Frank_E
8-Sep-2011, 11:25
I suspect I know the answer to the question but will ask for opinions anyways.
I know the Schneider Symmars appear to have a reasonably good reputation for quality, and that Rodenstock Gernoar's are reputed to be lower cost "beginner's lenses" but have reasonable quality if stopped down....
Sometime ago I picked up a Schneider Symmar 180 f5.6 for a reasonable cost ($145 including shipping). It seems to be in an older copal 1 shutter. When the lens arrived I realized it was a situation where someone had "repurposed" the shutter because the markings showed the aperture to start at f6.3. The glass is clean and the shutter works well and since the cost was reasonable I decided to keep it. As a point of interest the front cell was screwed in with 4 spacers, which suggests to me someone took care to make sure the lens had the correct spacings. I haven't shot with the lens yet because I haven't gotten around to recalibrating/remarking the aperture settings.
Several weeks ago I was sucessful in buying some clean front and rear cells for a Rodenstock Geronar lens. Again the glass is clean and the price was reasonable ($55 with shipping). What attracted me was that this is an f6.3 lens that would fit into the aformentioned copal 1 f6.3 shutter. I had also heard that the Geronars are lighter smaller lenses which are convenient for backpacking which attracted me.
I do recognize that if I want to go to the bother of swapping that I can use the same shutter for both focal lengths (once I create a conversion table for the 180).
My question is to those who are familiar with one of both of these lenses, how much better is the Schneider 180 versus the Geronar 210?
Thanks for your feedback.
I know the Schneider Symmars appear to have a reasonably good reputation for quality, and that Rodenstock Gernoar's are reputed to be lower cost "beginner's lenses" but have reasonable quality if stopped down....
Sometime ago I picked up a Schneider Symmar 180 f5.6 for a reasonable cost ($145 including shipping). It seems to be in an older copal 1 shutter. When the lens arrived I realized it was a situation where someone had "repurposed" the shutter because the markings showed the aperture to start at f6.3. The glass is clean and the shutter works well and since the cost was reasonable I decided to keep it. As a point of interest the front cell was screwed in with 4 spacers, which suggests to me someone took care to make sure the lens had the correct spacings. I haven't shot with the lens yet because I haven't gotten around to recalibrating/remarking the aperture settings.
Several weeks ago I was sucessful in buying some clean front and rear cells for a Rodenstock Geronar lens. Again the glass is clean and the price was reasonable ($55 with shipping). What attracted me was that this is an f6.3 lens that would fit into the aformentioned copal 1 f6.3 shutter. I had also heard that the Geronars are lighter smaller lenses which are convenient for backpacking which attracted me.
I do recognize that if I want to go to the bother of swapping that I can use the same shutter for both focal lengths (once I create a conversion table for the 180).
My question is to those who are familiar with one of both of these lenses, how much better is the Schneider 180 versus the Geronar 210?
Thanks for your feedback.