Does anyone know if Fuji large format lenses are available in the US or Canada. I don't see them advertised anywhere. Has anyone used them? I have been very impressed with the quality of their rangefinder lens, on the 690GSW to be exact. It is much sharper than my 90 mm Super Angulon, and I am in the market for a 6 5 mm LF lense, or something around that length.
Jon ; I don't know about the availability of Fuji lenses in North America, so my comments are limited to the Fujinon lenses I have picked up in Japan. The main lense I use is an SW 90 f/8, which I use most of the time ; it is easy to focus, is extremely sharp and contrasty, and is lightweight in the field. I am also increasingly using an SWD 65 f5.6, for which similar comments to the 90mm apply, but is slightly more difficult to use (because I have an old Toyo metal field, which requires the bed to be dropped and the front standard to be tilted back to avoid vignetting). I have not used the competing Rodenstock, Schneider or Nikkor lenses at these focal lengths, but I would be surprised if their performance was dramatically superior.
I also use a Fujinon 400T, and I am finding that I need to be very careful with focus, camera shake and the wind with this lense, or the results are less than sharp. This doesn't seem to happen with the Nikkor 300mm f/9, so I would like to compare the performance of the Fuji 400T with the Nikkor 360/500.
Jon:
Two US retailers import Fuji lenses (others might know of more): The F Stops Here in Santa Barbara, CA (http://www.thefstop.com/menu.html), and Badger Graphics in Wisconsin (sorry, I don't have its URL handy).
Jon:
I have bought Fujinon's from Badger and from Midwest Photo Exchange. Badger is an excellent source of new Fujinon lenses at great prices. Contact Jeff there. http://www.badgergraphic.com
I also bought a SW 90mm f/8 a year or so ago from The F Stops Here in Santa Barbara. Excellent lens. Good shop/gallery, too.
Just to make your choice a little more difficult, and although I love my Fuji C 300, the 65mm f4!!! Nikkor SW I own is bitingly sharp. But has a minimum rise and fall possibility.
A further question for Fujinon lens:
Fujinon lenses equipped on their medium format RF cameras are either EBC (electronic beam coating) or Super EBC lenses. Does anyone know if those LF lenses are also EBC or something equivalent offering the same optical quality. Say, the older W and the current CM-W lenses. But I see no EBC mark on any LF Fujinons. Thanks!
Dongyun
Since at least 1982, all of the Fujinon LF lenses except the LS (economy lens) and the SF portrait (variable soft focus) lenses are EBC coated. I have personally shot the 180A, 240A and 300C with excellent results. The 125NW has had excellent feedback on this forum, and is now replaced by the 125 CMW. A friend has the 105SW and loves it. The telephoto T series has had mixed reviews here, some love it but many have doubted its sharpness compared with Nikkor T lenses.
I have old (80's) Fujinon literature that shows the SWS, the 150 f6.3 WS, the 360 f10 AS, and the LS and SFS to be not EBC coated. Not too sure about the exact date of this literature.
Same literature shows the SWD, 300 WS, 360 WS, the NWS and the TS lenses to be EBC coated.
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