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Thread: 65mm, 75mm or 90mm for 4x5 architecture?

  1. #1

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    Nov 2008
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    65mm, 75mm or 90mm for 4x5 architecture?

    Hello again,
    thank you all for the responses to my previous thread about an affordable shift camera. I think I have decided to find a used view camera, either a Cambo, Toyo or Sinar, they seem to go for very reasonable prices. I will be shooting architecture AND landscape architecture, so I am aiming for a wideangle lens (I already own a Scneider 150mm Symmar). Like the title states, I amconsidering 65/75/90mm lenses. The 65mm might be too wide, and I'm concerned about image circle in relation to shifts and tilts. I guess most 75mm and 90mm lenses have enough image circle for most movements, but I would like to hear from you about the various offerings in 75 and 90mm lenses. And (unfortunately) I can't afford the Scneider XL lenses.

  2. #2
    ARS KC2UU
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    Re: 65mm, 75mm or 90mm for 4x5 architecture?

    I have Schneider Super Angulon lenses in 150-mm, 135-mm, 90-mm, and 75-mm.

    On my Tachihara I reach for the 90-mm frequently when 150 is just too long. And with the 90-mm I can still get reasonably good movements on the Tachihara without using a recessed lensboard.

    With the 75-mm I simply don't see enough increase in coverage to want to use it very often. I get no movements at all with a flat lensboard and the bellows is backed up just as far as it will go to get in focus.

    I do plan to buy a 65-mm someday but it is not high on my priority list (due to cost) and when I do I am absolutely sure I will need a recessed board to go with it.

    So in summary: I use the 90-mm a lot and the 75-mm rarely.

    The two attached taken with the 90-mm and the 75-mm respectively with a sinar Panorama film back and Ektar 100 roll-film.

    Cheers. Bob G
    All natural images are analog. But the retina converts them to digital on their way to the brain.

  3. #3

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    Re: 65mm, 75mm or 90mm for 4x5 architecture?

    90 would be a good starting point. Alll the modern (less than 40 years old) 90mm lenses are acceptable for architectural photography. Some of the older ones are too, but sharpness may vary from lens to lens either due to age/treatment or lower quality control.

    Pick one and get started. You can always sell it and buy something different.

  4. #4
    Kirk Gittings's Avatar
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    Re: 65mm, 75mm or 90mm for 4x5 architecture?

    The rule of thumb is that you will do 90% of your architectural images with a 90mm lens. I think Shulman said that in a book I read when first starting (in the age of dinosaurs) and it has proven to be true for me. To be more accurate personally though, I think I do like 85% of my commercial AP with the 90 (or its equivalent in other formats). Why? First because your eye doesn't really see like a "normal" 150 lens. Your eye pans buildings and interiors and the WA mimics that in 2D. Second you oftentimes need to get close to a building to get around the crap like signs, telephone poles, fire hydrants etc. and a wide angle lets you do that. Third the exaggerated perspective of a 90 lens lends a dynamic feel to the image and that is pretty much a canon in commercial AP.

    The 75 will oftentimes feel just tooooo wide, but can solve some problems. The difference between a 65 and 75 is moving forward or back a couple of feet. Both exaggerate perspective dramatically.

    I own a 47, 65, 90, 120, 150, 210, 305 and 450. The order in terms of usage for AP on 4x5 would be 90, 120, 210, 65, 305, 47, 450.

    Now having said all that in my b&w art AP I tend to avoid lenses as wide or wider than a 90, because I don't like the exaggeration and distortion. For my personal work I prefer a 120.
    Thanks,
    Kirk

    at age 73:
    "The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
    But I have promises to keep,
    And miles to go before I sleep,
    And miles to go before I sleep"

  5. #5

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    Re: 65mm, 75mm or 90mm for 4x5 architecture?

    Ditto the 90, buy the best you can afford. Remember that with digital processing you can always stitch together two overlapping shots for the occasional "get-it-all-in" pictures, which might save you needing to buy a super wide lens.

  6. #6

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    Re: 65mm, 75mm or 90mm for 4x5 architecture?

    OK,
    I guess I'll go for the 90mm. I will be scanning the negatives, so if I really really need something wider, I'll do some stitching. And if I keep really really needing something wider, I'll get something wider. So, and I guess this is very subjective, what are the best 90mm lenses out there?

  7. #7

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    Re: 65mm, 75mm or 90mm for 4x5 architecture?


  8. #8

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    Re: 65mm, 75mm or 90mm for 4x5 architecture?

    thanks a bunch for that chart Lars. BTW, I am quite tempted, for practical (and aesthetic) reasons by some of the Shen Hao models. Will I need a wideangle bellows with a 90mm lens on such a camera?

  9. #9

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    Re: 65mm, 75mm or 90mm for 4x5 architecture?

    The major choice is whether to go with the larger, faster, more coverage and more expensive 90mm f/4.5 Rodenstock/Nikkor or f/5.6 versions from Schneider/Fuji.... or the smaller, less capable, but lighter and less expensive versions with f/6.8 to f/8 designs.

    The big gun, a Rodenstock 90/4.5, is a wonderful lens -- you get plenty of movements and a brighter view on the ground glass. The slower, cheaper 90/8 Schneider is just as sharp in practical use, and everything else is sorta inbetween... so decide what's important to you.

    With a Shen, the smaller 90mm lenses will be better balanced.

  10. #10
    Lachlan 717
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    Re: 65mm, 75mm or 90mm for 4x5 architecture?

    I use a 90mm f5.6 on a Shen XPO (and its bigger little brother, the 72mm XL) with no balance problems whatsoever.

    I also keep a bag bellow on it. This allows lens use from my 72mm up to my 240mm.
    Lachlan.

    You miss 100% of the shots you never take. -- Wayne Gretzky

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