Lenses for 8x10

[dacruzphoto]

Hi everyone.
I will receive my first 8x10 machine in a few days. I am however having some difficulty in understanding what would be the lens board and the 270mm lens that I should buy for an 8x10 camera. I don't care about the brand.
Can anybody help me?

Thank you.

 

[anyone]

If your 8x10 happens to be a Toyo, let me know. I still have a recessed Copal 1 lensboard for that camera.

 

[Jack]

Lensboard depends on the brand of camera you bought and what size board it uses -- there are at least a dozen different kinds. Whether or not you need a recessed board depends on what your bellows compression is, but in most cases you would not need one, a flat one will be fine. Now to lenses. The "normal for 8x10 is usually considered to be a 300-360, so your 270 is going to be on the wide side. FTR, the best lens recommendations I ever saw came from Sinar years ago -- they stated the best trio of lenses you can get are the normal at the diagonal of your format, one at the short side of your format, and one at 2x the long side of your format. The diagonal of full 8x10 is close to 360mm, but in actuality you loose about 20mm all around the edges due to the film-holder, and why many prefer the 300. YMMV.

 

[dacruzphoto]

Lensboard depends on the brand of camera you bought and what size board it uses -- there are at least a dozen different kinds. Whether or not you need a recessed board depends on what your bellows compression is, but in most cases you would not need one, a flat one will be fine. Now to lenses. The "normal for 8x10 is usually considered to be a 300-360, so your 270 is going to be on the wide side. FTR, the best lens recommendations I ever saw came from Sinar years ago -- they stated the best trio of lenses you can get are the normal at the diagonal of your format, one at the short side of your format, and one at 2x the long side of your format. The diagonal of full 8x10 is close to 360mm, but in actuality you loose about 20mm all around the edges due to the film-holder, and why many prefer the 300. YMMV.

Thank you very much for all the info.

 

[dacruzphoto]

If your 8x10 happens to be a Toyo, let me know. I still have a recessed Copal 1 lensboard for that camera.

I live in Portugal.
Thank you very much.

 

[KC_2020]

Will you be shooting in a studio or on location ? That may be a deciding factor in your choice of lens.

Also consider your need for movements. A 240mm lens will cover 8X10 but leave you without much control. Nikon, Fuji and Schneider made compact 300mm lenses that will be light and easy to carry but again their image circle will be limited. Check the specifications carefully before you buy.

I love this Schneider 360mm lens on my 8X10 but it weighs 1.5Kg. You need to be carful when you adjust the lens standard because it will tilt much further than you wanted and in a hurry

 

[Alkibiades]

If you want a cheap, compact and extremly sharp lens: simply go for G-Claron.
The lens has still very large image circle with image angle about 64-68°, starts with F9 and weighs 1/2 of the Symmar/Sironar.
It is a similar lens to Fuji A, but much cheaper to get.
Apo Ronar 360 mm is also a very sharp lens and very small too, but will not allows much movements (46° imageangle)

 

[arri]

If you want a cheap, compact and extremly sharp lens: simply go for G-Claron.
The lens has still very large image circle with image angle about 64-68°, starts with F9 and weighs 1/2 of the Symmar/Sironar.
It is a similar lens to Fuji A, but much cheaper to get.
Apo Ronar 360 mm is also a very sharp lens and very small too, but will not allows much movements (46° imageangle)

I made the best experiance with a 270mm f/9 Schneider G-Claron. I bought one with a few thin scratches in the front glass für 20 Euros and it is an incredible sharp lens.
A like new lens cost more.
The advantage of the Schneider lenses is you can mount the lens cells directly into a shutter. The 270mm fits in a size I shutter.

A good choice is an old Dagot lenses, don´t worry when it is not coated, the lens design avoits reflexions. A 300mm Dagor has a huge image circle and is pretty small.
The problem is that it is rare and in good conditions not as cheap like a G-Claron.

I have a Dagor clone from Schneider, already coated, made in the late 1940th, a 6.8/360mm in a Compound shutter, image circle is official 650mm (25 1/2").
When you have a chance to get one of this lenses is is a good choice as well.

A Schneider Symmar 5.6/300 is a great lens too, with a little bit luck available for less than 250 Euros in Europe, mounted in a Compund shutter.
This f/5.6 Symmar lenses are not so big and heavy like the later Symmar S f/5.6

 

[dacruzphoto]

Will you be shooting in a studio or on location ? That may be a deciding factor in your choice of lens.

