Advice with lens purchase appreciated. . . . .

[BKLZ]

Howdy, I just bought my first viewcam and am thinking about completing the kit with a couple of lenses. Hoping you might offer some advice. I am sure this sort of question has been asked upteen times...
I have a symmar 180/5.6 convertible lens and a Kodak wide field ektar 100. I am very happy with these lengths but am looking for something longer for portraits and such- approximately 300mm. I like the slightly flattened look sometimes. I expect that the lens would be mostly used at a moderate distance- 15-30 feet. At what length lens will I run out of monorail(graphic view camera)?
And most importantly, what lenses might you suggest which have acceptable detail with a decent image circle for the cheapest price? From what I have read, it is pretty difficult to find a truly bad lens if you stick with the major manufacturers. I dont want distortion and dont especially need a coated lens. I do need cheap.
Also, what is the widest lens that I can get away with on the graphic view? 100 is pretty wide however I would probably want something around the 70mm range for tight interior pictures and to play with. I am assuming that I would need to fabricate a recessed lens board- and would probably rarely if ever use it for infinity focus.
Sorry for asking questions which I should probably be able to figure out. I dont have the camera in hand. Is there a chart or catalog anywhere which lists lenses attributes?
I am looking for cheap and not picky at this point..... if you could recommend cheap 300s and, if even possible something truly wide such as a 70-80mm. old is fine, uncoated is fine, light weight really helps.
Thanks for listening. JB

[Doremus Scudder]

Hello JB,

My first camera was a Graphic View. I still have it and use it occasionally. It is, IMHO, a fine and often underrated camera. The only weakness is the integrated tripod mount/pan-tilt head. If yours is in good shape, then you're good to go! I machined a new tripod mount for mine.

To your questions. The Graphic View has 16 inches (just over 400mm) of bellows draw. You should be able to use a 300mm lens on it no problem just as long as you don't try to do close-up work with it. There are a lot of smaller 300mm lenses on the market that have more than adequate coverage for 4x5 and weigh a heck of a lot less than a "standard" plasmat design. They are usually a bit slower, around f/9 or so, but are fine to work with. My recommendations would be a Nikkor M 300mm f/9 or the Fujinon C 300mm f/9. Any of the f/5.6 lenses will be huge by comparison.

On the short end; I've used a 75mm lens on my Graphic View in a recessed lensboard successfully. You have to set up the camera so that both standards are in front of the tripod mount/rail clamp so that you can get them as close as possible (don't mount them behind the block, or you'll get the rail in the field of view). If you need to get them closer, use the tilt movements to tilt the front toward the back and vice-versa. You won't have much bellows movement, but a typical 75mm won't cover much more than 4x5 anyway.

BTW, I have the WF 100mm and like it a lot. Not much coverage, but a bit and extremely lightweight. It's my go-to short lens for backpacking.

You might think of picking up something in the "normal" area as well. A 150mm or 135mm lens would fill in your kit and are usually available used for not much. My most used focal length is 135mm, although I carry 90mm (or the WF100mm), 200mm, 240mm and, depending on circumstances 75mm, 180mm, 300mm and 450mm.

Best,

Doremus

[jocl123]

Ive got a 270/9 Schneider G-Claron for sale.
Send me a pm if interested.
Images and price available in the FS area

[Len Middleton]

JB,

Doremus's advice is sound, and he has the advantage of owning and using a Graphic View, so that is helpful as well.

First thing you will find is short lenses that cover the format, especially those with excess coverage to allow movement, will be more expensive than longer lenses e.g. Super Angulon, Grandagon, Nikkor SW, etc.

The f9 lenses Doremus referred to are process lenses e.g. Ronar, Artar, Repro-Claron, G-Claron, Apo-Nikkor, etc. With their narrow angle of good coverage, their focal length should be longer than the film diagonal (153mm for 4x5 if I remember correctly). If you can find one mounted in a shutter inexpensively, that would be a good choice. I have used a 355mm / 14" Repro-Claron on flat lensboard with a Technika V 4x5 and its 16" of bellows restricted my closest focus to about 10 feet. Certainly very usable at portrait distances.

