Shopping for a 90mm - Balance between coverage, sharpness and cost?

[matt_kime]

I'm hoping to pick up a good deal on a 90mm lens for my Toyo 45CF. I

need a moderate amount of movement, but not a lot. (I'll often use a

bit of rise but the camera doesn't allow for extreme movements and I

don't miss them)

 

Obviously I'd like a sharp lens, but I don't need the latest and

greatest. I started out with a 6" lens from sometime in the 50's and i

didn't notice a huge sharpness increase when I moved up to a modern MC

Schneider 150mm.

 

Something light would be nice as well.

 

Any suggestions?

[mark_erickson]

It's a little less wide than you're asking for, but a 100mm Wide Field Ektar comes to mind as an option. They're relatively cheap, quite sharp (at least mine is), and offer reasonable movement on a 4x5 camera.

[eric_leppanen]

If you need just a moderate amount of coverage then the 90mm Super Angulon f/8 comes to mind. 216mm rated image circle at f/22, weighs 363 or 390g (single or multi-coated versions), 67mm filter size. The single coated version seems to be sell for around $300, the multi-coated around $500. Midwest Photo has a single-coated for sale at $295, and both versions have listings on Ebay right now.

[ronald_moravec1]

Second the 90 SA f8.

[john_layton]

I've been using a 90mm f/6.8 Rodenstock Grandagon - Multicoated, which I purchased

new over twenty years ago. I still love this lens. It will cover 5X7, so you might not need

this much - but I think they are pretty reasonably priced on the used market. You might

also save more on this design by looking for the Calumet equivalent, the 90/6.8 Calter-N.

A nice, really tiny 90mm is the Goerz W.A. Dagor. Had one years ago and loved it. The

Schneider 6.8 Angulon is also compact and reasonably sharp, and I've seen these go for as

little as 100.00. You might look for this in the "Linhof Selected" version - which I believe

will assure you of maximal performance from this particular lens, and still inexpensive.

[John Crowe]

I recently got the SA 90/8 to replace my Graflex Raptar 90/6.8 but have not tested it yet. The Raptar has been quite good and is of course much much smaller and lighter. They are worth about $75-100. The other similar sized lens but probably much sharper is the Schneider 90mm f6.8. I have not followed the prices recently but they don't seem to be much cheaper than the SA 90/8. Good luck.

[pvp]

You'll do no better than the f/8 Super Angulon. Also watch for the Caltar-W II 90/8 which is the same lens. The later Caltars are also multicoated.

 

There's a Caltar 90/8 on some auction site even as I type, though it appears to be single coated. That isn't as much of a drawback as some of us would like to think.

[pvp]

And, no, it isn't mine!

[profhlynnjones]

Hi Matt,

 

As an old optics guy, let me guide you. With lenses of 95 degrees to 105 degrees, in order to have sharpness, you must "focus in". All wide angle lenses are optimized at or near 1:1 close up in order to achieve the extreme coverage. Therefore, always focus on the subject unless it is farther away than the following;

 

47mm, 15feet

58 to 65mm, 20 feet

75mm, 25 feet

90mm, 35 feet

120mm, 50 feet.

 

Set up your camera, rough focus, do your swings and tilts, focus at the above indicated distance, lock down the camera, reframe, and shoot. AND, always place the front standard of the camera to the very front of the monorail or flat bed and focus from the rear, otherwise you may have a great picture of an out of focus monorail (which you won't see in the ground glass because it is too far out of focus to be seen).

 

Failing to do this will yield soft results in the center of the field and gross unsharpness in the outer 2/3rds, this is not a joke.

 

If you're wondering why you don't have to do this with medium format, the manufacturer has already focused in for you and the depth of field plus the visual lack of high resolution in the viewfinder system is such that you can't see how sharp (or unsharp) it really is.

 

Some of the best buys in used LF wide angle lenses include wide field Caltars, B&J Acugons, BBOI Veriwides, and Ilex wide angle Paragons. These are excellent lenses but not very well known in the industry, currently.

 

Lynn

[michael_briggs2]

The design changes and resulting performance improvements are larger in wide-angle lenses than in standard lenses. The difference between a 90 mm Angulon and a 90 mm Super-Angulon is larger than the difference between a 1950's Symmar and an Apo-Symmar.

 

As the others have suggested, an early Super-Angulon is an excellent choice for a lower priced lens of this type. The Grandagon and Nikkor-SW lenses are the same design type. The f8 lenses will be lighter than faster versions. Both Schneider and Rodenstock lenses have been sold under the Caltar name.

[fred_anderson2]

I would definitely recommend the Schneider 90mm f8. I've been using one for a few years

now on 4x5 and haven't missed any shots through lack of coverage. It's also super sharp.

[donald_brewster]

Always a good place to start with a question like this is Kerry Thalmann's site. I'd suggest a 90mm f/8 Nikkor SW. Lighter with more coverage than a Super Angulon.

 

http://www.thalmann.com/largeformat/future.htm

 

http://www.thalmann.com/largeformat/wide.htm

[michael_briggs2]

I would have suggested the 90 mm f8 Nikkor-SW, except that Matt indicated that he only uses a moderate amount of movements. The 90 mm f8 Nikkor-SW a very fine lens that is popular for the extra-coverage in a lighter f8 lens, but it will take luck to get one as cheaply as an older Super-Angulon.

 

Another possibility is the 90 mm f8 Geronar-WA. These show up on the used market occasionally. This lens uses the same design as the Wide-Field Ektars, but with multicoating and a newer shutter. Rodenstock rated it as covering 85 degrees / 170 mm. The peculiar feature of this lens is that it is in a #1 shutter but needs a lensboard with a hole for a #3 shutter.