Konica GRII 300mm F9 lens, good for general photography?

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I just picked up a mint Konica GRII 300mm F9 lens in barrel. I got it because it was very cheap :-) Anybody has any experience using this lens for general photography? I'd like to know if it's worth my time to make a lens board and waste some time & money on film and processing etc.

-- Sorin Varzaru (svarzaru@bigfoot.com), January 29, 2001

Answers

Sorin, It's a nasty terrible lens and I'll give you $5 more than you paid. Kidding aside, I bought the same in 260mm. It covers 11X14 with some movements and in the few tests I've had time to do it seems very sharp and contrasty. I was comparing it with a 240 process Nikkor and lines resolved were equal. It looks to me to be one of those barrels that isn't goin in a shutter very east though. Probably not at all. On mine the rear element actually sticks out beyond any protective area on the barrel so I have to be very careful with it. Think about that $5 profit buddy!

-- Jim Galli (jimgalli@sierra.net), January 29, 2001.

I've heard that the 30omm version of this lens will screw into a Copal#3

-- sheldon hambrick (sheldon_hambrick@hotmail.com), January 30, 2001.

The Konica GRIIs are great lenses. They appear to be similar to the Rodenstock Apo-Gerogon in specification, but my 300mm GRII is huge, with much more glass than the same focal length Apo-Gerogon or G-Claron.
The coverage appears to be close to 90 degrees at f/22, I'm almost tempted to buy a 10x8 camera to make use of it. (100mm of movement on 10x8! Hmmm?)
I got my GRIIs as a set of three. A 150mm, a 210mm, and a 300mm all mounted on a huge process camera panel. The 150mm and 210mm are pin sharp on 5x4, but I can't even get the 300mm into the throat of my MPP technical, and it doesn't look as if the barrel strips down easily either. I have doubts that a #3 shutter would take it.
You need a strong camera with a big front panel to take that baby.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), January 30, 2001.

The diameter of the front cell thread (the side that screws into the barrel) is 2 1/4 inch. Is that the diameter of a copal 3 shutter? And if it is, isn't the distance between the front and rear element important?

-- Sorin Varzaru (svarzaru@bigfoot.com), January 30, 2001.

Send an E-mail to Steve Grimes (check www.skgrimes.com for the address) he probably has an idea. Odds are that it would take a #3 shutter if it fits anything.

He mounted a 360mm process Nikkor into a #3 for me. The shutter itself is not cheap.

Packard shutters are another option.

-- mike rosenlof (mike_rosenlof@yahoo.com), January 30, 2001.



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