Hi all,
I'm hitting the big 30 next month and thought I would spend some £££ visiting the Wolverhampton Camera Fair to purchase an antique lens for my 4x5 monorail.
My query is a little circuitous so I apologise in advance!
I'm assuming that in the early days there were a broader range of formats than 4x5 and 8x10, based on both the metric and imperial systems.
I am under the impression that most antique lenses of the petzval variety were designed for optimal use on formats larger than 4x5.
I have certainly read many posts on the forum regarding antique lenses, and there seem to be a great many 4x5 shooters using them. The images in the quoted thread show some vignetting on 4x5 using a petzval-derived projection lens, indicating that some antique lenses using the petzval arrangement might have been designed for a smaller format?
http://www.largeformatphotography.in...t=petzval+tone
Would I be right in saying that swirlies and other peripheral distortions are a result of pushing the limits of a lens' ability to cover a particular format? If I use a lens with a smaller format than it was designed for then the propensity for peripheral distortion e.g. swirlies would be reduced, but the contrast, sharpness and DOF would remain unchanged?
Finally, if I used a lens to project circle of light on a wall - adjusting the circle until it is sharply focussed - then would I have an accurate indication of the lens's coverage?
Cheers, and happy Autumn (or Fall) everyone
Simon (20 posts, no pictures!)
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