Tachihara 8x10 and what lens for architecture?

[kamchow]

hi, i'm a noob at LF.

i'm about to get a tachihara 8x10.

i want to use it to take architectural photos.

the buildings are about 200 feet (60 m) high.

so, does the tach 8x10 have enough movements to handle 200 feet high buildings?

from a website, it has:

Rise 120mm
Swing 17° &17°
Tilt 40° & 30°
Back swing 25° & 25°
Back tilt 30° & 40°
Bellows extension Max 550mm Min 90mm

not 100% sure, but this does not have shifts.
i don't think not having shifts will affect me too much - but please advise me if i'm wrong.

also, what lens should i get for this?

or would you suggest i get some other 8x10 LF camera?

thanks for your help.

[Mark Stahlke]

does the tach 8x10 have enough movements to handle 200 feet high buildings?

It depends on your distance from the building and the focal length of your lens.

[mandoman7]

Technically, you can get an expensive wide lens and a camera with lots of rise and get a shot that gets everything in. Sometimes very wide lenses and extreme movements can give really unsettling results, though. I would suggest finding a way to explore your visual ideas before spending 2 or 3 grand, in other words. I'd get a Calumet 4x5 (rail) and a cheap used Schneider for less than $500 and use the more reasonably priced 4x5 film to learn what my tastes are and what equipment I would really need if I were to delve more deeply.
Its hard to learn at $3 a shot (or more) and carrying huge, attention grabbing equipment in public.

[kamchow]

mark - i did ask what lens to get.

say i got a 300mm nikkor f5.6. what's the formula? i'm a simpleton - ain't no good at maths!

well ok, slap me with the maths and i'll try and play around with the formula to see what works with the tach810's rise.

mandoman7 - i hear thee.

but i'm getting the tach810 at a reasonable price - 2nd hand gear.

otherwise i would have done as you suggested and bought a 4x5.

i was looking at getting one of the shen-hao's, but this tach810 came along and swayed me.

thanks.

[kamchow]

oh - forgot to say that i could get a reducing back for the tach810 - bring it down to a 4x5 - and so save a bit of money by learning (wasting) 4x5 film!

yeah, it ain't dirt cheap, but it'll do.

[Michael Roberts]

The 300mm Nikkor f9 is a great lens for the 8x10 format, but I think for architectural work you'll want a wider lens--at least a 210mm--Schneider, Fuji, Nikkor are all good. You may want/need even wider such as a Nikkor 120. As Mark said, it depends on how near/far you are from the building. If you want a quick and dirty method for finding out what focal length you'll need, just cut out an 8x10 opening in a piece of cardboard and see how far from your eyes you need to hold the board to frame your subject; that's the focal length lens you'll need to compose on the 8x10 gg.

[kamchow]

michael - wider lenses like 210mm or 120mm - noted.
good advice about cutting out a piece of 8x10 cardboard and doing some leg work!
thanks.

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

I would suggest starting with a 75 to 90mm lens and a wide angle 4x5, like the short rail Calumet. If you are set on 8x10 and have cash to burn, I suggest a monorail (Sinar or Cambo perhaps) with a 150-165mm wide angle lens (150 Nikkor-SW, 155mm Rodenstock Grandagon, 165mm Schneider Super Angulon). I think that 210mm will be to long and the true wide angle 210mm lenses are difficult to find and VERY expensive. Wide angle 120mm lenses have no room for movement on 8x10.

[kamchow]

michael - i've read that a "300mm Nikkor f9" - as you stated - is just ok for 8x10.

but i should be using a "300mm f/5.6" as stated in post #4.

is this correct?

thanks

[Frank Petronio]

Choice of lens depends where you set the camera up. A Tachi is a pretty nice camera for normal pix but not something for serious architectural work. Read up and do your homework, listen to the people who suggest something smaller and cheaper to start with.

A real simple starting point would be what focal length would you use to photograph the same thing with a smaller camera? It is easy to find equivalent focal lengths for larger formats.