Seeking:120 to 180mm fl, large (70mm+) coverage ∞ to ~ 1x

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JohnDownie
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Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2011 6:57 am

Seeking:120 to 180mm fl, large (70mm+) coverage ∞ to ~ 1x

Post by JohnDownie »

Lens - 120 to 180mm fl, large (70mm+) coverage, ∞ to ~ 1x

Any favorites?

ray_parkhurst
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Post by ray_parkhurst »

The Nikon 120mm AM*ED is good at the low FL end, and I like the 180mm Rodagon on the long end.

JohnDownie
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Post by JohnDownie »

ray_parkhurst wrote:The Nikon 120mm AM*ED is good at the low FL end, and I like the 180mm Rodagon on the long end.
Thanks, Ray.

Are you speaking of the Apo Rodagon f/4.8 or the regular 5.6?

John

dmillard
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Post by dmillard »

The 150mm f/9 Rodenstock Apo-Ronar and the 180mm f/9 Fujinon A are both good choices, if you don't mind the slow maximum aperture.

ray_parkhurst
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Post by ray_parkhurst »

JohnDownie wrote:
ray_parkhurst wrote:The Nikon 120mm AM*ED is good at the low FL end, and I like the 180mm Rodagon on the long end.
Thanks, Ray.

Are you speaking of the Apo Rodagon f/4.8 or the regular 5.6?

John
I only have the regular f5.6, so can't comment on the Apo.

Lou Jost
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Post by Lou Jost »

If you have an unlimited budget, the latest S-K 120mm macro lens for Phase One cameras is extremely good, according to tests, and goes from infinity to 1:1. The lenses mentioned above have fixed elements so cannot be great at both infinity and 1:1. This SK has floating elements. I have the older Mamiya 120 macro lens and it is pretty good in terms of resolution per picture width. Covers 75mm at infinity; maybe more at 1:1.

chris_ma
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Post by chris_ma »

I guess it comes down to quality vs price vs convenience.

if top quality is desired and funds are limited it might be better to get one lens for infinity and one for close range.

Lou Jost
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Post by Lou Jost »

"... it might be better to get one lens for infinity and one for close range."
That's definitely the way to get best quality, regardless of your budget.

JohnDownie
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Post by JohnDownie »

Part of the (unstated) goal here is to identify some cheap and cheerful lenses to play with on a DIY Zork-style tilt shift snout, in addition to a decent all-rounder.

I have good specific lenses to cover 1:1 and higher.

ray_parkhurst
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Post by ray_parkhurst »

JohnDownie wrote:Part of the (unstated) goal here is to identify some cheap and cheerful lenses to play with on a DIY Zork-style tilt shift snout, in addition to a decent all-rounder.

I have good specific lenses to cover 1:1 and higher.
For 1:1, these long FL lenses will need very long extensions. How does this Zork snout work?

Lou Jost
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Post by Lou Jost »

In that case I'd suggest the 120mm Mamiya macro lens, manual focus version. They are incredibly cheap now, much cheaper than 35mm macro lenses, though they used to cost thousands.

However, now you seem to suggest that you will only be looking at a small piece of the image circle. Medium format lenses have higher resolution per picture width than 35mm lenses, but generally they don't have higher resolution per millimeter on the sensor. So the quality of a highly cropped medium format image might not be up to your expectations. It would be especially bad if you were cropping down to APS or MFT sensors.

Edit to add that the Mamiya 120mm needs no extension to go to 1:1.

JohnDownie
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Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2011 6:57 am

Post by JohnDownie »

ray_parkhurst wrote:
JohnDownie wrote:Part of the (unstated) goal here is to identify some cheap and cheerful lenses to play with on a DIY Zork-style tilt shift snout, in addition to a decent all-rounder.

I have good specific lenses to cover 1:1 and higher.
For 1:1, these long FL lenses will need very long extensions. How does this Zork snout work?
Essentially a tilt shift adapter with a female M65 thread, to which I can add extension tubes. For the most part, closer to the infinity end will be used.

It is a combination for field low magnification macro work, and selective focus at or closer to infinity work.

Does anyone remember Mark Tucker’s “Plungercam”?

This is the factory original:

http://www.zoerk.de/bilder/eospro.jpg


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