minimum focusing distance (Wista 45DX) 4x5 for bust shots

[scm]

No, they also have ones for the wood ones.

The OP has a Wista DX, they don't have interchangeable bellows. The only wooden Wista camera that did was the DX3 (or DX III) and they are very uncommon, I've had dozens of Wista field cameras and have never even seen one.

Edit: I see that B&H has the optical bench that will work with the wooden cameras without interchangeable bellows. The one drawback there is the $2000 price for the bench and the bellows.

[B.S.Kumar]

I've never seen extension beds for the wooden Wista cameras. The data sheets and price lists linked above also do not show them.

Kumar

Edit: If that extension is indeed available for $2,000 the OP might as well get a metal Wista field camera. His backpack and wallet will both be heavier!
A top hat lens board with extensions is available on eBay for ~$100. That might be all that he needs.

[scm]

They look like this:

[Neal Chaves]

Get a high quality plus lens ("close-up filter") like a B&W. I have two that work well with my longer lenses, a 67mm and a 77mm in .5 diopter, and reduce bellows extension considerably.

[Bob Salomon]

Get a high quality plus lens ("close-up filter") like a B&W. I have two that work well with my longer lenses, a 67mm and a 77mm in .5 diopter, and reduce bellows extension considerably.

B&W is a type of film. B+W is a filter manufacturer.

[AtlantaTerry]

Hey folks.
I recently bought a Wista45DX 4x5 camera with a 210mm, 300mm and 90mm lens.
I've shot it so far with a 90mm, 300mm and a 240mm (rented)

I bought the 300mm to be shot wide open in order to achieve minimal DOF. But I was disappointed that, at maximum extension, I could only do full body shots. When my goal was to do bust shots.
The 240mm allowed me to get closer but still not close enough for a bust shot.

The 90mm was no problem for bust shots but I won't have the DOF wanted. also is there significant distortion shooting with the 90mm when the subject less than a meter away from the lens ?

I was wondering if there was a Goldilocks lens for that camera where I could have great DOF and I could do busts. or if I got a 4x5 camera with longer bellows if that would allow me to focus closer.

Thanks

What is the 300mm lens you got with your camera? Since you have a bellows draw that isn't enough for the lens and headshots, you might want to rent a 300mm Telephoto lens to test to see if it fits your needs.

In case you are not familiar with a Telephoto lens, the short story is they are designed to do what you want: headshots (or similar close work) on a camera with a limited bellows draw. Other folks here or Google will be a better source about Telephotos than I am.

I know what you are going through because I like to do headshots and bust portraits. I have a Schneider 360mm f/5.6 lens that need a considerably long bellows draw but my 4x5" Cambo has the capability of swapping bellows from regular to bag to extra long so my "normal" is one of the long Cambo bellows as shown here:

BTW, the second (smaller) bellows to the right of my Cambo is only a bellows-style lens hood that attaches to the front of the camera to shade the lens.

Last year when I bought a new 4x5" Chamonix, I also bought a camera base extension and longer bellows so I would be ready to create portrait busts or headshots with one my several 360mm lenses.

Another solution you might look into is a "tophat". This is a lens board that instead of being flat is built up so the lens extends a couple inches forward. There is at least one person on eBay who builds custom lensboards so they might be able to help you.

[AtlantaTerry]

oops I replied to myself.

Moderators: please delete this posting.

[Huub]

Why didn't you try the 210mm you already seems to have? With my Toyo 45A (30 cm bellows draw too) i have found that 210mm allows for nice bust shots without getting too close to people. For portraits it is my favourite lens.
As an alternative you could get a f5.5 360mm Tele Xenar, which will also do the job nicely. As a tele design it only needs 210mm of belows draw at infinity and at 300mm bellows draw it does let you shoot nice bust shots. The large maximum aperture helps to keep DOF limited.

[Neal Chaves]

B&W is a type of film. B+W is a filter manufacturer.

You got me there Bob, now go after all those who write "Technica" instead of "Technika".

During my participation in the late unpleasantness in Vietnam, I visited the Nikon Building in Tokyo. While a nice gentleman there was showing me the new Nikon FTN, I mentioned to him that in the mainland US, people say "Nykon", not "Kneekon" as in Japan or Hawaii. He smiled and said "We don't care what they call it, as long as they have the yen for it!"

[David Karp]

The least expensive solution was proposed by Kumar. An extension lensboard is just a tube that screws into the board with a cap on the other end. Check eBay. Should be perfect for portraits.