THE WEB'S MOST COMPLETE
FUJINON LARGE FORMAT LENS LIST

• View general information about Fuji and its many series of fine large format lenses

• View the Fujinon Lenses Owner's Manual in Adobe PDF format

• View their various lenses sorted by their focal lengths

• View their various lenses sorted by their lens series

• View their various lenses graphed by their image circle

• Fuji also made some special purposes lenses that can be used on large format cameras

• While you're at it, why not check out Fuji's great enlarging lenses for 4x5 film?

KEYS TO THE LISTS:

• SERIES: The series is the general designation given to the lens by Fuji.  Different series had different purposes, even though their specs (focal length, f-stops, shutter, etc.) might appear to be the same or very similar.  Unfortunately, the series codes are often confused and confusing.  To begin with, Fuji often designated different series with similar letters, such as the "W" series, the "S" series, the "SW" series, the "W S" series, and the "SW S" series.  Some of these lenses might be exactly the same, somewhat similar, or very different.  In addition, Fuji would often mark the lens and the box it came in with different lens letters, so the lens might be marked "A", but the box might be marked "AS".  In addition, Fuji would often mark the lenses from different series exactly the same; for example, the "NSW" lenses and the "SW" lenses are both marked "SW".  To top it off, there is some questionable, as well as obviously erroneous, material in some of the Fuji literature -- and some of the Fujinon lenses that are known to exist, do not appear in any of the Fuji literature!  So we end up with a mish-mash of information, some of it correct and some not, and all of it being passed around to the uninformed as correct.  Hopefully these pages will answer some of the questions and clear up some of the confusion.
  • The Rectar series was Fuji's first series of lenses for large format cameras.  They appeared shortly after the end of War War II and were produced until 1954. They may or may not have been coated optics, they are only available "in barrel" -- meaning without a shutter -- and they are nearly impossible to find.

  • The Fujinar series was Fuji's second series of lenses for large format cameras, and probably just an extension of their Rectar series.  They came in several focal lengths and are only available "in barrel". Although they were all single-coated, they have some unique qualities, are prized by collectors, and can be hard to find.

  • The Fujinar-SC series was probably just Fuji's adding shutters to their Fujinar series of lenses.

  • The Fujinar-W "series" probably was an "off-shoot" of the Fujinar-SC series -- and probably was only one lens.

  • The Fujinon series of lenses are only available "in barrel" -- meaning without a shutter and was probably just an extension of their Fujinar series. .

  • The SWD (Super Wide Deluxe) series of wide-angle lenses are deluxe super-wideangle lenses with wide f5.6 apertures and an eight element design. From their inception, they had EBC (Electron Beam Coating) which minimizes internal reflections that often occur with lenses this wide. A wide coverage angle and short focal length facilitates photography in confined areas and architectural photography which emphasizes interiors. They offer greater coverage and greater swing-tilts-shifts-rise-fall.

  • The SW (Super Wide) series of wide-angle lenses offers slightly less coverage than the SWD series and smaller apertures -- at significant savings.  The apertures of f8, with a 6-element, 4-group design, helps reduce the size and weight as well. SW lenses provide excellent cost-performance for practical applications. These lenses were the forerunner to the NSW series.

  • The NSW (New Super Wide) series of wide-angle lenses is an updated version of the SW series and offers slightly less coverage than the SWD series and smaller apertures -- at significant savings.  Apertures are f8 and the air-spaced, 6-element, 6-group lenses are advantageous for photography with a small lens aperture. NSW lenses provide excellent cost­performance for practical applications.

  • The W (Wide) series of normal lenses allows for almost unlimited camera movement because of the wide angle of coverage. The six-element, four-group design provides rich gradation, faithful reproduction of colors and textures, and almost non-existent aberration and glare.  These lenses were the forerunner to the NW series.

  • The NW (New Wide) series of normal lenses is an updated version of the W series and offers standard lenses that feature an improved 6-element, 6-group design providing complete aberration compensation. These lenses are only marked "W" instead of "NW" which leads to a lot of confusion.

