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Thread: My perfect fixed lens LF camera - decision 1, the lens.

  1. #1

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    My perfect fixed lens LF camera - decision 1, the lens.

    I知 new here so firstly a big hi to all!

    I壇 like to build what to me would be the perfect large format camera. Lightweight, compact, rangefinder, wide-standard lens. What I知 searching for as a starting point though is a 95mm - 105mm lens in a helicoid, that covers 4x5 without movements. Maybe the Mamiya Press 100mm? Anyone know this lenses circle? I hear the 75mm and 127mm both cover the 160mm but the 100 is faster so I知 guessing it might be too small. Any others that might, say from old 2x3 press cameras that could still record a decent image on modern film - ie good contrast and resolution?
    Thanks

  2. #2

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    Re: My perfect fixed lens LF camera - decision 1, the lens.

    Mamiya Press lenses don't cover (at infinity) 4x5 film format. Google is your friend.

  3. #3

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    Re: My perfect fixed lens LF camera - decision 1, the lens.

    A few years ago I built a fixed-focus 5x4 box camera using a 90mm Schneider Super Angulon lens. Lens to film-plane distance was worked out to give D.O.F. from infinity to just a few feet away when the (F64) lens was stopped down to f45. The camera back has ground-glass, which is only used for composing the photograph.
    Very light weight and compact. Quick and easy to use and I have had some very pleasing results with it.
    Slightly different to what you have in mind, but maybe worth considering.

    Alan

  4. #4

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    Re: My perfect fixed lens LF camera - decision 1, the lens.

    Quote Originally Posted by Pfsor View Post
    Mamiya Press lenses don't cover (at infinity) 4x5 film format. Google is your friend.
    Google is indeed my friend and google says different. Actually this guy says differently but google helped my find him. https://www.rangefinderforum.com/for...d.php?t=156421 plus others that I've found.

  5. #5

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    Re: My perfect fixed lens LF camera - decision 1, the lens.

    The Fujinon NW f5.6 105mm just covers 4x5 and would be perfect for your purposes. It is multi-coated, small & light, with a 46mm filter thread and a fast 5.6 aperture. You could simply fix the lens at the hyperfocal distance, add an appropriate viewfinder to the upper left corner (easy to get), and drop the ground glass. The DOF will very VERY wide. And, you could later decide to add a helicoid to the lens and add a rangefinder to the top.

  6. #6

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    Re: My perfect fixed lens LF camera - decision 1, the lens.

    Quote Originally Posted by xkaes View Post
    The Fujinon NW f5.6 105mm just covers 4x5 and would be perfect for your purposes. It is multi-coated, small & light, with a 46mm filter thread and a fast 5.6 aperture. You could simply fix the lens at the hyperfocal distance, add an appropriate viewfinder to the upper left corner (easy to get), and drop the ground glass. The DOF will very VERY wide. And, you could later decide to add a helicoid to the lens and add a rangefinder to the top.
    Precisely where I'm currently at, except I was looking at the 105mm CM Funijon W which is an updated version albeit with a 67mm filter thread. Adding a helicoid seems pretty straight forward, you can get them off of eBay these days but before I went down this road the Mamiya 100mm or something similar already in a helical mount would be slightly simpler.
    Thanks for your thoughts on this.

  7. #7

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    Re: My perfect fixed lens LF camera - decision 1, the lens.

    Quote Originally Posted by adrianlambert View Post
    Google is indeed my friend and google says different. Actually this guy says differently but google helped my find him. https://www.rangefinderforum.com/for...d.php?t=156421 plus others that I've found.
    I don't know about your reading comprehension skills but the link you give says very clearly contradicting info. Hardly a proof to be used. That should be a warning sign to you. Have a look at this link https://www.rangefinderforum.com/for...p/t-80176.html and you will see it said more clearly. Google is very often a friend you cannot trust with all it says and to choose you need to think twice.
    If you want look also at the testimony of those who wanted to use Mamiya Press lenses for 6x12 film format. I did, because I built several cameras for this format. None with a Mamiya Press lens - for quite a comprehensible reason... (and I own the Mamiya Press camera system with many cameras and lenses...)

  8. #8

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    Re: My perfect fixed lens LF camera - decision 1, the lens.

    Quote Originally Posted by aclark View Post
    A few years ago I built a fixed-focus 5x4 box camera using a 90mm Schneider Super Angulon lens. Lens to film-plane distance was worked out to give D.O.F. from infinity to just a few feet away when the (F64) lens was stopped down to f45. The camera back has ground-glass, which is only used for composing the photograph.
    Very light weight and compact. Quick and easy to use and I have had some very pleasing results with it.
    Slightly different to what you have in mind, but maybe worth considering.

    Alan
    Thanks Alan, I've considered that too and may well revert to it but I'm not at all fond of lenses that display wide angle distortions, at least for this purpose. I'm actually an architectural photographer so I use wide angles a lot - I guess that's part of the appeal of moving away from those lenses.

    To give a better idea of my goal, I have a Makina 67 which I love except for the slightly too long a lens. I'd love to get that right but for a 4x5. A Chamonix Saber might be ideal if the lens was right but they're hens teeth!

  9. #9

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    Re: My perfect fixed lens LF camera - decision 1, the lens.

    Quote Originally Posted by adrianlambert View Post
    I’m new here so firstly a big hi to all!

    Maybe the Mamiya Press 100mm? Anyone know this lenses circle?
    Thanks
    Care to say which Mamiya Press 100mm lens you speak about? The f2.8 or f3.5? Google is your friend.

  10. #10

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    Re: My perfect fixed lens LF camera - decision 1, the lens.

    Quote Originally Posted by adrianlambert View Post
    Precisely where I'm currently at, except I was looking at the 105mm CM Funijon W which is an updated version albeit with a 67mm filter thread.
    I currently use the Fujinon CM-W 105mm, after I sold my NW 105mm. I only sold the NW because the CM-W has a LITTLE bit more movement. I need that -- you don't. The one thing I DON'T like about the CM-W is the LARGE, built-in lenshade/67mm filter holder. It doesn't increase the weight of the lens, but it nearly doubles the size. I guess Fuji thought it made the tiny lens "look" better. Otherwise, they are the same lens -- both multi-coated, etc. -- but the NW will probably be less expensive, and perhaps easier to find. So the filter size -- assuming you plan on using filters -- might be a concern for you.

    http://www.subclub.org/fujinon/byfl.htm

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