Holy TrinityFrom left: Fujinon C 600mm f11.5, Nikor M 450 f9, G-Claron 355mm f9

Over the past year, I've been building a lens collection to use with my new Chamonix 14x17 view camera. Normal (being 560mm on this format) and wider lenses are relatively easy to find. But its at the longer end of the spectrum that the choices become more varied and its harder to make a decision. So I started by buying what I call the ULF "Holy Trinity" of modern shuttered lenses that is just about in arsenal of every serious ULF user shooting sizes above 11x14: G-Claron 355mm f9, Nikkor M 450mm f9, and Fujinon C 600 f11.5. They are relatively lightweight, small enough to fit on a Linhof Technica lensboard, have manageable filter sizes, and cast usable image circles far in excess of what is quoted by their manufacturers. Of the three, only the Fujinon C 600mm is hard to find these days.

It's worth noting that many of these recommendations would work just as well for the 12x20 format with its 593mm image circle requirement being just a little more than the 560mm needed for 14x17.

Now if your budget won't allow for the "Holy Trinity" there is a "Second String" worth considering. The added bonus is these lenses are a little faster but they are heavier, need to be on Sinar or larger lensboards, have bigger filter rings and usually come in older Compound 5 or Ilex 5 shutters. The Symmar Convertible is particularly interesting since it can do double duty at 360mm and 620mm, potentially making it the only lens you will ever need - assuming your front standard can take almost 2kg or 4.2lbs of weight. The B&L lens is somewhat hard to find pre mounted in a shutter but more common as a barrel. Goerz Red Dot Artar 24", Apo-Nikkor 600mm or 610mm and Apo-Ronar 600mm are all pretty much interchangeable. I would pick up the first one you find in an Ilex 5 or Copal 3 shutter.

* Misses maximum aperture by 1/3 stop

Now to get a real jump up from 600mm to make a difference in perspective I would suggest you want to go up to 30" or 760mm. Personally I looked for more modern lenses that could be found in a shutter or at least mounted in one. Many process lenses can be shutter mounted and made to work. Sometimes this results in a small loss of speed of 1-2 stops as the shutter constricts the aperture but its not usually material. Older process lenses can be made in brass and be extraordinarily heavy. Likewise, their sheer bulk can make it hard to mount on a smaller lensboard and fit on a 'modern' shutter like a Copal #3 or more likely an Ilex #5. So in practical terms if the lens can be shutter mounted it will fit on a Sinar board of 5.25" square or larger. Once you have found your barrel lens, you will need to buy a shutter, a flange and a lensboard.

Shutters are often easier to buy attached to a lens. The 375mm f6.3 Ilex-Calumet Caltar is a particularly unloved lens that comes in an Ilex #5. Remember that the Ilex 5 came in several flavors, starting from the left in the image below: Kodak branded (avoid due to smaller aperture and mount), Black (avoid, oldest version), Silver Older (look for this one), Silver Newer (this is the best). Then there is one more kind, the "Syncro Electronic" that can only be fired with an electronic voltage and is basically useless otherwise.

Left to right: Kodak Ilex#5, Black Ilex#5, Older Silver Ilex#5, Newer Silver Ilex#5 Ilex #% Shutter VariationsLeft to right: Kodak Ilex#5, Black Ilex#5, Older Silver Ilex#5, Newer Silver Ilex#5

Similarly the Copal 3 comes in two sizes the 3 and the smaller 3S.  Avoid the 3S as it has a smaller maximum aperture size. The regular Copal 3 comes in three versions starting oldest first: small tooth rim in silver, wider smoother tooth rim in silver, and finally black. If possible go for the black version or second best silver with wider smoother tooth rim, avoid the the other two versions.

Front left to right: Copal 3S, Copal 3 Silver Small Teeth, Copal 3 Silver Big Smooth Teeth, Copal 3 Black

Copal 3 Shutter VariationsFront left to right: Copal 3S, Copal3 Silver Small TeethSilver Big Teeth (S), Copal 3 (C) Copal 3 Big Teeth Black (B)

Then you need to get the barrel mounted to the shutter and lensboard by an machinist like SK Grimes which usually charges around $350-450 for the honor. At the same time as you have the mounting done, I recommend that you ask your machinist to put some threads on the lens front element (if there are none) and make you a new front lens cap. The reason being that most process lenses don't come with filter threads and it can be hard to find a good fitting cap for your custom set-up. Often you have the option of a small range of filter sizes - say about 5mm plus or minus. So if possible try and standardize on some favorite sizes - like 67mm, 77mm, 95mm or 105mm.

Left to right: Symmar Convertible 360/620 f5.6/12 in Compound 4, 30" Red Dot Artar f12 in Copal 3, and 35" Red Dot Artar f12 in Ilex #5

Variety of shuttered ULF lensesLeft to right: Symmar Convertible 360/620 f5.6/12 in Compound 5, 30" Red Dot Artar f12 in Copal 3, and 35" Red Dot Artar f12 in Ilex #5

The most common lenses to shutter mount are the APO-Nikkor, Rodenstock Ronars and Goerz Red Dot Artars. The APO-Nikkors get huge after 760mm and can't reasonable be shutter mounted beyond that focal length. Rodenstock makes the regular APO-Ronar and a compact APO-Ronar-CL line of process lenses. After 760mm the most sensible lenses to choose are the Goerz Red Dot Artars but you really want an aluminum version from after the late 1960s not an older brass one because of the weight penalty. The weight penalty can be offset through shutter mounting since much of the brass barrel is discarded in the process. The Carl Ziess / Doctar Apo Germinar lenses in 750mm and 1000mm come in barrels and a native Copal 3 mount.  They are some of the most modern processes lenses available but they are apparently hard to cut out of the barrel and shutter mount on an Ilex #5. Then there is of course the Schneider 1100mm f14 Fine Art XXL which even if you had the $3-5k to buy it is hard to find. Many of the longer, and some of the shorter, lenses on this list are over 3 Kg and would put a real strain on most field cameras. So while they could be feasible mounted on a shutter you are probably better off with one of the sub-3 Kg options.

* Will lose 1 or more stops of speed when mounted. For example, a 35" Artar goes from max aperture f12.5 to f19 in a Copal 3.

Now if you are content to use a barrel lens without a shutter or have a Packard shutter of the right size lying around then you might want to consider the lenses in the "Super Long / Heavy / Big Barrels" list below. Most of the lenses are too big to mount on a Sinar board and weigh so much that they would put a real strain on just about any front standard, but hey, with lenses this size and the bellows requirements this long you are probably thinking of mounting it on the side or end of a delivery truck! Right?

Cheaper than the more modern process lenses list above, would be to use an old process lens from one of the former major lens makers. Allen Rumme's site has an extensive list of process lenses of which a bunch would work for 14x17 format. In particular look at the Ross Apo Process (coated) and Apochromat Xpres (coated) lenses from 21" to 48" and the Taylor Hobson Cooke Series IX Apochromatic (coated), Cooke Series Vb Process, and Cooke Process lenses also from 21" to 48". I wouldn't consider mounting these lenses on a shutter but simply using them in a barrel stopped way down to get long exposure times you can manually execute. 

By necessity this series of tables is incomplete in places. I don't own many of these lens myself. If you have any of the missing data please leave a comment below. It will be much appreciated and a big help to the 14x17" ULF community