I am having a problem today.I use an Ebony SV45 and just bought a Schneider Supe r-Angulon f8 65mm lens.Going out into the street with views for several hundred feet I could not find the focus for this lens.I had the camera draw at maximum w ith the front and rear standard blocks touching....the maximum draw,with wide an gle bellows.Am I doing something wrong,or is maybe the rear element the wrong on e?I am baffled and could do with advice.Thanks in advance for your wealth of kno wledge.A.
According to their web site: http://www.ebonycamera.com/cam.html you shouldn't need a recessed lens board until you get to a 47mm lens.
I don't have a 65mm Schneider but on my 90, the last 4 digits of the serial number on the front element are repeted on the outside of the lens ring on the rear element. Do yours match?
It sounds like you need to tip the front standard back as far as you can before moving the two standards together. Also, for vertical shots, you may need to tip both standars back to avoid taking a picure of the end of the bed of the camera.
Before you go tipping standards etc, why don't you take a tape measure with you, measure 65 cm from the film plane to nodal point of the lens(usually the nodal point is at the middle of the lens, where the shutter is, hopefully this design is like this, but it should be close) and this should be your focus point at infinity. After that, you should be able to see the focus changing as you focus on objects closer than infinity.
Thanks for your answers guys,but this doesn't solve the problem.Louis,I don't understand your answer very well,excuse me...I don't think 65mm is so wide as to be so extreme with the handling.The camera bed is fairly short so no probs with it cropping up in shots.As far as the serial numbers go the rear element has no numbers at all.Should I be suspicious?I bought it from Photo-Graphic systems in New Mexico along with a 180/315 convertible symmar,the first of which was sent missing a cable release socket and had to be replaced.Could they have mis-matched elements?I can't see why I cannot find focus...it comes quite close but there is no room for any more focus.Any ideas?????
What do you mean it comes quite close? does it touch the GG, does it overextend the bellows? I have a Linhof TK and frequently use my nikon 65 mm without need of a recessed board, etc. You should be able to focus this lens easily but you need to tell us exactly what is happening.
Jorge.Thanks for your time.....here is exactly what is happening... the lens is mounted normally;wide angle bellows fitted...I roll the front standard ALL THE WAY BACK to the rear standard as far as it will go....the lens does not touch the GG....the lensboard is about 8cm from the film plane.Now in my books I should be able to focus on something on a wide street scene.Even in my home I cannot get the thing to focus across the room (20 feet) or on anything between.I am using the maximum draw for this camera.As has been stated a recessed lensboard should not be needed for this focal length.It seems that it would solve the problem as a quarter turn of the focusing knob seems to be all that is needed....but I have just paid $50 for a new lensboard and had it drilled and am loath to search for a recessed one with a 00 cut.To me it seems that there is a problem with the rear element.....it was on sale at half price and I paid $325 for it,which raises my suspicians further.Anyone have any ideas?Most appreciated.
Try taking your ground glass off the camera, take the lens off the camera, go into a dark room and turn on a bright light. With the lens wide open move it back and forth towards the ground glass until you see your light get sharp in the fround glass. It's got to focus somewhere. If it doesn't, start looking inside the lens for obvious damage and/or mis-alignments. Schneiders site will show you a diagram of what is supposed to be inside that lens. http://www.schneideroptics.com/info/vintage_lens_data/large_format_len ses/super-angulon/data/8-65mm.html Oops no diagram. Try the modern 90/8 SA page and see if there's a diagram. http://www.schneideroptics.com/info/vintage_lens_data/large_format_len ses/super-angulon/ This page will allow you to open a PDF that shows the elements in a 90/8 Super Angulon which should be similar to yours. Best of Luck.
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep..to gain that which he cannot lose. Jim Elliot, 1949
http://tonopahpictures.0catch.com
Jim's suggestion is the easiest way to find the focal length of any optics, so if I were you I would try this first, if you measure the distance from the lens to the "focused" sharp light and it is more than 65 cm, then the lens is bad and get your money back. Good luck!
Sorry, BTW you can use the ground glass as Jim suggest, or just focus the bright light on the wall....
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