Wide angle with good coverage for a 5x4 Speed Graphic?

[Dan Fromm]

Peter, the limiting factor is the camera's minimum flange-to-film distance, 66.7 mm. 4x5 Crown Graphics are shorter, their minimum f-to-f is 52.4 mm.

I have no idea which lenses will focus to infinity on a 4x5 Speed, you'll have to check the manufacturers' minimum extensions.

[IanG]

How well do the super wides, say 75mm and wider, work on a Speed Graphic?

I've used my 75mm f8 Super Angulon on my pre-Anniversary Speed Graphic and no issues, however it helps that the camera was modified (from new) to be a wide angle camera. I just tried the 65mm f8 SA and it'll need a slightly recessed lens board to focus at infinity, easier to do on a pre-Pacemaker front standards as they used wooden lens boards.

Ian

[VPooler]

How well do the super wides, say 75mm and wider, work on a Speed Graphic?

I have a Crown Graphic and that 75mm Grandagon works well for me. I just have to drop bed unless I am doing macro.

[pasiasty]

(...) They are a little dimmer than the F6.8 or F5.6 versions out there, but those will be larger and more expensive lenses. (...)

Not in case of old Angulon 90/6.8 vs Super-Angulon 90/8. The former is much smaller and usually cheaper, but it barely covers 4x5. It might be, however, a good choice for a press camera.

[jp]

I had a 75 sw nikkor for a little while. It wasn't a good fit for the pre-anniversary, as the standard has to come out of the box and on to the bed track in order to use focusing. The focusing range sort of in between being in the box's track and on the bed track, meaning I had to manually move the standard in and out to focus rather than using the focusing knob. It would probably work better on a pacemaker where the whole track moves with the focusing knob, but I didn't have an appropriate lensboard for that camera. The 90 SW nikkor works well enough with either camera, though it makes the camera look anachronistic to have such a sleek modern lens on it. I don't care what it looks like. You can't get extreme rise with either lens as the big back element bumps into the bellows. You can get some rise though.

[AtlantaTerry]

Hi,

I'm new to LF and would really appreciate some advice. I'm looking to get a lens in the 24mm to 28mm (35mm equivalent) range for interiors in relatively confined spaces. It would have to have enough coverage to allow me to correct for converging verticals. The final print sizes will probably be no bigger than 12x16 and black and white. I don't want to spend too much and was hoping to get something for a few hundred pounds or less. Is there anything that would fit the bill?

Cheers,
Bruce

Bruce, I think your problem with any wide angle lens is the Speed Graphic camera. Don't forget, it was designed to be used by newspaper photographers, not architectural photographers. True, there are some movements but I'm of the opinion that you will end up wanting a real view camera for any serious rise/fall, swings, tilts, etc. Look for a camera such as a Cambo, Toyo, Sinar or other quality brand with a bag bellows that either comes with it or is an optional extra. This will allow you do make all the corrections you need with a 90mm, 75mm, 65mm wide angle lens.

One other thing that is especially true for a 65mm (possibly less so for a 75mm) - you will eventually want a special filter that has softly graduated neutral density in the middle so the amount of light hitting the film is even. Those filters are NOT inexpensive. So when purchasing a lens make sure the manufacturer at least made center ND filters that matched. You can always buy one later.

If you do get a view camera you will also want a recessed lens board for your wide angle lens. This works in conjunction with a bag bellows to get the rear element of the lens quite close to the film plane.

BTW, you can use most of your lenses with both a Speed or Crown Graphic and a view camera by mounting all your lenses on Speed or Crown lens boards. Then get an adapter for the view camera that accepts the Speed or Crown boards. This way lenses will easily work on either camera. Plus the Grapic lens boards are only about 4 inches square while the lens boards for view cameras tend to be much larger - around 6 inches square or so. By having lenses on smaller boards it makes packing and transport a whole lot easier. I've been doing this since the '70s so I know it works well. The only lenses of mine that I don't put on Speed/Crown Graphic lens boards are really wide (75mm & 90mm) or really long (300mm & up).

[Ektar]

Thanks for that Terry. I might well end up with a view camera but I'll need to learn to walk first.
For the project I have in mind, modest movements will probably do. I've done some similar pics on 35mm with a 28mm lens and no movements and it was OK. It would be nice to be able to straighten the verticals a little, though.