I need some advice on choosing my first two large format lenses.

[Tin Can]

Find KUMAR in FS

He is a very good seller, lives in JAPANV
I know he sells VGC

[Alan Klein]

Hi,

Thanks again everyone for the input. This is really helping me narrow down what I think I need to do. Ideally I would like to travel with at least two lenses. What Vaughan said about the Nikkor SW 120mm f8 is really interesting. It is a wide angle lens but it is not that expensive. That is really helpful.

The photographers I know keep telling me to read Ansel Adams or multiply my current lens by 6 (i.e. 50mm is 300mm) but the real issue I am having is about how to shop for a lens. Books just give me hypothetical data. A lens can't be just tried on. I have to buy something from ebay without seeing or using it. That is why I like this forum. People will come up with very specific and well grounded advice.

From what people on this forum have told me I think my best choices so far are as follows:

12" Kodak Commercial Ektar 12 in Lens (305mm) US $550.00
https://www.ebay.com/itm/11582243129...Bk9SR-Ss9dWmYw

Nikon Nikkor SW 120mm f/8 S Large Format Toyo Copal 0 At $459.99
https://www.ebay.com/itm/18623884790...Bk9SR87a_NimYw

I typed "360mm 8x10 lens" into ebay and got the following result:
Schneider Symmar-S 360mm f6.8 Sinar Select Multicoated Lens For 8x10 for $575.00
https://www.ebay.com/itm/15601366847...Bk9SR8TbuNWmYw

Fujinon W 250mm f/6.3 Large Format Lens copal for $199
https://www.ebay.com/itm/18625784761...3ABFBMipnQ2KZj

Let me know what you guys think. Do the prices look ok. I need to figure out if the wide angle will work with the Intrepid 8x10. Thanks for making specific suggestions about specific lenses.

360 and 250 are very close to your 305mm Why bother with them? effectively using 35mm camera, that's comparatively 60mm(360) , 40mm(240) compared to the 50mm(305). I like to get lenses that are roughly 1/2 or 2x from each other.

[paulbarden]

The Nikkor SW 120mm is really, really, really short, the equivalent of 18mm on full-frame 35mm. It barely covers 8x10 and you'll probably end up with the front bed of the Intrepid occupying most of the bottom of the image. The Nikkor SW 150mm is a more useful wide lens for 8x10 (with a FFE 23mm and quite a lot of coverage) but is 4 to 5 time the cost of the camera. Intrepid themselves specify the range of lenses to be 180mm to 480mm which excludes short lenses like the 150mm probably because the front bed will appear in the image.

IMHO if you're set on two lenses then get a single-coated writing-on-the-front Fujinon W 210mm f5.6 (32mm FFE and about 25mm of movement) ideally in the Copal shutter – it has slightly larger image circle than the Seiko shutter version – and a plasmat 300mm f5.6 of whatever brand you prefer.

That Fujinon W 250mm f6.3 lens on eBay with 312mm image circle (barely covers 8x10) is NOT the one you want, it's the older writing-on-the-front single-coated Fujinon W 250mm f6.7 with 398mm image circle you need. If you get a 250mm then consider a plasmat 360mm instead of a 300mm.

Note that wide angle is HARD on 8x10, short lenses that cover are expensive, big and heavy, and there aren't that many to choose from. The Nikkor SW 150mm, Schneider Super-Symmar Aspheric XL 150mm f5.6 and Super Angulon 165mm f8 are about the only modern-ish choices less than 210mm (somebody will recommend an Artar or Ektar or something else I'm sure) and NONE of those are cheap (most will be more significantly more expensive than the camera) which is why the writing-on-the-front single-coated Fujinon W 210mm f5.6 and 250mm f6.7 keep getting recommended for budget wide lenses for 8x10.

As usual, Vaughn has very good information to offer you, Andy. Heed his advice and you'll do well.

That said, a 360mm and a 250mm lens are so minimally different from a standard 300mm/12" as to be barely meaningful. If you think you want a "wide angle" option for broad/vista style landscapes, then 240mm or wider is more appropriate. When I first got my 8x10, it came with the f4.5 Kodak Ektar 12" (NOT the Commercial Ektar, which is f6.3), and so I got a Schneider Symmar-S 240mm for wider views, and I found it's additional angle of view to be a bare minimum. Eventually I added a third lens to the package - a 190mm Kodak Wide Field Ektar - and it was much more suitable for what I wanted. The 240mm Symmar-S rarely gets used these days, as it just sits in the middle space between normal and wide.

