4x5 lens that "swirls" ?

[goamules]

Swirly lens without trees are kind of worthless....

I don't agree. They are good in snowstorms, or down pillow factory explosions too.

[Old-N-Feeble]

swirly lens without trees are kind of worthless....

I don't agree. They are good in snowstorms, or down pillow factory explosions too.

Lol... Lol... Lol!!!

[GSX4]

Bausch and Lomb 4" or 5" 6" Cinephor II 35mm movie projector lenses are superb on 4x5 and can be had for peanuts. They are super fast as well. The 5.25" for instance is a modified petzval, with a maximum aperture of f1.4

[parleton]

GSX4: does it has a mark indicate f/1.4 on the barrel or are you guesstimating? I have a Cinephor 5.5 inches with unmarked f-stop that has a big front element but the back part is smaller and I think it is slower than f/3.5. Correct me if I am wrong. The fastest one I have is 5 inches marked with f/2

[jcoldslabs]

I am curious about this as well. I have a 6.00 inch E.F. Series II Cinephor--unmarked as to f-stop--whose front element is 2 3/8" in diameter and whose rear element is 1 7/8" in diameter. If I use the front element diameter to calculate the maximum aperture I get f/2.5, but if I use the rear element diameter I get f/3.2. Which is it?

Jonathan

[parleton]

jcoldslabs: while you are estimating the aperture remember it's for single but not combined 2 elements on the front unit, and it is usually slower than the calculated aperture based on my experience, and it is like the rear element that governed the amount of light. point being i did a wet plate comparison test for my 5.5 inches cinephor since i thought it was brighter than my projection len Luxtar f/3.5 since the glass look bigger. turned out it was slower than f/3.5 maybe near f/4. you can always do a test shot to test your theory with f/3.5 or f/3 len, and i would love to know too

[goamules]

You should measure the apparent aperture (the circle of light you see) when looking through the front element. The F-stop of a lens is based on a measurement of what you can see on the other side. Not the glass diameter. Hold a ruler up to the front of the lens, then hold the lens up to a lighted window. Measure the circle from the edge of the black to the other edge.

[jp]

I don't agree. They are good in snowstorms, or down pillow factory explosions too.

If you're shooting color, Christmas lights or other countless point sources turned into big bokeh can get nice and swirley. Kinda handy to have a tree of some sort to hang the lights in though.

[jcoldslabs]

Speaking of Christmas lights and Petzval lenses.....



Jonathan

[RobertSzabo]

I shoot a CC Harrison Petzval lens on half plate and sometimes 5x7. Its an early lens made in 1851. I have a permanent stop in since it is not cut for waterhouse stops. It probably stops the lens down about 1/3. Half plate is max size for this lens. Half plate here in the US is 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches so close to the 4x5 size you are after. When used on a 5x7 I get dark corners. The amount depends on how far I am from the subject. The swirl I get is mostly noticeable when trees are on the edges of the frame.


This is a print from a half plate collodion negative with the CC Harrison. Some of the swirl in this is from the tree moving in the wind. Exposure was a few seconds early in the morning.



This is a 5x7 collodion negative with the CC Harrison.


This was taken with a full plate (6 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches) Petzval Lens made by Emil Busch. It was shot on a 5x7 plate. Since it is made for a larger plate not much swirling but very nice narrow depth of field.