Two problems with new Ansco 5x7

[brian steinberger]

I just acquired an ansco 5x7. I'm having two problems which I believe may be related. Here's the two problems:

The first problem I'm having is the bellows getting in the way of movements. I'm using a 180mm lens, so just slightly wider than normal. When I focus at infinity the front and rear standard are only 1" apart, so when I go to use front rise the very stiff bellows don't allow very much front rise at all. I'm thinking my only solution may be bag bellows. Distance from film plane to middle of lens board is about 4 3/4". For a 7" lens this cannot be right.

Second problem, I cannot seem to get a sharp image on the GG. It's so close to being sharp but just not quite. I even tried focussing my loupe at different distances and nothing worked. I had a Wista 4x5 in the past and the GG and fresnel was crisp and sharp. If the GG on my ansco is original could it just be not up to par with modern GG with a fresnel?

Btw.. I'm using a Rodenstock 180/5.6 Sironar-N and a Rodenstock 4x loupe.

[Shootar401]

I just acquired an ansco 5x7. I'm having two problems which I believe may be related. Here's the two problems:

The first problem I'm having is the bellows getting in the way of movements. I'm using a 180mm lens, so just slightly wider than normal. When I focus at infinity the front and rear standard are only 1" apart, so when I go to use front rise the very stiff bellows don't allow very much front rise at all. I'm thinking my only solution may be bag bellows. Distance from film plane to middle of lens board is about 4 3/4". For a 7" lens this cannot be right.

Second problem, I cannot seem to get a sharp image on the GG. It's so close to being sharp but just not quite. I even tried focussing my loupe at different distances and nothing worked. I had a Wista 4x5 in the past and the GG and fresnel was crisp and sharp. If the GG on my ansco is original could it just be not up to par with modern GG with a fresnel?

Btw.. I'm using a Rodenstock 180/5.6 Sironar-N and a Rodenstock 4x loupe.

I had the same camera. The bellows issue is something you have to live with. I just gently pushed them in my fingers when tilting. It won't harm anything just annoying. There is no cure for it unfortunately.

And your second problem might be that the ground glass is installed backwards? Trying flipping it around and see what happens. The smooth side should be facing you. if not you can use some shim steel from a hobby shop to shim the GG if the plan of focus on the film is too close.

[brian steinberger]

And your second problem might be that the ground glass is installed backwards? Trying flipping it around and see what happens. The smooth side should be facing you. if not you can use some shim steel from a hobby shop to shim the GG if the plan of focus on the film is too close.

The GG is in the correct way. Im afraid something is wrong with the lens. The GG to plane of focus on film is off by almost 3". That's why I'm confused.

[djdister]

If your standards are about an inch apart and you are roughly focused on infinity with a 180mm lens, its a problem with your lens. Either the lens is missing one or more elements, or some elements are installed backwards.

Maybe you could post some photos of the lens...

[brian steinberger]

Any part of the lens in particular?

If your standards are about an inch apart and you are roughly focused on infinity with a 180mm lens, its a problem with your lens. Either the lens is missing one or more elements, or some elements are installed backwards.

Maybe you could post some photos of the lens...

[djdister]

Any part of the lens in particular?

Unscrew the front and rear lens groups, and let's try a shot looking at each side of each lens group (four shots).

[Shootar401]

The GG is in the correct way. Im afraid something is wrong with the lens. The GG to plane of focus on film is off by almost 3". That's why I'm confused.

My bad. I read through it too quickly

[brian steinberger]

Here are some shots of the lens:

First the entire lens:


The Front element:
Front:
Back:

The Rear Element:
Front:

[brian steinberger]

The Rear Element back:

[Joe Smigiel]

Can you determine the individual focal lengths of the front and rear groups by themselves by holding them away from a wall and seeing at what distance infinity comes into focus? I would assume the Sironar-N is a 180mm plasmat and would have element groups of roughly 420mm and 315mm if anything like a convertible Symmar 180mm. That might help you narrow the problem down and tell you if one of the groups is bad.