Tele for LF landscape with background compression (8x10)

[Vaughan]

It would have been designed for 8x10. I believe Toyo updated the M810 with longer bellos extension specifically or the 1200mm version.

[Drew Wiley]

If this is all just about background compression, you might end up owning a long heavy tele and seldom actually use it. Usually it's the other way around, involving the challenge of taming the shallow depth of field inherent to the longer lenses of 8x10 work. It might be more useful to have a moderate focal length lens with good "bokeh" at wider working apertures. The Fuji 360 A is a wonderful lens for crisp results, but doesn't render background blur smoothly. You might look into a Fuji 420 L-series for such purposes instead, or something analogous.

[Steven Ferson]

If this is all just about background compression, you might end up owning a long heavy tele and seldom actually use it. Usually it's the other way around, involving the challenge of taming the shallow depth of field inherent to the longer lenses of 8x10 work. It might be more useful to have a moderate focal length lens with good "bokeh" at wider working apertures. The Fuji 360 A is a wonderful lens for crisp results, but doesn't render background blur smoothly. You might look into a Fuji 420 L-series for such purposes instead, or something analogous.

Based on this thread, i decided to stop looking for longer lenses. I see very few photo’s that justify the expense for me. Zoom with my feet or crop is the way to go.

I will prioritise on rendering and shutter size for my next purchases. The 420 L might be better / more useful than a 450c.
I own the big and heavy 360 cm-w. There is some potential for weight saving and a smaller/faster shutter, but the remark about background rendering is good advice.

i love the heliar, (and tessar in general) look. It is my TLR with tessar lenses that drew me to LF. More aperture blades can help, but are difficult to find in a lightweight lens in a modern shutter.

[CreationBear]

Excellent, IIRC you might also check out the Nikkor 450 M that’s often classified as a tessar lens as well, though it, like the Fuji, seems to have been bid-up by the deep-pocketed ULF guys in recent years. For myself, I’ve taken the Dollar Tree approach on the long end and gone with a 16 1/2” RDA and a 21 1/4” Kodak Ektanon, both in barrel—works a treat, especially with FP4+ under canopy.

[tgtaylor]

I'm pretty sure that image #40 (The Ball Player)on this page: https://www.spiritsofsilver.com/gall..._and_van_dykes was taken with the 760mm Apo Nikkor on a Toyo MII camera. I focused on the eyes or nose and stopped down for the background. In the print the pitcher is sharply focused giving it a 3d effect.

I ran across the notebook I used when I made the exposure and it turns out that the lens was the 610mm Apo-Nikkor and not the 760mm. The notebook jogged my memory. Originally I intended to use the 760 but the park service had a big tent set-up which prevented me from getting further back so I set-up the camera as close to the tent as I could get and the 610 framed it beautifully. The exposure was made at f32 @ 1/8".

The adjacent image (#41 - California Volunteers) was taken with the 760mm, f22 @ 1/25" from the crosswalk in front of a Whole Foods store on Market street in downtown SF. Originally the monument was prominently placed at the Market and Van Ness intersection, a major intersection in downtown SF, but was subsequently moved to its current location. Because the morning sun is mostly blocked by the apartment building, the afternoon is the best time to shoot it if the weather is clear. But then the apartment building, which is unappealing in my view, and the shadows cast by the winged horse pose a challenge.

[Robert Opheim]

See Large Format Photography article https://www.largeformatphotography.i...-Chamonix-8x10 I have a Calumet C-2 8x10 and with a 30-34 inch bellows extension the camera moves a bit on my old #4 Aluminum Gitzo or my wood cine film Professional Junior. I used 2 converted slider braces to add rigidity to the mix. My current longer lenses are: 450MM Nikor M and a 19 Inch Red Dot Artar. Getting enough depth of field is always an issue with 8x10 - so I am stopping way down - typically f/45 with longer exposure times. I am shooting black and white film so I am not dealing with color shift due to long exposures.