110 XL on 8x10 format

I've been shotting 4x5 with the schneider 110 super symmar xl. I

have to say that I somehow got an emotianal attachement to this

lens. Right now I wonder how it will do on 8x10. Some people

say it just barely covers without movements. Is there a lot of light

fall of a the corners. I am thinking that maybe I can use it for 4x10

panoramics. The diagonal of 4x10 is about two inches shorter

than in 8x10. I think most of my shots are going to be B&W but, I

want to have the option open of being able to shoot chromes

with it. Will I be pushing this lens too much?. Should I get the

150 for the panoramics instead?

gee, I don't know. I use the 90XL on 8x10 and it just barely covers when stopped down f22. I would imagine that the 110 would cover better.

I recently picked up this lens and havent shot with any else!!!SUPPPPPER Sharp!!!!! 999.00 on ebay...LOVE IT!!! Very Limited at 8x10 though...

I have used it on 8x10 (Deardorff) stopped down to f45. I wouldn't really say it covers the format becuase the corners are very dark, nearly black (though not with the black of vignetting, except possibly on the last 1/4" of the corner. I have not used a center filter, though I doubt that would help the corners a whole lot.

 

On a practical note, it is nearly impossible for me on my camera to get the lens exactly centered with respect to the film back, rendering it basically useless, unless I want to crop. It would be great for 4x10 or 5x10, if that is what you want to do.

I use the 110 on 7x11, 8x10, 9x9 and 5x12. It has an image circle of 13 inches which is enough to cover with almost no extra. The corners are quite good for contact printing when focused in somewhat and stopped down. For enlarging the corners may be too soft for some tastes. In any event the center filter is absolutely necessary on these formats due to light falloff.

Hello Christian,

 

I use the 110 XL on a Phillips 8x10 Compact II as well as on a variety of 4x5�s.

I had Dick Phillips add a hole on the baseboard of the Compact II for the 110

XL (also works according to Dick for the comparable Nikkor). I believe, now

that the lens has been out for around two years, he is doing this as a matter of

course. My experience is that at f22 I see some darkening way out at the

corners but tit is gone at f45. OTOH there is no movement to speak of but

then again I would not expect any in such a superwide lens for 8x10.

 

I don�t use it on 8x10 often but it is spectacular when I do. Generally, as you

have heard from so many here, it is one of my favorite lenses for 4x5 work.

Schneider's pdf datasheet has a graph showing relative illumination. For f22 and focused on infinity, you want the highest solid line on the graph. For those with a theoretical bent, that line (as well as I can read the numbers from the graph) agrees with the expected (cos theta) to the power of four law.

 

For the lens used straight on, with no movements, for 4x5 film with a diagonal of 150 mm, the illumination in the corners is reduced to 47% of the illumination in the center, or 1.1 stops. For 8x10, with a diagonal of 300 mm, the corner illumination is 12% of the center, which is a reduction of 3.0 stops. For 4x10 I have used a diagonal of 270 mm: the illumination in the corners is 16% of the center, a reduction of 2 and 2/3 stops. All of these values assume a centered lens with no movements. Any movements that shift the optical axis from the center of the negative will make the illumination falloff worse.

 

Most photographers will probably find a center filter very useful for 4x10 and 8x10, particularly with reversal materials. By using negative film and basing the exposure on the corners (thereby overexposing the center), you might be able to get good results without a center filter.

 

On 8x10, the 110 Super-Symmar XL will be an ultra-wide angle lens. If what gives you an "emotional attachment" to the lens from your 4x5 use is the moderate-wide view of the lens, along with its substantial coverage, the equivalent would be the 210 mm Super-Symmar XL. Unfortunately, that lens has a rather different price and weight than the 110, but these are part of the cost of 8x10. It is harder to say what lens will give the same "feel" on 4x10 because the aspect ratios of 4x5 and 4x10 are so different.