In the Land of Giants - Schneider G-Claron 9/355, Nikkor-M 9/450, Fujinon-C 11.5/600
The title is a bit on the marketing side, i.e., to shamelessly attract
the attention of the reader. It would have been more accurate to write
"In the Land of Giants...that one can carry." If one wants to refer to
truly gigantic photographic lenses then the 760mm, 890mm, 1200mm
Apo-Ronar CL, or the very large Apo-Nikkors, or the Zeiss Germinars are
"the real McCoy": these are lenses for reproduction in the graphics
industry that often end up serving as photographic lenses. It is also
quite difficult if not all together impossible to adapt them to a
conventional Copal or even to the larger Ilex shutter (they are all
barrel lenses).
But even in standard photography there are lenses that are definitely
more "substantial" than the three we will see below and are the
six-element ones. These too are indeed quite difficult to carry around
on long walks. We will look at three "giant" lenses therefore that we
can reasonably put in a backpack and carry around without putting our
vertebrae in (too much) danger. Their coverage however is really huge;
for this reason we feel less guilty in having used the term "giants" in
the title...
Before looking at the three friends in detail, it is important to point
out that Nikon has stopped production of large format (LF) lenses
around the end of 2005. The number of Nikon LF lenses on the used
market however is such that it is quite useful to get to know them
anyway, although once the stock has been depleted it will no longer be
possible to buy them new.
As pointed out already, our three lenses are easier to carry than the
classical six-element ones and have a circle of coverage that can cover
up to 12x20 (without many movements). That is, once closed down to f/32
or more, they can project on the groundglass an image (of
excellent quality) with a diameter of about 600mm.
The classical six-element lenses are for instance the Schneider
Apo-Symmar 6.5/360 or 8.4/480: optically sophisticated and truly superb
performers, they are heavy and bulky, two deadly drawbacks for those
who do LF outside the studio (for instance up on the mountains) and
have to carry the equipment on their shoulders. To quantify this point,
it suffices to say that the Schneider Apo-Symmar 8.4/480 weighs 1850gr
(a bit more than 4 pounds) vs 640gr (1.5 pounds) of a Nikkor-M 9/450.
Schneider is not the only one to offer six-element lenses: in fact, all
other LF lens manufacturers have a similar line-up. Rodenstock has the
Apo-Sironar-S series (up to 360mm), Fuji has the CMW series (up to
450mm) and Nikon has the W series (up to 360mm). The three lenses
discussed here are optimized for an enlargement factor of about 1:5 (a
fifth of the actual dimensions), but when closed down to f/22 or more
(a typical occurrence in LF photography) the manufacturer itself allows
its use at infinity. So, nothing to be worried about even if one is an
image quality freak.
If one has to carry his or her equipment around and needs large
coverage, the three lenses here are somehow in a category by
themselves: small (for a lens in a Copal 3, that is!) and light. The
G-CLaron 9/355 weighs about 850gr (30 oz), the Fujinon-C 11.5/600
weighs about 600gr (21 oz), the Nikkor-M 9/450 weighs 640gr (a bit less
than 23 oz). These are ideal for 7x17 and 8x20, where they allow ample
movements. As we were saying before they also cover the 12x20 format;
in this case the G-Claron becomes a wide-angle (equivalent to a 28mm in
the Leica format), the Nikkor-M a 35mm lens in Leica format and the
Fujinon-C a normal lens. The three lenses require front filters with
the following diameters: 67mm (Nikkor-M and Fuji-C) and 77mm (G-Claron).
Using the three lenses in 8x10
These lenses are not interesting solely in ultra-large format (ULF)
photography (defined here as the photography with a negative larger
than 80 square inches), but also to those working in 8x10 as well. In
particular, the Nikkor-M and the Fujinon-C can be used as small and
medium tele without having to utilize the very expensive "true" tele
lenses such as Schneider's Apo-Tele-Xenar. The only drawback is that
they require a significant bellows extension (at least 450mm for the
Nikkor-M and 600mm for the Fujinon-C). Almost all the classical 8x10
folding have a bellows extension of 600mm or more, and therefore they
can accommodate the Fujinon-C focused to infinity.
The G-Claron 9/355 is of less interest to 8x10 shooters because there
are better light-weight solutions around the 300mm focal length.
Examples are the 300mm Nikkor-M and FUjinon-C. They both sport a Copal
1 and are truly feather-weight, i.e., 300gr (10.5 oz)! The G-Claron
9/305 (Copal 1) weighs 460gr (about 16 oz) and is an excellent option
as well.
