Schneider Super Symmar 80/4.5 XL

[Thingy]

I currently have two ultra-wide angle lenses for landscape & occasional architectural photography: my Nikkor 90/4.5 and Grandagon 75/4.5 (with CF).

As I find the Nikkor too heavy I am wondering whether to sell both lenses and buy a secondhand Schneider Super Symmar 80/4.5 XL. As I would be using this with a Maxwell Hi-Lux screen would this be OK for occasional architectural photography? I have considered the 72XL but am looking for something lighter & less wide. For super-ultra-wide work I use my 58XL lens. I have noticed that the 80XL is both light, small and has greater movements than my Grandagon.

Can anyone offer me advice?

[Nigels]

Its an excellent lens and is indeed comparatively small and light - I replaced my 90/8 SA with it.
I also use in combination with the 58XL.

[Nigels]

A couple of shots taken using the 80/4.5XL here;

[dave_whatever]

The things which put me off the 80SSXL are:
Stronger falloff than the true wideangle super-angulon type designs
The issue about wide open being too soft to focus properly, and having to stop down to f8 to focus anyway
I think there were some quality control issues early on in the production run too.

Clearly the latter problem is avoided if you can check serial numbers or buy new. The first one is a matter of taste, and the inconvenience of the middle one might be outweighed by the small size and weight. Bearing in mind I gleaned all the above from the comfort of my armchair there do seem to be a lot of happy users out there, so what do I know.

[Trevor Crone]

The 80XLSS is my most used WA lens on the 4x5 format. A nice compact lens with plenty of movement and pin sharp when stopped down. My Ebony SW45 is fitted with their WA fresnel and I have no focusing problems with this or any of my WA lenses. I have it fitted in a Copal Press shutter, a great combo for street photography.

[jennym]

I think your decision depends on how you see, and other factors such as how it fits in with your other lenses, and how important weight and other factors are to you. I had an 80XL and it was a lovely lens, but I found I didn't use it very much as it was a bit too wide for the way I 'saw' an image. I replaced it with a 90mm which I use quite a lot, and a 72mm which I find I use very little. I am happy with the change, but that is the way I 'see'. It's a small lens, and the one I had was very sharp, but I suggest you think about how much you would use it for the type of photography you do.

[Dave Tolcher]

RW have a nice newer s/h one at the moment.... Price is Ok ish and does avoid the fogging risk which is significant. I had several s/h ones last year and all had fogging to a lesser or greater extent. New price is scary so my judgement is that much as I would like one because of its size & weight I cant see any difference with the 75mm nikkor that I have and gets used for about 1% of my shots. CC stays in the wallet and I wont take a risk with s/h.

One thing I would be wary of is that 80 doesnt really replace a 90 - its quite a bit wider but would pair well with a 110mm. Depends on what your next longest lens is as to whether the gap becomes too big. I never had issues focussing at 4.5 when I did have one but certainly stopping down to 5.6 sharpens everything up nicely. Quality is good but not as exceptional as the 110.

[Thingy]

Many thanks for your contributions. If I buy one I would be looking for a newer one without the problems encountered with earlier versions. At present I don't use my 90mm for landscape work as it's too heavy & bulky to take with other lenses, though it's good for low light. I will think about what you have all said, including Jenny's comment about whether it is too wide. When I take my camera abroad I need to travel relativly light, and this year only took my new 110XL and PS945...

...As it rained almost every day I ended up mainly using my Mamiya 645 Pro TL!

I think the ideal thing would be to try one out to see if it is suitable.