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Thread: My Dream lens kit

  1. #1

    Join Date
    May 2006
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    Western Australia
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    My Dream lens kit

    My dream lens kit is very much formed with weight and performance comprimises
    From widest here goes* 58XL,schnieder 80XLschnieder, 110XLschnieder,rodenstock 150 sironar S,*240a fujinon *300c fujinon,*450M nikkor.Lenses with asterix already owned or ordered .
    BTW i am not one of those who think you must go all german or all japanese.
    Lenses that i own already that may be replaced by the list above are 90mm SA f8
    (Linhoff badged) 150mm 6.3 fujinon(although unlikely)I have commented on other threads how much i like this lens.But have also heard. the Sironar S is something special.The one that will be replaced for sure is the symmar s 240 5.6 that i own
    due to weight & size considerations.
    Comments on my choices from people with more exspertise than i would be appreciated ,remember i backpack so many lenses were chosen with in mind.
    Cheers Gary

  2. #2

    Join Date
    May 2006
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    Timisoara - Romania
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    24

    Re: My Dream lens kit

    Gary, the kit I owned is:
    - Schneider 5.6/75 mm - excellent lens, contrast and sharp
    - Rodenstock Grandagon N 6.8/90 - mix impression, I shall change it ASAP
    - Fujinon SWS 8/120 - excellent lens
    - Sinaron G 6.3/150 - sharp, good but is narrow, not much space for moves
    - Fujinon W 5.6/210 - the best I have - rich in colors details
    - Rodenstock Sironar 5.6/300 - good, the opening is good when you need it.
    - Rodenstock Apo Ronar 9/360 - excellent, sharp good contrast
    - Rodenstock Apo Ronar 11/480 - excellent, sharp good contrast
    all the lenses I use for 4x5 on Sinar F2, but I like to change the 90 a Schneider ( I like them specially in architecture ) and the 150 with a Fujinon W.

    So my comments are: 58 is too much and hard to work with, less space for movements, sometime I have problems with my 75, and even so I use the 75 not often. In fact the 120, 150 and 210 are the most used. But it is hard to give an advice, in my country where the landscape is dusty, and the air is not so clean, to have contrast lenses especially on longer focals is a necessity, so the Apo Ronars are a good choice, but in the rest is good to have Fujinons which gives you a rich image in color detail, and no so contrast like Schneiders or Rondenstocks.
    I don't recommend you to sell the Fujinon 150. I don't think that Rodenstock will be better. Maybe more contrast and a little bit sharper. Anyway I hope that you find something useful in my opinions.

  3. #3

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    Oct 2005
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    Michigan
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    913

    Re: My Dream lens kit

    My first lens was the Fuji 240 A. This is an great lens for me, not just because of its performance but because of its weight and size. 240mm, however, isn't the best focal length to build this dream kit around because of the awkward spacing between it and the 150. Much depends on what you shoot. I've found myself wanting a 180 or 210 very often. To date I've cropped from the 150mm's image; in the future I hope to reach for a Nikon 200mm M.

    On the wide end I have avoided the 80mm because of its price (new) and the number of second-rate used samples. I can't find fault with my Nikon SW 90mm f8 aside from it's relative weight and bulk.

    Much of this is just MBC and GAS rearing its ugly head

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Feb 2005
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    2,955

    Re: My Dream lens kit

    My original 4x5 kit was 75-110-180-300. I found the 110-180 and 180-300 spacings to be too far, so I replaced the 180 with a 210 and a 150.

    I've now been doing LF three years and have finally settled on the focal lengths I prefer; so I am in the process of changing my kit to 90-135-200-300.

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Jun 2002
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    9,487

    Re: My Dream lens kit

    Back in my more mainstream days I started out with a 90-135-210, then added a 65 and 300, just common modern Rodenstocks. I think these are the most popular focal lengths, so they are readily available, less expensive and exotic, and pretty much perfected for general use... After all the manufacturer concentrates on making its biggest sellers the best performers.

    Of course you always find more exotic stuff but you can buy excellent examples of each of these lenses for under $500 each... and they would cover 99% of most photographer's needs... so for the cost of two exotics (and a few extra ounces of carry-weight and 67mm filters instead of 58mm...) you could be very well outfitted for about $2000 if you shop carefully.

  6. #6
    Resident Heretic Bruce Watson's Avatar
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    Re: My Dream lens kit

    Quote Originally Posted by Gary Tarbert View Post
    My dream lens kit is very much formed with weight and performance compromises. From widest here goes* 58XL schnieder, 80XL schnieder, 110XL schnieder, rodenstock 150 sironar S, *240a fujinon, *300c fujinon, *450M nikkor. Lenses with asterisks already owned or ordered .

