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120-135mm lens recommendations


john_rogers8

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I really want a schneider 110mm xl, but used is about $1400.

and that is too much to spend! I need something between

110mm and 135mm, prefer wider part of this spectrum. I have

been hearing good things about the Schneider 135mm f/3.5

Xenotar, and the price is right. any coments on this lens? also

see that the new schneider 120mm is really affordable, but it is

only available in environmental glass. any one have any

experience with that new lens? focal length would be a lot better

for me than the 135mm, but I definatley dont want to spend

$1400. too much for me at this point. your insights are most

appreciated. please address this in terms of coverage of the

various lenses. im open to any lens maker. thanks, john

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Hi John,

 

if you like the lower end of normal lengths, any Symmar or Sironar 135mm wil do the job. The Xenotar is fast and sharp but will not allow much movements. It contains radioacive glass too (I dropped mine for that reason, but if you don't care about that...). Because I like the "little wider than normal" angle and want to shift and don't need a fast lens my choice is a 120mm Angulon. The post WWII version is coated, sharp and pretty small

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Find a 2nd hand and it will save you 30%. I share the same feeling with you before I decide to buy the Schnedier 110XL. If you can afford the best lens, got it, you will never be regret with the quality, image circule and the extraordinary lens sharpness ! it's awfully good in large format photography. If money, weight and size is an issue, got another one to start shooting. What distinguish a good photographer from the rest is his brain and eyes, good lens may help only a bit.
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i have the 135 apo symmar, and i'm very please with it, very good quality, small, good color rendition, ...guess what, i'm ordering a 110 XL, for my type of shooting (architecture with a technikardanS 45), i was running out of coverage ! For landscape, with a folding camera (technika...) 135 mm lens (apo symmar, apo sironar S or N) are very good, because you can fold the camera with the lens on, ans anyway you can't use a lot of rise with that type of camera ! If you need good coverage, and money is an issue, i would look for a super angulon 120 MC. The best value for money, must be a second hand super symmar 120HM, but i've never seen one ...
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john:

 

i have and use a 127 tominon in a copal press shutter and a 135 linhof. both lenses

are sharp enough for me ( i make a living shooting habs/haer photographs). the

lenses are pretty inexpensive.

 

- not sure about the tominon, but the linhof is sold on the used market very often.

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"I would look for a super angulon 120 MC"<br>

I suppose you refer to the Apo-Symmar "L" 5.6/120mm, or Apo-Symmar 5.6/120mm because Super Angulons stop at 90mm.<p>

I'm looking for the same type of lens, because I have Super Angulons XL 5.6/90 and 5.6/72, and a Super-Symmar XL Aspheric 5.6/150mm.<br>

All three are great lenses, but I would like to buy a moderate wide angle like a 120 or 135,and to be able to fold the camera with the lens on.<br>

This lens would be used as 127mm are used on Speed Graphics, for street photography.<p>

 

The 110 XL is IMO too close from the 90 XL. Before buying my lenses, I considered to buy a 80 and a 110. But the 72-90-150 covers all my needs.<br>

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Hi, Badger carries the 110XL new for less than the amount you mentioned. I thought for months about spending the $$$ to get the 110XL and finally decided because of all the positive feedback on the lens. Because this lens is going to be one of my most used lens for many years, the price was justified. (IMHO)
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Hi John. I had a 135 Fujinon EBC and the earlier 125 W single coated Fujinon both at the same time and opted to keep the older wider lens over the 135. Seemed like too many times I just needed that extra width of the 125W. I'm posting a 120 Super Angulon on Feebay later this evening and will send you a link. Hope that's OK. It is a GREAT lens but bulky for 4X5. Almost covers 8X10 and very sharp.
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The Fujinon CMW listed above gets good reviews (except for filter size) from Kerry Thalman (www.thalman.com/largeformat).