Also consider your need for movements. A 240mm lens will cover 8X10 but leave you without much control. Nikon, Fuji and Schneider made compact 300mm lenses that will be light and easy to carry but again their image circle will be limited. Check the specifications carefully before you buy.

I love this Schneider 360mm lens on my 8X10 but it weighs 1.5Kg. You need to be carful when you adjust the lens standard because it will tilt much further than you wanted and in a hurry

View attachment 184480

Thank you very much.

 

[dacruzphoto]

I made the best experiance with a 270mm f/9 Schneider G-Claron. I bought one with a few thin scratches in the front glass für 20 Euros and it is an incredible sharp lens.
A like new lens cost more.
The advantage of the Schneider lenses is you can mount the lens cells directly into a shutter. The 270mm fits in a size I shutter.

A good choice is an old Dagot lenses, don´t worry when it is not coated, the lens design avoits reflexions. A 300mm Dagor has a huge image circle and is pretty small.
The problem is that it is rare and in good conditions not as cheap like a G-Claron.

I have a Dagor clone from Schneider, already coated, made in the late 1940th, a 6.8/360mm in a Compound shutter, image circle is official 650mm (25 1/2").
When you have a chance to get one of this lenses is is a good choice as well.

A Schneider Symmar 5.6/300 is a great lens too, with a little bit luck available for less than 250 Euros in Europe, mounted in a Compund shutter.
This f/5.6 Symmar lenses are not so big and heavy like the later Symmar S f/5.6

Thank you very very much!

 

[dacruzphoto]

I'm looking for a 270mm lens for my 8x10 camera.

 

[lookbook]

... there are also very light cameras for 8x10 - with the very light cameras you have to make sure that the lenses are not too heavy, because the mechanics of the camera might be too weak ...
Which camera will it be for you?

 

[dacruzphoto]

... there are also very light cameras for 8x10 - with the very light cameras you have to make sure that the lenses are not too heavy, because the mechanics of the camera might be too weak ...
Which camera will it be for you?

Svedovsky 8x10.

 

[lookbook]

... I myself have not had any contact with a Svedovsky 8x10.
But the camera looks very neat and I assume that you will get a great camera.
Congratulations and have a lot of fun with it.

 

[DanielDuarte]

There aren’t many 270 lenses on the market.

vintage option: Dagor has a 270, Kodak 250 wide field Ektar is money. There is a 270 G Claron butthey don’t pop up often.

 

[arri]

Svedovsky 8x10.

Very interesting.
I thing about a Svedovky 8x10W for my Steinheil Orthostigmat 4.5/210mm, the G-Claron 9/270mm and the Angulon 6.8/165mm as well. The camera has a weight of 3.5kg (~8 US Pounds) Very important for me.

 

[dacruzphoto]

There aren’t many 270 lenses on the market.

vintage option: Dagor has a 270, Kodak 250 wide field Ektar is money. There is a 270 G Claron butthey don’t pop up often.

Thank you

 

[Ari]

You can also look for Computar or Kowa-Graphic lenses in 270mm.
These are process lenses that are very sharp and have a lot of coverage in that focal length.

 

[bernardl]

I am going through the exact same process at the moment, my new 8x10 Chamonix Alpinist has arrived a few days ago.

This list is pretty convenient: https://www.largeformatphotography.info/lenses/LF8x10in.html

In terms of lenses:
- I still had from my 4x5 days a Rodenstock 210mm S that barely covers 8x10
- a Nikkor 300mm f9 M that is super light, very sharp and does cover with a bit of margin

I bought additionally after an extensive hunt:
- a Nikon 150mm SW f8
- a Schneider 210mm Super Symmar f5.6 XL, a beast of a lens that I intend to use when I want to apply lots of movements, typically not too far from the train station/car considering its weight
- a slightly rare Voigtlander Universal Heliar 300mm f4.5 that seems to be very sweet for portraits but whose image circle is a bit small for 8x10 (a 360mm would have been better)
- a Nikon 450mm f9 M that is light and seems to be very good
- a Fujinon 600mm c
- a Schneider APO Tele Xenar 600mm f9

The plan is to use the 150mm, 300mm, 450mm or 600mm Fuji in the field (with the 150mm + 450mm as basic set up) while hiking and the other ones in the studio/city.

 

[bernardl]

The Universal Heliar 300mm f4.5 on the new Chamonix 8x10 Alpinist photographed with an IQ4-150.