  • The L (Long ) series offers a modified Tessar-type lens that features excellent performance with a corresponding reduction in the angle of coverage.  Consequently there are no wide-angle lenses in this series.  By reducing the angle of coverage, the number of elements can be reduced -- as well as the price tag. Think of them as an extension of their Fujinar-SC series. .

  • The T (Telephoto) series offers true telephoto lenses that allow much less bellow draw than normally needed.  These are large, heavy lenses, but perfect for field cameras or other situations where bellows draw is limited.

  • The SF (Soft Focus) series offers soft-focus results that are perfect for many situations, such as portraits.  The degree of softness is perfectly controllable with insertable discs, as well as the f-stop.

  • The C (Compact) series offers compact lenses in longer focal lengths.  By reducing the maximum aperture, the number of elements can be reduced and the size and weight of the lenses are dropped to a minimum.  These are perfect for situations where weight is a big concern, such as in backpacking.

  • The A (Apochromatic) series of APO lenses are designed for optimum results in close-up work (1:5 to 1:1 magnifications), but they work perfectly well all the way to infinity.

  • The NA (New Apochromatic) series of APO lenses added EBC coating, and saw some lenses removed and some added. It also had newer shutters.  These lenses are only marked "A" instead of "NA" which leads to a lot of confusion..

  • The CM-W series was an updated version of the NW series, and were designed to compete with the best APO lenses from other manufacturers.  

  • There were other "seried" Fujinon lenses but not much is known about them, such as the "W S" series, the "SW S" series, the "A S" series, and the "S" series.  What information is known is listed here, but much is missing or simply guesstimates -- much like for the early Rectar and Fujinar series.

• OPTICAL FOCAL LENGTH:  This number is what is normally used to describe the focal length of a lens.  Fuji large format lenses run from 65mm to 1200mm -- quite a spread.  This number is typically the same as, or very close to, the distance needed between the lens board and the film plane to focus correctly at infinity.

• FLANGE FOCAL LENGTH:  On many lenses, the OPTICAL focal length is not the same as the distance needed between the lens board and the film plane to focus at infinity -- which is the FLANGE focal length of the lens.  Many wide-angle lenses have flange focal lengths that are slightly longer than their optical focal lengths.  This provides more bellows flexibility for camera movements.  For example, Fuji's 65mm SWD lens needs 73.4mm of bellows extension to focus to infinity.  At the other extreme, true telephoto lenses will have flange focal lengths that are much shorter than their optical focal lengths.  This allows longer lenses to be used on cameras with limited bellows draw.  For example, Fuji's 400mm T lens uses only about 255mm (10") of bellows extension to focus to infinity, so it's perfect for the many field cameras that max out at 12" of bellows extension.

• f-STOPS: The numbers listed are the maximum and minimum apertures.  The earlier lenses had earlier shutters -- more often Seiko than Copal -- where the f-stops were not equally spaced on the dial (top), while on later lenses and shutters -- more often Copal than Seiko -- they were (bottom).  
  
  
  Some shutters have half-stop markings, while 1/3 f-stop markings are more commonly seen.  Either shutter style works just as well, but different people have different preferences.

• ELEMENTS / GROUPS: Generally speaking, the larger the aperture and/or the greater angle of coverage, the more elements are needed to correct for various optical aberrations.  A lens with few elements can give excellent results if the aperture or coverage are small.  Most large format camera lenses are based on a design where some of the glass elements are cemented together.  This is why the number of groups is typically smaller than the number of glass elements.  Fujinon was a pioneer in the manufacture of air-spaced lenses where the number of groups is the same as the number of elements since none of the elements are glued together.  The "glue" used , such as Canadian balsam fir pitch (AKA turpentine), eventually dries out causing element separation which produces poor results.  That can't happen with Fujinon's air-spaced designed lenses.  While more difficult and more costly to make, these lenses also yield significantly sharper images across the entire film plane.

• ANGLE OF COVERAGE / AKA COVERING POWER (in degrees, typically, at f22):  Not to be confused with the picture angle, angle of view or field of view (see below), the angle of coverage determines how wide the image circle will be.  The angle of coverage does NOT change as you focus away from infinity.

