,000 CND The set up and all steps have to be ultra precise. Just assembling the team of professionals along this path is incredible and I am looking forward to many months spent in production. I will be testing with Adox B&W asa 100 until it is perfect. then switching to Ektachrome.

The 300mm Macro is on its way to me now. I spent three years finding one. These are rare indeed.

All of your advice and comments helped me to focus on the critical issues in this endeavour.

[xkaes]

I can cover with my Grandagon 150mm and my Schneider 210 XL but the 300mm Macro has the best correction for close up.

That's not surprising since the first two are not designed for close-up work.

Good luck with your endeavor, but I still think a shorter focal length macro lens would have done just as well -- and been much softer on the wallet!

I hope you let us know how it goes.