What lens focal did Karsh use in this shot ?

[Pere Casals]

Any guess about what the focal length he used for this particular shot?

(beyond lightning importance) What would happened with volumes with a longer or shorter focal?

I find this shot amazing... (not the single one)

[Jim Jones]

Karsh used Ektar lenses up to 14". He nearly always used 8x10 cameras.

[John Kasaian]

I'll go with the 14" Commercial Ektar as well.

[chassis]

With the 14" lens on 8x10, to get the head/shoulders framing, the camera to subject distance would be a bit close, correct? Or could the image be a crop out of the full negative?

The perspective looks close to my eye, meaning I am not seeing any flattening. Therefore it seems like a fairly short camera to sitter distance.

[Luis-F-S]

Probably whatever he happened to have with him!

[Jim Jones]

Probably whatever he happened to have with him!

Whenever possible His portrait sessions were carefully researched and planned. He even kept 8x10 cameras both in Ottawa and in Europe to facilitate having the right gear readily available.

[Pere Casals]

Thanks for the information, I'm preparing for 8x10 portraiture (dry plate) and this particular image is a good aesthetical reference for me.

[Pere Casals]

With the 14" lens on 8x10, to get the head/shoulders framing, the camera to subject distance would be a bit close, correct? Or could the image be a crop out of the full negative?

The perspective looks close to my eye, meaning I am not seeing any flattening. Therefore it seems like a fairly short camera to sitter distance.

There was something that I was not understanding from this shot, and it was perpective, this is where the focal distance plays a role. Now I feel that 14" perspective has an slight geometric footprint, but I feel it is very important.

My old Symmar 360 will see some action !

If YK liked the 14".... it should be the way to start !

[Charlie Strack]

It also might have been shot with Ortho film--often used back then for portraits of men.

[Rich14]

Here's the whole image.



In this version, Bogie's head is about a third of the 10 inch dimension. With a 14 inch lens, that would have placed the camera at about 5-6 ft.

Rich