• IMAGE CIRCLE (in millimeters at f22 at infinity):  Not to be confused with the picture size or picture angle (see below), the image circle determines which film formats can be used with the lens.  The larger the image circle the larger the picture size (film format) it can cover.  The image circle INCREASES as you focus away from infinity.  To use a lens, and to have it completely cover the film, the lens has to have an image circle with a diameter as large, or larger, than the hypotenuse of the film format.  For example, you'll need an image circle greater than 155mm to cover the hypotenuse of the picture size on 4x5 film -- 6.1" (155mm) -- depending slightly on your film holders.  All of Fuji's lenses will cover at least 4x5 film.

  

• PICTURE SIZE: Not to be confused with the image circle, this is the hypotenuse of the film being used -- in millimeters or inches.  This is not listed in these tables because it all depends on what size film you are using.  The picture size does NOT change as you focus away from infinity, but it does determine the picture angle.  

• PICTURE ANGLE / AKA ANGLE OF VIEW or FIELD OF VIEW (in degrees): Not to be confused with the angle of coverage or covering power (see above).  While this is commonly listed for smaller roll film formats, such as 84° for a 24mm wide-angle lens on a full- frame 35mm camera, it cannot be listed here because it varies depending on what film size you are using (i.e., picture size).  The angle of view DECREASES as you focus away from infinity..

• SHUTTER: Fuji lenses came with various shutters: Seiko #0, Copal #0, Copal #1, Electronic Copal #1, Copal #3, and Copal #3s.  These are abbreviated on the lists.  E1 means Electronic Copal #1 and C1 means Copal #1, for example.  A ?0 means that the shutter was a #0, but it is unclear if it was Seiko or Copal.  

  The Copal #3 and #3s shutters are problematic.  Both of these are simply listed as "C3" on these tables, because it can be impossible to know if the #3 shutter on any particular lens is a #3 or a #3s.  One problem is that many, but not all, Copal #3s shutters are inscribed simply "COPAL No. 3" on the shutter.  Just as important, the Fuji literature did not distinguish between the two.  If a lens with a #3s shutter appears in the literature -- any many don't -- it is listed as a Copal #3.  And because the two shutters look exactly the same, you cannot determine which shutter is used unless it is marked "COPAL No. 3s".  To determine which shutter, marked simply "COPAL No. 3", really is, the diameter of the front threads must be measured -- exactly.  They are slightly smaller on the 3s -- I guess the "s" means "smaller".
  
  
  
  It is always possible to see a lens in a shutter different from the ones listed here.  One possibility is that the lens was actually sold with different shutters -- and a few were,  such as Sinar -- but if the shutter is not listed here, chances are it is just a replaced shutter from the original one.  So you can see the same optic in shutters named, Copal, Seiko, Compur, Sinar.  It is also important to note that there were changes made to the shutters over time.  For example, some early shutters have 1/2 stop marks, but most have 1/3 stop markings.  In addition, some early shutters have marking that are not evenly spaced -- the marks get closer as the diaphragm is stopped down.   The earliest shutters were fine-ribbed chrome.  These were later replaced by wider ribbing.  And the latest Copal shutters were all black, not chrome & black.  These appeared with the new CM-W series, and the other lens series made the switch at about the same time.  Plus, there are also several BARREL lenses which were sold without shutters.  These have a diaphragm built into the lens, instead of the shutter.  Some appear on shutters that were added later by the owner.  

• FILTER THREAD: The diameter of the front filter thread in millimeters.

• LENS COATING: Two coatings were applied to Fuji lenses, either a single coating or their famous EBC (Electron Beam Coating) multi-coating.  The more glass-to-air surfaces a lens has, the more it can benefit from multi-coating.  Single coating will work fine with most lenses in most situations.  Having a multi-coated lens does not mean that all of the lens elements or groups received multi-coating on both sides -- as there might not be a benefit from doing that.  In addition, whether the coating is single or EBC, the coating undoubtedly changed/improved over time.  How much improvement there would be is completely unknown, and determining any difference would be very difficult or impossible.  As a result of all this, it can be difficult to determine if a lens is single coated or multi-coated.  A multi-coated lens can very easily appear as single coated because the multiple layers on the glass are the same color.  The thickness of the layers is just as important as the colors of the layers.

• OTHER / COMMENTS:  Additional information and comments are listed in this column.

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