    BTW I am not one of those who think you must go all German or all Japanese. Lenses that I own already that may be replaced by the list above are 90mm SA f8 (Linhoff badged), 150mm 6.3 fujinon(although unlikely). I have commented on other threads how much i like this lens. But have also heard the Sironar S is something special. The one that will be replaced for sure is the symmar s 240 5.6 that I own due to weight & size considerations.

    Comments on my choices from people with more expertise than I would be appreciated. Remember I backpack so many lenses were chosen with in mind.

    Cheers Gary
    Your dream set is what I'm using right now. Pretty much. I don't have the 58mm lens on the short end because I very, very seldom need anything beyond the 80mm. On the long end I use a 14" RD Artar (about 360mm). I find the 300mm too close to the 240mm. I don't have enough belows draw to let me use a 450mm.

    So the heart of the lens set, the 80mm SS-XL, 110mm SS-XL, 150mm Sironar S, and 240mm Fujion-A, we share.

    This is perfect spacing for the way I work. Angles of View of around 75, 60, 45, and 30 degrees. This 15 degree Angle of View spacing is excellent. I highly recommend it if your workflow lends itself to this spacing.

    That said, there seem to be people who like this spacing, and people who like somewhat wider spacing. You can do something similar with a 90mm, 135mm, 240mm spacing for example. Twenty degree spacing. Three lenses instead of four.

    It all depends on what makes you comfortable. Because if you aren't comfortable you aren't able to put your full concentration on making your art. Minimizing distractions is a good thing.

    Bruce Watson

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Dec 1997
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    Baraboo, Wisconsin
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    7,697

    Re: My Dream lens kit

    I thought the 80mm SS XL was a great lens, I never had any problems with it and while it was expensive, I thought it was close enough to both a 75mm and a 90mm that it allowed me to get rid of those two lenses. So the cost wasn't too bad plus the weight and space saving was very nice. I was under the impression that only the first run of the 80mm SS XLs had a problem and that Schneider offered to replace those lenses at no cost so there shouldn't be many still around on the used market. But I could be wrong, since my lens was fine I didn't pay too much attention to the problems.
    Brian Ellis
    Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
    a mile away and you'll have their shoes.

  8. #8

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    Western Australia
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    Re: My Dream lens kit

    Hi , Just thought i would add the thought proccess that went into selecting these lenses, 58xl ,because 20mm often used on 35mm and this length is close, pain the A too use though centre spot filters bag bellows reccessed boards etc.
    80 XL compact good focal length for my workflow.
    110xl I use pano rollfilm backs saw this as ideal for this and as a slightly wider option instead of 150.
    The 150 fujinon i have owned since i first got into LF it is unlikely i would change this lens.
    240A the reason i jumped to this instead of 210 is because i shoot a bit of 8x10 as well
    and this lens covers 8x10 better.
    300C compact light covers 8x10 and is also a good length for 5x4.
    The 450mm nikkor is for 8x10 only at this stage as i don't have enough bellows draw for it on 5x4.
    The other very important issue is standardising on filter sizes this kit are either 67 or 52 with the exception of the fuji 150 also my centre spot filter is usable on the 58,80&110.
    So in summary if anyone could suggest a 210 that is light covers 8x10 with no more than 67mm filter size then i would be interested.Cheers Gary

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Portland, OR.
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    159

    Re: My Dream lens kit

    I've got a fairly eccletic list, which is comprised of the following:

    My first, and so far only, 8x10 lens is a 12/21/28 Turner Reich triple convertible. Love that lens.

    Someday to my stable I would like to add a new Cooke XVa triple, a 14" Graf Variable, a 480mm f/9 Nikkor, and a couple of wide-angles, probably a Wollensak 159mm ex-WA, and something by Fuji, like a 210-SW or whatever it would be in that neighborhood. No need to standardize on filter screw sizes, I've got a compendium shade for my Calumet C1 that holds 3x3 square filters.

    That's my dream.

  10. #10
    Sheldon N's Avatar
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    May 2006
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    605

    Re: My Dream lens kit

    I pretty much own my dream lens kit already... 5 lenses, fits into a single Gnass 4 lens case.

    Nikkor 90mm f/8 SW
    Schneider APO-Symmar L 120mm f/5.6
    Rodenstock APO Sironar-S 150mm f/5.6
    Fujinon 240mm A f/9 EBC
    Nikkor-M 300mm f/9

    More of a focus on light weight, plus I don't really "see" in ultrawide.

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