Thanks.
Sounds like the tests will be all-important.
I need a lens that's fairly sharp for my work, I'll accept that it's not quite as contrasty, but if it's not sharp in the corners of 4x5" , that's a worry. I assume you mean it doesn't sharpen up at eg. f/22, Alan ?
Exactly, 'haze' that won't wipe off is coating damage; permanent.Originally Posted by Dan Fromm
I guess it depends on where one is getting lenses. Since I have about 60 lenses, these days I usually only buy the cheapest stuff needing repair at the lowest price, so almost all have been disassembled and 'cleaned' already. In this case it is rare to find 'haze' that can be removed. Usually, only a case where 'they' could not figure out how to get a lens group apart, etc.
ALot of sellers mention "haze" in an item description, normally it also goes with phrases like "minor scuffing on glass surface", so oftentimes "haze" is actually "scuffed so bad it lost the coatings"
On my copy, f/16, f/22, in that range. Please understand that when I say "it's soft in the corners" I'm not talking ridiculously mussy. Rather, the kind of softness one sees in many wide angle lenses; for example, the Schneider 90mm Angulon.
OK thanks. I may have the lens by the end of the week.
I ended up buying from Japan multiple copies of the original Fujinon 135 W with inside-writing.
One is mounted on, and calibrated to, a 4x5 press camera. The other two are used as compact wide-angles lenses for my lightest 5x7 outfits.
Unlike the later outside-writing NW and CM-W versions, the original 135 W covers 5x7 adequately but without much movement. They are excellent lenses, comparable in my personal test to my copies of later multicoated Fujinon NW 125mm and 150mm NW models. I would venture that the original 135 W is among the better choices for a 135mm lens on 5x7, if you like that wide-angle focal length.
I have not had any problems buying perhaps 20 or more LF lenses from Japan over the years through *Bay, although I definitely read the fine print very carefully, messaging for clarification if needed, before hitting the "buy" button. But, then, I am now an attorney, after all. <GRIN>
Thanks, did you see sample variation ?
There aren't many good choices for a normal 'wide' lens for 5x7" , hence my interest in this one. I have the 150 Super Symmar HM, that's excellent but quite big.
Was it listed recently? I may have seen that... mounted on a Graphic board, the shutter release lever had a small pin fitted into it to connect to mechanisms on the camera body.
Most modern 90mm f8 lenses cover around 218mm (or 230mm for f5.6 versions) which makes for cheap ultra-wide on 5x7. The original writing-on-front (but EBC multicoated) Fujinon SWD 75mm f5.6 lens also covers 5x7 when well stopped down for an ultra-ultra wide view.
I did not see perceptible sample variation on the 3 Fujinon 135 W lenses. I have some other sets of Fujinon NW lenses, 125/5.6 and 150/5.6 and I did not notice evident sample variation in those either. All were crisp and sharp, and quite close to each other. I might mention that the 135 W lenses are quite small. IIRC, the 135 W takes a quite small filter, 46mm, in a Seiko or Copal 0.
Not recent listings - I bought these 135 W lenses over time a few years ago. I have the 75/8 SW for 4x5 and it covers well. I never considered using a 75SWD on 5x7 as I found the 90/5.6 SWD to be rather large for my taste and put it in the reserve drawer some years ago.
It would seem that a 75 SWD might lose a few mm in each corner. How has your experience been with this lens on 5x7 ?
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