Two questions: 1) I wonder whether anybody can tell the image circle of a 210 mm F10 Process Nikkor, particularly whether it is suitable for 8x10.

2) The Turner Reich triple convertables: how usable are they? Do they have focus shifts? Lukas Werth

-- Lukas Werth (werthlvk@zedat.fu-berlin.de), May 17, 1999

Answers

2) Very usable and Yes.

I have 2, a 12" and a 15". The 12' is a 12-19-25 and the 15 " is a 15- 24-36. I have used the lenses at normal and the second focal length with great success. Used at their maximum focal lengths, the results are less acceptable, ie. noticable softness. As far as focus shift goes, it is there and is not always that easy to see, but with a loupe, I use a 3X it isn't to bad. Use a yellow or orange filter, BEHIND the lens and the images are very sharp. Made into an 8X10 contact it is hard to tell, if not impossible to tell, which focal length was used. I especially like the 19 inch focal length, just remember that the lense gets a LONG way away from you and it is necessary to move to the front of the camera to stop down. Speaking of stopping down, remember to use the correct fstop scale for the focal length, or you will have underexposed negatives. Also take into consideration the contrast enhansing qualitys of the filter and adjust development accordingly, if you find it necessary. Laslty, don't be afraid a few bubbles in the glass, as long as it is clean and unscuffed they should perform well. The old shutters, mine are a Betax No. 4 and Ilex No. 5, can be cleaned and calibrated to work with great accuracy, as long as 1/25 is fast enough for you . They are funky and heavy but for 2/3 of what you would pay for a current lens I got 3 or focal lengths, and a lot of enjoyment.

-- Marv (mthompson@clinton.net), May 17, 1999.

Amen brother Marv, Amen!

I got two series II T.R.s, the Weston 12/21/28 and the 12/19.7/26 and can mix and match on the Betax # 4. Gotta get 'em in to S. K. Grimes for a millimeter stop table 'cause now I can get 12/13/13.5/14 focal lengths. Granted, that's a lot of "normal" f.l. choices, but I'm hoping to find/add a third series II and get a little wider. I've paid as little as $200.00 and as much as $400.00 for 'em.

Check out anything from Weston's Guggenheim project and judge the quality from that. "California & the West" and "Weston's Weston's"

The focus shift seems to vary a bit, some of the single cells exhibit it more than others.

-- Sean yates (yatescats@yahoo.com), May 17, 1999.

p.s. check out the Jan/Feb '98 View Camera Magazine, 3 good articles about older lenses & convertibles.

-- Sean yates (yatescats@yahoo.com), May 17, 1999.

Lukas,

Regarding (1), I have one of these lenses in the 260 mm focal length and it covers 11x14 barely. I manually calculated the image circle once but don't seem to have my notes anymore. 18.5" sticks in my head, which if I did the trig right should be about 84 degrees, which again if I did the trig right (you better check) should be about 378 millimeters of coverage for the 210, which would just get you by.

Bear in mind that I don't really know what I'm talking about.

As far as the quality of the f10 nikkors, mine is a marvelous lens. The only problem is it only stops down to f32. If the seller has two of these 210s let me know his address; I'd love to purchase one.

-- Erik Ryberg (ryberg@seanet.com), May 17, 1999.