Eric,
je m'excuse .. quelques mots bien acceptables pour le Docter/Zeiss Germinar-W .. y a encore plus de commentaires ..
desolé c'est en anglais ...from Largeformatphotography Forum .. quelques remarques quant au Germinar-w 9/240..
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I have previously owned a Fuji 240A and 240mm APO Sironar-S, and currently own a 240mm Germinar-W. I will assume that you spend at least part of your time in the field (otherwise any of the 210mm f/5.6 plasmats will be excellent for home or studio use), and don't mind using an f/9 lens to reduce bulk and weight.
If you are shooting 4x5 or 5x7, and have no intention of adopting 8x10 in the future, then the Fuji 240A f/9 is hard to beat. It is as sharp as any lens I've owned, multi-coated (at least the newer ones), and wonderfully light and compact (Copal 0 shutter). It's only weakness IMO is flare resistance, but if you abstain from shooting directly into the sun and shade your lens properly this will not be a problem.
If you plan to shoot 8x10, then the 240mm Germinar-W f/9 is hard to beat. Slightly larger than the Fuji, yet considerably smaller than the f/5.6 plasmats, this lens is still quite compact (Copal 1 shutter), extremely sharp (comparable to the Fuji), and offers excellent coverage (reportedly around a 400mm IC when stopped down). Like the Fuji, the Germinar has some susceptibility to flare, but again if you abstain from shooting into the sun, etc. this will not be a problem. For a good discussion of the Germinar, see www.apug.org/forums/showthread.php?t=22085. Kerry Thalmann still has some for sale (although you need to be an APUG member, which entails only a nominal fee): www.apug.org/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=757&sort=1&cat=2&page=10.
The 240 APO Sironar-S (or its Sinar-labeled version, the APO Sinaron-SE) is arguably the reference standard among 240mm lenses. Extremely bright image on the ground glass, sharp to the corners, a bit better flare resistance than the f/9 lenses. Its bokeh is also reportedly quite good (see Oren Grad's posts regarding the Sironar-S line on this subject). Its main drawbacks are its bulk (Copal 3 shutter) and weight, although if you don't plan on hiking much this is probably not a big deal.
The Fuji is fairly easy to find both new and used, and the Germinar is currently available for purchase new. The Sironar is extremely expensive new, and is difficult to find used (and costs roughly twice the Fuji or Germinar on the used market). "