Speaking of the Wide Field Ektar..... at 190mm, it works well on the Intrepid without the front standard getting in the way, and without any issues with the standard not being able to move far enough back. It's true that the 190mm Wide Field doesn't allow you any movements (the image circle just covers 8x10), but that hasn't deterred me. I find that movements are rarely needed with such a wide view. And unlike many other wide angle lenses for 8x10, the Wide Field Ektar is positively tiny and lightweight. It is also a superb performer. The Wide Field Ektar can be had for under $500, but don't buy the cheapest one you can find! (If you're even considering it) I see there are some as low as $400 on the you-know-what site, but that one has badly scarred glass. Scrutinize carefully any listings for sale that you encounter.

[Andy F]

Yes. Good point.

[Robert Opheim]

Also it depend on what you what to taking images of. when I purchased my first 8x10, I purchased an old 12" Wollensak Velostigmat II lens - for portraits. Latter I purchased a 240mm Nikor W (as a moderate wide angle) for urban and landscape images, along with another 8x10 camera. As stated above a smaller lens is probably better for the camera that you are using. If you are considering the Intrepid camera be sure not to put too heavy a lens on it. I learned the hard way by putting the 12" Velostigmat in a #5 Betax shutter on a old tailboard camera and breaking the front standard of the camera. If you want to take images of architectural subjects you will want to have more lens coverage so you can use some camera movements. Typically I use front rise for taller buildings. But you may not need much camera movements - depending on what you want to make images of.

[Vaughan]

It's true that the 190mm Wide Field doesn't allow you any movements (the image circle just covers 8x10)...

The single-coated Fujinon W 180mm f5.6 lens also just covers 8x10 (the Copal shutter version seems to have ~5mm more circle than the Seiko shutter version). A little bit wider, a lot cheaper, easier to find, and a bit newer too.

[John Kasaian]

FWIW, I have a nice Wollensak yellow dot 159mm that rarely gets used. It takes fine images, I just don't find many 8x10 shots requiring such a wide angle, so a 250mm WF Ektar or 240mm G Claron see most of my WA shots and the Wollensak spends most of it's time on the 5x7.
To my eyes (which are old and tired) wide lens lend themselves to close ups and more intimate landscapes. Longer lens are more useful for capturing sweeping landscapes, the Grand View.
Just sayin'

[xkaes]

The single-coated Fujinon W 180mm f5.6 lens also just covers 8x10 (the Copal shutter version seems to have 5mm more circle than the Seiko shutter version). A little bit wider, a lot cheaper, easier to find, and a bit newer too.

Where did you get information about the Fujinon W 180mm f5.6 being produced with a Seiko shutter? The later NW 180mm f5.6 did have a smaller IC, but I can't find anything about Seiko shutters for these lenses.

[Vaughan]

Where did you get information about the Fujinon W 180mm f5.6 being produced with a Seiko shutter? The later NW 180mm f5.6 did have a smaller IC, but I can't find anything about Seiko shutters for these lenses.

This is for the writing-on-the-front single-coated lenses. The later writing-on-the-barrel multi-coated lenses are all in Copal shutters.

I have two writing-on-the-front single-coated 180mm lenses, one in a Seiko shutter and another in a Copal shutter. Testing has shown the image circle for the Copal shutter version is about 7mm larger than the Seiko shutter: significant when using it on 8x10.

It appears that all writing-on-the-front single-coated lenses 150mm or shorter are in Seiko 0 shutters (even the wide angles, which makes them impossible to fit into recessed Technika boards). Lenses 180mm and longer marked "W S" are usually in Seiko shutters while those marked "W" are usually in Copal shutters, but Fujinon's naming is not consistent. The later writing-on-the-barrel multi-coated lenses are all in Copal shutters.

Note that newer multi-coated plasmat lenses less than 300mm have image circles smaller than the older single-coated lenses, which is why the single-coated 180mm, 210mm and 250mm lenses are sought after for 8x10, and the 135mm and 150mm lenses are better for 5x7. The plasmat 300mm and 360mm specs for image circle are the same for both, I have a newer 300mm.

[Andy F]

Big thanks to everyone particularly Vaughn for the help. I am trying to process what people are talking about. There is a bit of a learning curve here.

1) What is the plasmat 300mm f5.6? Is it this?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/32510087560...3ABFBMkNnYvKlj

2) Is this the Fuji Lenses you are all recommending? Note the writing on the front.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/33521453344...Bk9SR67-8rypYw

Also, here are some lenses that I saw recently. I would love to know what people think. The 12 inch Goertz is probably way too expensive. The other two are for about $500. I will try to upload the images if I can figure out how.

- 14 Inch F9 Goertz in Ilex shutter for about $500

- 12 F6.8 Inch Goetz (Gold Dot Dagor?)

- Rodenstock 240mm 5.6 Sironar -N for about $500