Using the three lenses in 4x5
4x5 shooters can also be interested in the Nikkor-M and FUjinon-C. The
Nikkor-M 450mm corresponds to a 150mm lens in the Leica format, and
this starts being a rather aggressive focal length. The Fujinon-C
12.5/450 represents an interesting alternative in terms of weight,
though: in fact, the Fujinon-C comes in a Copal 1, while the 450mm
Nikkor-M is in a Copal 3. The price to pay is that the Fujinon is a bit
darker. My theory is that this is indeed caused by the Copal 1 itself,
as the frontal lens has the same diameter and the optical structure is
the same. The Fujinon-C 600mm has no competition from Nikon instead and
with its 600mm represents quite an impressive tele lens in 4x5 (200mm
equivalent in the Leica format). The problem with both lenses is of
course that of bellows extension. While there is some 4x5 folding that
offers a 450mm bellows extension (some Ebony, Canham, Gandolfi and
Lotus, for instance), I believe there is only one 4x5 folding that has
a 600mm bellows extension, that is Lotus.
For this very reason those using these focal lengths end up using a 5x7
folding with a 4x5 adaptor in the back. In fact, 5x7s come with a
bellows extension that is longer than that of their 4x5 cousins. Both
Ebony and Canham for instance allow the use of a 600mm lens on their
5x7 (albeit only at infinity). The 5x7 Lotus has a maximum bellows
extension of 680mm; this means that a Fujinon-C 600mm can be focused to
distances well below infinity.
To conclude, an interesting alternative to the use of both Nikkor-M and
Fujinon-C is that of true tele lenses, such as the Nikkor-T
360mm/500mm/720mm. The main advantage is well-known, i.e., these lenses
call for a shorter bellows extension. For instance, the 500mm Nikkor-T
requires 350mm of bellows to focus to infinity. This means that any
folding can use the Nikkor-T 500mm. The shorter bellows extension makes
the camera-lens complex less sensitive to wind gusts, an advantage that
people often tend to forget. The disadvantages of true tele lenses are
that some photographers dislike their optical signature and that they
make the management of movements more complicated. Because the nodal
point of the lens falls in front of the lens itself and not within,
this amplifies the effects of tilts and swings in a way that some
photographers find objectionable. Finally, but this is probably the
most serious drawback, the coverage of these true tele lenses is
drastically smaller than that of our giants. Again considering the
Nikkor-T 500mm, it has a circle of coverage of 210mm at f/22 which is
dwarfed by the immense circle of coverage of the Nikkor-M 9/450 that we
have introduced here.
Family portrait
To give an idea of how big our giants are we show them side-by-side
with a Canon 1.4/50 (this is a relatively big 50mm lens in the Leica
format) and a one euro coin. The three lenses are mounted on a (non
original) Linhof Technika lens board. As you can see it is no big deal
to mount a lens in Copal 3 on a Technika lens board.
Let's start with a family portrait
We then continue with three pictures of the G-Claron
three pictures of the Nikkor-M
and three pictures of the Fujinon-C.
The Nikkor-M and Fujinon-C are more or less equivalent in size, the
Nikkor-M being the smallest of the three, truly a remarkably compact
lens. The G-Claron is bigger and pays the price of having a 77mm front
lens (vs Nikkor's and Fujinon's 67mm). A Copal 3 set up has two rings
and not one as the Copal 0 and 1 have, i.e., the retaining ring and the
flange. The latter keeps the front lens and shutter apart from the lens
board, as one can see in the pictures, where the shutters are not
<i> against </i> the lens board. This is quite important
not in terms of being able to mount the lens on the lens board
(something that could be done anyway) but to mount the lens and
lensboard on the front standard of a LF camera.
Something else to notice is the variations in the Copal 3 shutters,
i.e., as far as external details are concerned, (e.g., see the levers).
The one in the G-Claron is somewhat older than those in the Nikkor-M
and Fujinon-C, that are of the very last generation (both bought
brand-new in 2005). The Copal in the Nikkor-M is branded Nikon, while
there is a simple "Made in Japan" in the G-Claron and Fujinon-C.
To conclude, a picture that shows side-by-side the largest of the
three, the G-Claron, and a truly "giant" six-element lens: the Symmar-S
6.8/360 on a 171mm Arca-Swiss lensboard (it cannot be mounted on a
Technika lensboard for reasons that would take too much space to
explain here). I rest my case! The difference in size is remarkable and
we return to what already said in terms of carrying (or, better, not
carrying...) these lenses around in a backpack.
Happy shooting!
Marco Annaratone