Horseman 980

[George Nedleman]

I must amend my previous Ques re: Horseman 910 to Horseman 980-my error. I shot my first roll to check out the lenses at various f stops. At 3.5 with the 105mm topcon pro I was horrified by the lack of sharpness @ 11x14 magn. I couldn't bel ieve Topcon could make such a terrible lens. Something must be wrong! When I mea sured the distance from camera back to the film plane and the back to the ground glass Irealized that the previous owner had the Glass in BACKWARD-maybe that's why he sold it!!! I still want opinions on the camera and its lenses-a 105 & 180 .

[Howard Slavitt]

There are a lot of "Horseman" threads stored on this website that discuss the 980 and its lenses. I've never used the 980 or any Horseman lenses, but have researched the Horseman extensively (through this website and others) the last month or so. In short, the lenses are considered good, though probably not as well suited to color work as the latest Schneider, Rodenstock, Nikon, Fujis (which you can also use on the Horseman). They may or may not be multi- coated.

Although the Topcon lenses may be different, in general, no large format photography lenses is intended to be used wide open. The larger aperture is mostly for focusing ease.

Topcon made two series of lenses for the Horseman. The "Pro" line has smaller coverage. The "Super" line has enough coverage to use with 4 x 5, although with limited movements. There are apparently some good lenses from both the Pro and Super line. I've heard varying reports about the quality of the 180, but not the 105.

Hope this helps.