Fast Lens for 5x7

Greetings,

 

I am beginning a new project with my 5x7 using an alternative process which

requires a fast lens; all of my current lenses are compact and fairly slow.

 

I am looking for a coated lens (single or multi) f/4.5 or faster mounted in

shutter, which will cover 5x7. Movement at infinity would be nice, but not

absolutely necessary. Subjects will vary, from portraiture to field work. Price is,

as always, a major consideration.

 

Examining my options in a 210-250 mm lens, I think the following lenses are

possibilities: Schneider Xenar (210mm f/4.5), Voightänder Apo-Lanthar or

Heliar (210mm f/4.5 or 240mm f/4.5). I also see that Docter Optics made a

250mm f/4.5 Tessar.

 

Any comments on these lenses, or suggestions for other lenses will be greatly

appreciated. Thanks in advance.

They are all good lenses. Price lets out the Apo-Lanthar. The Heliar is an incredible lens for color, but for some reason not nearly as sharp as a Tessar/Xenar type lens for B&W.

Hi Jason,

 

They are hard to find , but i have been using a Tessar 210 3.5 .

It is sharp. fast and has shallow depth of field .

It is slightly low in contrast, but since you are using an alterntivr

process, probably that is not important...

This lenses are usually found on big compound shutters. Good

luck

You might find an areial photography lens that fits your specification: I have a 600mm f6 Ectar and a 900mm f6.3 Wray.

Jason, I love my Heliar but I'm not sure it's any more useable at 4.5 than my Symmar is at 5.6. Same goes for the Xenar's at a full 5X7. We do use them at full aperture but on movie cameras we're only cutting a tiny slice right out of the middle. And even then I'll stop down to 5.6½ or 8 if I've got the light. The 2.8 150 Xenotar might be a useable light bucket on 4X5.

jason, you might want to look at the f2.5 AeroEktar. I don't know what size shutter they'd require, but S.K.Grimes probably does. f4.5 Ilex Paragons( I believe they are tessars) are fairly common. Good Luck!

Do you require a shutter, or will a barrel mount work?

I would much prefer to have the lens in shutter, however I can use a packard if

necessary. Jim brings up a good point--which lenses can I use fully open?

They do need to cover 5x7 at at least f/4.5. Does anyone know anything about

using these lenses wide open? I am currently playing with a borrowed Docter

210mm f/4.5 which I *think* is the same design as the Xenar, and f/4.5 doesn't

quite seem to cover... Thanks for all the help.

Our old Durst 5x7 Camera had a Schneider Componon (210mm f/4.5); with Synchro -Compur shutter . We used it for about 15 years. Most of our usage for it was with 2D objects; maps, old photos etc. We shot the objects and projected them back with the same lens. The best aperture was F11. The projection light was a point light source that yielded extreme contrast; even with regular non Kodalith negatives..The contrast was a paper grade plus more than my Omega B series enlarger with condensers plus 60mm Schneider Componon..<BR><BR>We photographed many 3D B&W product items with the Durst & 210mm Componon rotated to view a portable setup table...To get Depth of Focus; we stopped the lens way down; ie F45 etc. The product shots were good; there was no weirdness using the Componon to shoot 3D objects..; the local Photo supplier tried to sell us a new lens saying that the Componon was not designed for 3D objects..Getting a new expensive lens would never have any return on investment;with the limited 3D work we had.. Only a few times did we use the lens at F4.5

Aerial reconnaisance lenses like the Kodak Aero Ecktar are designed to be used wide open.

I've been using a Schneider Xenotar 135mm f3.5 on 5x7 with no problems.

Dick,

 

I am curious about the Aero-Ektars; I read somewhere that they all have a

brown discoloration on the rear element, due to a reaction between the glass

and the rare earth elements. Does this, as I read, cause a reduction in the

amount of light passing through? Also, how to the Aero-Ektars perform at

distances closer than infinity? Thanks again,

Dick,

 

I am curious about the Aero-Ektars; I read somewhere that they all have a

brown discoloration on the rear element, due to a reaction between the glass

and the rare earth elements. Does this, as I read, cause a reduction in the

amount of light passing through? Also, how do the Aero-Ektars perform at

distances closer than infinity? Thanks again,

Responding to the questions about Aero-Ektars: the Aero-Ektars were designed to be used for distant objects and wide-open. Their original mission was night-time aerial reconnaissance using flash bombs for illumination. I haven't had a chance to test their photographic quality, but from data given in an article by R. Kingslake, I don't expect the image quality to equal that of modern high-quality LF lenses used at their optimum apertures. On the other hand, modern LF lenses don't do so well wide-open.

 

The glass has turned brown with time, reducing the light transmission. The brown is from radiation damage from the radiation emitted by the radioactive Thorium, and by the radioactive daughters of Thorium. In most of the Aero-Ektars models, two of the glass elements in the rear half are made with Thorium containing glass.

 

I have a webpage with some additional information: http://home.earthlink.net/~michaelbriggs/aeroektar/aeroektar.html