 

I have the older EBC multicoated 125mm Fujinon W and it is an excellent lens. I picked up used at a very reasonable price from Midwest Photo Exchange. Looks like it was hardly ever used. I think it has an image circle of about 198mm. You can check out the specs for the CMW and older discontinued Fujinon W at http://www.thefstop.com/equipment/new/fuji.html.

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"I suppose you refer to the Apo-Symmar "L" 5.6/120mm, or Apo-Symmar 5.6/120mm because Super Angulons stop at 90mm."

 

They do now, but they went all the way to 165mm some years ago.

 

I have a 121mm/f:8 Super-Angulon (big, heavy, wonderful), a 120mm/f:6.8 Angulon (small, light, very sharp) and a 135mm/f:3.5 Zeiss Planar (ultra bright and ultra sharp) in this range. All bought second (or third) hand. I use the 121mm on my 5x7" camera, and all the rest on the 4x5" where I don't need that tremendous coverage.

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wow, thanks for the immediate and immense responses! I own

the 72mm XL, 150 SA, and the 210 apo at present time, just to

add more info. with the 72, i thought the 110 would be perfect,

but 121mm or around there might be workable?? The 121mm

mentioned sounds good, but i would like to focus with a 5.6 in

general, but have heard that some f9 lenses for some reason

are super easy to focus. I live in hawaii, and it is bright out, so it

is hard for me to focus my friends SA 90 f8. would the 121mm be

ok to focus, do i need a center filter for it to work with 4x5? thanks

again for the advice. BTW, that 11o xl went on ebay for $1250

approx, i bid to $1150 or so. ebay is a pain, i would rather buy

from someone on photo.net directly instead of ebay, i have had

pretty good experiences so far. john

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I would not recommend a 121mm/f:8 Super Angulon for 4x5". It is simply unnecessarily big and heavy! The massive over-coverage (it barely covers 8x10") may lead to extra flare through reflections inside the camera. How often do you think you may even wish to use four inches of shift? Besides, the f:9's which are easy to focus are long focal length lenses, 400mm and up. A wide-angle is not easy.

 

When I need this focal length on 4x5", I use my (plain) Angulon 120mm/f:6.8, unless I can get away with the 135mm Zeiss Planar which is nearly two stops brighter (but less movements). Planars have aquired a "cult following" and tend to be very expensive, but the 120mm Angulons are quite reasonable. The Xenotar you mentioned is the Schneider equivalent of the Planar, at far more reasonable prices.

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If i need movement for architectural work, and dont care about

the weight, but am concerned about flare issues and overall

good performance and image quality, would the 120mm f5.6

Super symmar HM be a good lens? or fuji 125mm 5.6 CM-W, or

kodak ecktar 100mm f6.3? what would be the best for the money

considering these needs, and considering any make and model

of lens? there seem to be a lot of choices. i am considering

springing for the 110 xl, does that have excellent coverage for 4x5

in architectural work? I like the focal length, 100mm - 110mm

would be best, but 120mm would probably work. I need to shoot

hotel lobies and the like, my 72 xl is too wide at times, the

foreground shows too big, and that is not to my liking with this

wide of a focal length, and i dont have a lot of movement with that

72 xl, not enouogh normally, but depending on the situation it

can work well. every situation is totally different. it seems that

100-110mm would be a wonderful focal range. maybe a 90mm

would work well and offer less distoriton as far as foreground

issues, any comments on that? help! tthanks, john

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just called badger graphics, man are they an awesome outfit!

Just so happened they got in a 110xl, and i picked it up for only

$800. plus shipping! turns out they could have saved me $3-400

on my 72xl, jeff said that lens with center filter would go for about

$900 used, but he did say they rarely get those in. well, thanks

for everyones advice, cant wait to shoot with the new lens. jeff

said i dont need center filter as coverage is very large on that

lens, so i will see firsthand what this lens is all about. thanks

again, i think this focal range of 90-125mm deserves a lot of

discussion IMHO. john

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