brien_szabo Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 I'm looking for opinions on the Fuji CMW 125mm 5.6 lens with an image circle of 204 for a 4x5 camera. It's a reasonably priced lens. If it's worth the investment, then it would make the purchase of a longer lens in the near future much more doable. I shoot a lot of wider 35mm scenes in the 28-35mm range - so I was thinking 125 is both affordable at this time and in the range of area that I work in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edward_kimball Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 I think the only knock on this lens is that it takes 67mm filters which are much more expensive than 49mm or 52mm which are much more common in the shorter focal length lenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_briggs2 Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 Fuji makes very fine lenses. They are proud of their multicoating, EBC (Electron Beam Coating) and use it to make greater use of air-spaced elements in their designs. The 125 Fuji-CMW has 6 elements in 5 groups, unlike most plasmat type designs, which use 6 elements in 4 groups. The extra degrees of freedom allow Fuji to design a lens with slightly better performance specs -- in the case of the 125 mm Fuji-CMW, coverage of 78 degrees / 204 mm diameter. This coverage will support modest amounts of movements such as front rise with 4x5. Neither Nikon nor Rodenstock make a plasmat type in this focal length. Schneider has the 120 mm Apo-Symmar-L, which has only 189 mm diameter coverage. For a moderate wide for 4x5, the true wide-coverage designs, Super-Angulons, Grandagons, Nikkor-SW, Fuji-SW, Super-Symmar-XL, give a lot more coverage, but also cost a lot more. The 125 Fuji-CMW is an excellent choice for someone who doesn't want to pay for very large coverage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christopher perez Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 If its cheap enough, then it'd be a fine deal. As someone mentioned above, the filter size is quite large. Earlier renditions of this optic came with 52mm filter threads. But other than that minor niggle, I've never met a Fuji LF lens I didn't like. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walter_foscari Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 I used to own one (older model with the 52mm filter) and recently replaced with a 120 Nikon as I was often running out of coverage. I am beginning to regret my choice however. The fuji was sharper, brighter, smaller (much smaller), not to mention cheaper. All in all one of my favorites lenses. Walter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_galli4 Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 The poor man's 110XL. I have an earlier single coated version of this that has a permanent home on my "will not be sold" list. A fine performer indeed. Funny that I had it's near brother in 135mm and didn't think much of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott_stadler Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 I actually find the 67mm filter size a plus on my CMW 135mm, because I only need to buy one set of filters. The 67mm size works on my 65mm, 90mm, 210mm, 135mm, 450mm, my medium format lenses and a couple of zooms for my 35mm system. It is a lot easier to put a larger diameter filter on a smaller lens, than a filter that is too small on a bigger lens. If the 125mm is anything like my 135mm I would highly recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_karp Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 I have the earlier version (a different design - 6 elements in 6 groups) that is marked Fujinon W, and uses 52mm filters. I think Fuji called this "NW" even though it is not labeled as such on the lens. See http://members.aol.com/subgallery/byfl.htm for more information on specs. It has a smaller image circle (198mm) than the CMW. It has the EBC coating. I love this lens. If not my favorite, it is one of my two favorite lenses. Every once in a while, I wish for a bigger image circle, but never wish for a bigger, heavier lens. If you want a lens that takes a smaller filter, look for a used version of this lens. Jim at Midwest Photo Exchange (www.mpex.com) usually has used Fujinon 125s in stock. I bought mine from him, and it looked brand new. If you think that the price of a new 125 CMW is reasonable, you will love the price of a used version of my lens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason_b. Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 The lens comes with a weird version of a copal 0. It has five aperture blades (if I wanted penagonal highlight, I'd shoot Hassy), and can't be interchenged with a normal copal 0, due to a clearance problem with the oversize front cell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c_p_goerz Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 Funny but I had the earlier 125mm F5.6 and it was excellent and loved it, kinda sad I sold it but I replaced it with the 120mm F8 and fell in love all over again ;-) I don't think you'll be unhappy with any version you buy. CP Goerz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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