What are your favorite barrel lenses for 8X10 coverage

[ruben_salcedo]

I am looking to put together an 8X10 Setup for a wide range of uses

from nature-macro, nudes indoor/outdoor, and some general purpose

landscape.

I feel that the barrel lens represents a real bargain.

I am curious as to what you buy and shoot.

I know there are many schools of thought , but your thoughts and

passions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all in advance.

Ruben

[donald_brewster]

They are no longer a bargain, but I've always had a soft spot for Goerz Artars and Dagors. I've mounted a few in shutters, but have a 12" Gold Rim Dagor and a 24" RD Artar still in barrel that I like to use. There are some nice Wollensak lenses out there that are still reasonably priced.

[beepy]

What shutter were you going to use for the (more than one I assume) barrel lens?

I was under the impression that <a href="http://www.skgrimes.com/fits/index.htm">not

all barrel lenses are simply mountable</a> in say a Copal shutter. I suppose some are,

but ...

[ole_tjugen]

Just about anything can be used. I have several fine old Aplanat / Rapid Rectilinear lenses, including a seven-element casket set. Thay are surprisingly sharp in the center, with rapid "deterioration" toward the edges (depending on aperture and focal length/coverage, of course).

 

"Anastigmats" are different - better coverage, more even sharpness, but not quite as sharp right in the middle as the Aplanats. Any Tessar-type is sharp, Dagor and Protar types have better coverage. Heliar lenses are (rightly) famous for the nice transition from sharp to unsharp, whether they are really Heliars or Dynars (both were sold as "Heliar").

 

Coated lenses are an advantage in high contrast situations, unless it's so high contrast that an uncoated lens can actually improve the shadow definition.

 

Most Repro- Copy- Duplicating- etcetera-lenses are good too; but these are "too modern to be interesting". :)

[steve_hamley]

Ruben,

 

If you plan on having them shutter mounted and they aren't a direct fit, they're no bargain.

 

You might be able to do some landscapes sometimes with no shutter, but IMO doing much photograpy without a shutter is not a worthwhile way to spend your film and developing resources. It takes practice not to shake things and time shorter exposures accurately, and while these are useful and fun skills to have, you'd probably be better off financially to invest the resources from the wasted film, developer, and time into a lens with at least a Packard shutter.

 

My suggestion is to buy G-Clarons in barrel. They're a bit more expensive because most will screw directly into modern Copal shutters, but at least you have that option.

 

Cheaper lenses that don't easily fit in shutters might be JMC, Staeble, Kowa Graphic, Nikkor process, Konica, Repro Clarons, and the ubiquitous Artars.

 

Steve

[mike_earussi1]

The cheapest way is to buy an old #5 Ilex shutter (which are certainly not as accurate as a copal, but they do work) and then have an adapter machined to enable you to screw in the lens in front of the shutter. This is what I did and wound up with 5 or 6 barrel lenses all mounted on one shutter. Worked fine.

[stephen hazelton]

I was experimenting at home and looks like the lens off an Ansco Shur-Shot will ALMOST cover 4x5 (the camera is a 6x9 box camera)- so that's my next project. Have to see if I can find some cheap film holders at the camera show in a couple of weeks. : ) (I envision a giant Holga, not a cheap view camera.)

[jon_wilson]

APO Nikkor 480mm. Landscape or portrait with a packard shutter. This is an excellent lens. You can't go wrong with any of the APO Nikkor lens. I have a 240mm, 305mm 420mm, & 480mm. Here is an example:

http://www.photo.net/photo/3340985

[john grunke]

Fax-NIKKOR 160mm 1:5.6- I have given up on trying to find out or understand (Fax! ? )the

original use for the lens. However on a 810 C-1 Green monster mounted on a 63" Mp-4

stand shooting Macro ( 18"-24"-32" bellows ex.) The lense seems to perform outside all

the math that so many of you have so kindly helped me with over the years. The lens is

giving me nose to nose perfectly defined detail on 4' x5' floral prints. The images are

composed so that the content is such that the shallow DOF becomes a non-issue.

Beginning tests w/lens focused at Infininity. "THANK YOU Dagor 77!!!!!"

 

Kind Regards,

John Grunke

[jim_galli4]

Ruben, I have a dedicated platform, an old Kodak 2D 8X10 outfit with a 6+ inch packard that lives inside. I've put everything but the kitchen sink out front. Yes, there are some bargains. Too many fave's to list.

[photodana]

All good answers but I suspect you were looking for crisp

sharpness on the real cheap. I suggest a lens cap for a shutter

and long exposures. A little difficult with live subjects,

nevertheless, look into old copy lenses. For buildings these

lenses are flat field and if they are all scratched up that means

the previous owner had verified it was extremely sharp. In those

days there were consistency problems. Specifically look into

Raptars and Ektanons; they are a steal!

 

Or the APO Ronars can do you well. The one caveat is that all

these lenses were made to do one to one work and therefore

don't have much coverage. The shortest lens with decent

coverage of 8x10 at infinity is maybe 14 inches. At 16 inches and

above, you start to get some decent movements. Dana