Over the years, I went through several sets of lenses. I tried a few of the “vintage” lenses that were available at the time. And by vintage, I mean lenses made in the 1950s and 1960s. While they were generally affordable in the 80s and 90s, they paled compared to the selection available at that time.
75 mm f/4.5 Rodenstock Grandagon-N
This lens is fast and relatively small, both traits needed for a wide-angle lens.
It is mounted on a Tech IV recessed lens board. A recessed board is necessary to use a 75 mm lens on a Technika IV.
There is a quick-release adaptor for the shutter cable on the lens board. It was a little too delicate for jamming into the backpack, and it broke at one point. A little judiciously applied epoxy and gaffer tape fix it.
The Linhof logo fell off the lens board one day. It’s in my backpack somewhere…
90 mm f/6.8 Rodenstock Grandagon-N
An excellent alternative to the ubiquitous Schneider Super Angulon. Mounted on a Master Technika recessed lens board.
It was such a pain to connect a shutter cable to the lens when mounted in the recessed board that I permanently left a short cable extender connected to the shutter.
125 mm f/5.6 Fujinon-W
The 125 mm fills the gap between 90 and 150 mm much better than the more common 135 mm lens. This Fujinon also has nearly the same film coverage as a Schneider Symmar-S 135 mm!
150 mm f/5.6 Fujinon-W
A classic lens size. This most remarkable thing about this lens is that it has an extremely deep curvature to the front lens element.
240 mm f/9 Schneider G-Claron
The G-Claron is often overlooked for use in the field. Originally designed for process and copy work, it is apo-chromatic, light weight, and extremely sharp! This may be my favourite lens.
355 mm f/9 Schneider G-Claron
No photo yet… but it looks very similar to the 240 mm G-Claron, but huge!
Even though it is a G-Claron, this lens is definitely getting big, but not as big and heavy as an f/5.6 lens is! That said, it is too large to fit between the front standards on a Technika IV, so I put an aluminum shim about 1 cm thick between the lens and the lensboard.
Light Meters
You can read about the light meters I use on the next page.