Wide angle

[acjtucson]

I could use the help and advice of more experienced LF photographers than

myself. I have been learning how to use an Arca Swiss Field Classic 4x5 with a

Schneider Apo-Symmar 5.6/180mm lens for the last year or so. I am mostly

interested in shooting landscapes in the Southwest. I am looking around for a

wide angle lens and now I'm a bit puzzled. I am considering Schneider

Super-Angulon XL 5.6/72mm or 5.6/90 mm or the Super-Symmar XL 4.5/80 mm. I have

read a bit about the image circles and covering power. Is the main difference

between the Super Symmar XL and Super Angulon XL the more compact size and

lighter weight and smaller image circle of the former? Is the image quality of

both about the same? I am not blowing up any prints to cover a bus but maybe to

40". Any advice on which route to go?

[brucecahn]

The best wide lenses are the Rodenstock f4.5 Grandagon. The Schneider XL's are next. The 80mm XL is the worst for sharpnes.

[gerard_bynre]

What about the Apo-Symmar 110 XL? I choose that over the lenses you are considering

because of size (the Super-Angulon's are huge, and take a huge filter size), and the 110

seems to be much more highly rated than the 80mm, on this forum at least, and has a

much bigger image circle. You might legitimately consider the 110mm too narrow though,

I actually ended supplementing it with a Nikkor SW90 because the 110mm was not wide

enough for some cityscapes I was shooting. By the way, the Nikkor was a bargain price at

B&H for a new lens, and frankly it seems as sharp as the Schneider to me, but you seem to

be only considering Schneider. I generally like fast lenses because I do a lot of available

light stuff, but I'm sure many people on this forum will wonder why you need such big,

fast, expensive lenses for landscapes.

 

I've no experience with the Grandagon f.4.5, but I can say that the sharpest lens I own is a

Rodenstock (Apo-Sironar S 150mm) so maybe Bruce is right!

[michael_briggs2]

The Super-Symmar XL have been very popular because of their smaller size and somewhat lighter weight (they are rather dense lenses). Many LF photographers rave about them. I use a 110 mm SS-XL for 4x5. For the shorter focal lengths, depending on the extent of movements that you use, you might prefer a design with more coverage. For example, I use a 72 mm Super-Angulon-XL. I've found the image quality of both to be excellent at typical taking apertures, though the 110 mm SS-XL is somewhat soft off-axis wide-open. I also used a 90 mm f8 Nikkor-SW in the past. The 90 mm Super-Angulon-XL is a rather large lens, so you might want to consider whether you really need the extreme coverage of this particular 90 mm. In short focal lengths, another advantage of the Biogen types (Super-Angulon, Grandagon, Nikkor-SW, Fuji-SW) is improved uniformity of illumination. There are past discussions of these lenses in the archives of this forum.

[frankz]

Some of the older German barrel-mount goodies aren't bad at all and can be had rather cheaply as compaired to the newer name-brand stuff, that is, if you have a way to rig a shutter or use a Sinar (Horseman also) and can use the behind-the-lens shutter system as I do.

 

 

Best thing to do is play with many lenses and see for yourself what you want from your work. The lenses that give the results you want to see are the best for you.

[acjtucson]

Thanks a lot for the responses. It was all very helpful. I had limited myself to the Schneider line because of what I had read in Dykinga's book. I realize that is rather slavish and not the best reasoning but I have seen some of his prints blown up large enough to cover a bus and they looked pretty sharp. I'll look into the Rodenstock and the SS-XL 110 mm and the Nikkor 90. I looked at prices at B+H (I think I have spent enough there to put at least one of their kids thru college and law school) and also Badger Graphic. I was surprised that for these lenses, Badger was a couple hundred cheaper for all 3.

Thanks again for the advice. This forum is always extremely helpful (and quick) for finding answers, and great answers at that.