question about older Calumet and lensboards

[Cindy_4701]

Thank you to all who answered, very helpful.

Dave, you say you use longer lenses on it with no problem--I read on a site while I was collecting information yesterday that the CC-400 is not well-suited to macro photography "because you can't get close enough" and since I want to use it for product shots, I wanted to ask here about this statement.

Also, one more followup. So far I have a 90 and a 135. I was thinking a 210 for my project, but I want to be able to get really close--should I be thinking 240 or 300? I would also like to be able to use the lens for my landscape projects.

Have a great day, Cindy

[Ernest Purdum]

Regarding macrophotography, the CC-401 with its longer extension is better suited than the CC-400, but that doesn't mean that the shorter version can't be used. The CC-400 has 16" (406mm) maximum betweeen the lensboard and the groundglass. Let's say you acquired one of the 75mm Polaroid macro lenses now very cheap on eBay. With 150mm (two focal lengths) extension you would have a life-size image. Add one more focal length and you would have a magnification of 2:1. Sixteen inches is more than five of your 75mm focal lengths, so you could have a little more than 4X magnification. Other focal lengths could be used to give differing macro ranges.



In "getting really close" you need to have in mind the size of your subjects. If they are large, a 240 or 300mm lens would work fine, but for small items you might run out of focusing range before you filled the grouindglass with the subject.