Just wondering if there is any other lens to look for. Something in the range of 7"-10" that has a wide aperture. Those Ektars seem to be hard to find and cost a lot...and I am guessing the novelty will wear off once I shoot with it for a while. Any suggestions?
There are 2 different 7" aero ektar listings currently at ebay. One of them is $530._ BIN/OBO. Thorium goes for high these days.
The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax. Albert Einstein
You might check out the Dallmeyer Pentac, another WWII aerial lens that will cover 4x5. They're an 8"/f2.9. Prices are all over the place...I just bought one that's being shipped from the UK for a hundred bucks (going to be closer to $140 with shipping). It's kind of a beater cosmetically, but is probably ok optically (at least fine for what I want to use it for). I've seen them sell for over $300 too...just seems to depend on how many people are looking for one at any given time. Pretty much always less than the Ektar though, and from what I understand the Dallmeyer isn't radioactive either.
You could just shoot a regular vintage Symmar or Xenar at wide apertures in a round aperture shutter (1960s Compur or earlier).... wonderful but not over-powering bokeh and a little more depth of field so a little bit more margin of error. You can always introduce a little wrong-way swing and tilt if you prefer things more messed up.
Once you have an Aero, you run into problems with shutter speed (not fast enough for the wide aperture), infinitesimal depth of field at f/2.5 (portraits are half luck to hit focus), and it weighs a ton, costs a lot, overpowers the Speed Graphic, and oh yeah, it's radioactive!
Sorry to be a skeptical dick, they are trendy... I fell for it six years ago or so and it was fun for a few shots but it feels like a Lomo-Holga-Lens Baby novelty to me now.
This is a good write-up:
http://motamedi.info/speed.htm
That's what I figured Frank. And as much trouble as I have with faces being soft with regular modern lenses, I imagine I would be round-filing a lot of 5X7 negs with an Areo Ektar. I think I'll just play with swings and tilts as you suggested. That is less expensive, isn't it?Originally Posted by Frank Petronio
Toolbox, post some pics soon from your Dallmeyer Pentac. I am anxious to see how it does.
can someone explain the point of the aero-ektar? I don't really understand what the big deal is. just that it's a fast lens with tons of bokeh?
Very fast lens with its own bokeh.
"I love my Verito lens, but I always have to sharpen everything in Photoshop..."
James, good link. After reading, pretty much discuraged me from bothering. Just use what I have.
Curious about the yellowing of the Areo Ektars. I had heard that letting them sit in direct sun would help with that.
This fellow has another method for fixing yellowing lens elements
Paubel anticomar? (not quite enough coverage) Cooke Speedic?
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