Fastest lenses for 4x5 and 8x10?

[Asher Kelman]

Asher, you've just been a sucker. The Oscillo-Raptar is a wonderful opportunity for you to be a sucker again.

Folklore has it that Carl Meyer lenses were assembled from factory reject lens elements by Burke & James and that they're all, um, poor. Folklore is sometimes wrong, so please test your Meyer lens and report back. Folklore also says that B&J made up the name from Carl (as in Zeiss) and Meyer (as in Hugo) to give their lenses an aura of germanic respectability.

Oscilloscope camera lenses were made to cover, mainly, 3 1/4 " x 4 1/4" at magnifications from 1:2 to 1.25:1, depending on the lens and camera. They're consistently lousy at distance and no one has ever reported that any of them will cover 4x5 at infinity. By all means buy it, try it, and report back.

Well Dan,

I guess Holga comes in large sizes too! great I don't have to travel all the way to Russia to find her! It put me back $328! Not the end of the world. Atl east I don't have to take antibiotics!

I'll try it and then still go for a finer lens. Frov the 8x10 I would liek the equivalent of something wider anyway to take the interior of a factory and a concert hall.

The equivalent of 18-24 mm is what I'd love for the 28 mm.

I'm going to study again what's already posted. Unfortunately, I listened to a local photographer who pointed to the bargain of that lens I bought!

I really want the best lenses since film and Polaroid are anyway expensive and I'd rather spend money on a good lens since generally one can recover 75% of that money at anytime.

Thanks again for your help.

I'll try to be more cautious!

Asher

[Brian C. Miller]

Asher, when you go through the auction listings you should find the manufacturer's web site listing for the lens, too. Here's a Schneider 360mm in Oz with a nice starting price. Note the seller includes a link to the manufacturer's site. This is similar to a 50mm for a 35mm camera.

For a wide-angle 8x10 lens, you would want something like this Cooke 158mm lens. Here's a Nikkor 120mm but it probably won't give you any movements.

[bartf]

I really like my 135 f3.5 Planar and my 135 f3.5 Xenotar on my Super Graphic.

I can't really use much in way of movements though image circle is tight, but they are great for what I use them for.

[Asher Kelman]

Do you see any benefit in using a Fotoman, Razzle or other Polaroid 4x5 or a Linhoff Master Technika hand held?

In practical terms what comparitive experience is there?

Asume I can a fine fast lens.


Asher

[GPS]

Do you see any benefit in using a Fotoman, Razzle or other Polaroid 4x5 or a Linhoff Master Technika hand held?

...

Asher

The big advantage of the hand hold photography is in its speed. To be able to react quickly at situations, the light on the scene etc. is always a great plus.

[Asher Kelman]

That's why I am willing to pay more for a faster lens. Just as a reference, I routinely do a lot of street photography and portraits with a Canon 50 1.2L at f1.2.

So I'd need a fast excellent lens with a good image circle. Then how hand holdable or these cameras and who has experience with them?

Asher

[Dan Fromm]

Why do you care about image circle? The cameras you're contemplating have at best minimal movements.

[Frank Petronio]

The weight of the Technika is the main downside. A Razzledog 110 (or a Littmann) is amazingly light in comparision.

I tell myself the extra mass will steady my pix but that is just a rationalization.

I have tried the Aero-Ektar and 135 Xenotar and, while they are nice, they have their own look that you may or may not like. There are other ways to increase "handholdability" and use modern 5.6 lenses, which offer a little more margin of error with focusing. I think it is really a crapshoot using the rangefinder to focus an Aero at close distances wide-open, so even if you need the f/2.5 you still have a high likelihood of blowing the shot cuz you missed focus by an eyelash or two.

IMHO the rangefinder focusing accuracy and human error just aren't going to allow consistent success with ultra fast lenses and handholding. On a tripod and with calm subjects then Yes, use them for their image quality and faster possible shutter speed.

I don't miss focus at close distances with a /5.6 lens. So I don't minding paying for the extra 2 stops...

Pushing the film and hold the camera steadier (monopod, bracing, breathing, etc?) are the key here.

[Ted Harris]

Asher,

I have used the 4x5 Fotoman a lot and it is greaet to work with that way. Easy to hold and easy to shoot. I will admit thouht that I am perplexed by your nee for fast lenses. In most daylight situations shooting in a range of 1/30 to 1/125 (or faster) with apertures of f11 - f22 is not usually a problem. This should allow you to shoot with most any film you want. I often use the Fotoman handheld with a 75mm f4.5 Grandagon and Polaroid T55 film ..... I am not shooting wide open or close to it when shooting in normal daylight.

[Ed Richards]

I use Tmax 400 with my Technika, either with the 90 or 150. I try to shoot at F16 or F22 for crowd shots, and it works pretty well, even on overcast days.

http://www.epr-art.com/mardigras/2007-Zulu/index.htm

The mass does help, until you start to shake with fatigue.:-) Since you are not going to get max resolution handheld, there is no reason not to use Tmax 400.

If you want to do tightly cropped head shots with good out of focus backgrounds, stick with your Canon.