More things to consider,

Len

[BKLZ]

Thanks for the responses... I will do some research regarding the process lenses and such. The 270(?) is a little bit shorter than what would be ideal for me- 300 or a bit longer is really what I would be most interested in.
I cannot yet view the FS/Wanted forum yet however I have some time before I take the camera on the road. I will be keeping an eye on Ebay auctions.
Dormeus(get the name right?) Thanks for the advice. I am very happy with my purchase- the camera looks as though it was stored in a time capsule and everything is very well taken care of. I posted the auction listing on the introductions forum if you wanted to take a gander. Considering how complete the kit is and the fine condition of everything I dont think I could have done better for a first view camera. The tripod mount bothers me and I hate to mount on top of another head due to stability issues but I will deal with what I have to start with. Maybe I can fabricate something on my own somehow, and will have no problem finding someone in Thailand to fabricate something for me for a few bucks if that is where I end up(everythign is up inthe air... going somewhere though.). Here in New Haven I would probably need to pay nearly what the camera cost me to have something made.
Thanks again everyone.

[Jim Galli]

The Wollensak 15" telephoto will focus with about the same bellows draw as a 300 mm prime, and they go begging on feebay. Here's (http://www.ebay.com/itm/15-INCH-F-5-6-WOLLENSAK-TELEPHOTO-IN-BARREL-155270-/380579497336?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item589c4e4578) a super cheap one albeit with stated flaws. Pretty simple to take apart for cleaning, and for portraits you can tolerate a bit of lost contrast. Just trying to help you "think cheap".

A fine old Bausch & Lomb Tessar 305mm (http://www.ebay.com/itm/271155120994?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649) finished last eve for $293. That would be a #4 Compound shutter I believe which is pretty big for a 4 inch board, but usually where there's a will, there's a way. The older Tessar's are lovely for portraits. The Kodak Commercial Ektar 12" is a fine lens also and they don't bring a premium like the bigger 14" does. Oops, they're all over feebay from buy it now people who want stupid money. They were a $300 lens for many years.

Convertible Symmar 300 f5.6 goes cheap. The last of those were in the early Copal 3 shutter.

And, finally, a 300mm f4.5 Xenar is a beautiful thing.

[Floyd Waller]

You didn't say which Graphic View that you have, I or II? Your 180 symmar convertible converts to 315 with the front group removed. I have one with a GII and full rail extension 17 inches focuses roughly at 24-5 feet on quick examination.

[BKLZ]

The camera is a GVii.
Just about to look up all of the lenses listed by everyone. Thanks for the ideas.

[Doremus Scudder]

Just to clarify: The Nikkor M 300mm and the Fujinon C 300mm that I mentioned are not specifically process lenses. I'll add the 300mm Fujinon A to the list here as well. They are optimized for "general" photography, which means they are not optimized for close-up copy work, but for distances up to infinity, and the Fujis at least are multi-coated (I think the Nikkor is as well, but not as sure as I should be...). Both of these will cover 8x10, so no problems with 4x5. These are mounted in Copal 1 shutters and are nicely compact lenses. There are other smaller 300mm lenses as well, but these appear often on the used market and have stellar reputations.

There are also G-Claron lenses that are process lenses, but have a great reputation for general photography. They are single coated, but have huge coverage. They are usually smaller as well.

There are lots of other 300mm lenses around as well, including a lot more process lenses and the plasmats (including all the great lenses that Jim Galli mentions above). These are usually in Copal 3 shutters or other larger shutters (Betax, Acme, Ilex). Tessar designs may be a tad bit smaller (the Fujinon L series 300mm is a single coated Tessar, as is significantly smaller than the plasmats). They will all work fine on 4x5 if you can live with the size. For studio work, they are great, but often a bit cumbersome for field work.

I wouldn't hesitate to get a 12" commercial Ektar or one of the f/5.6 plasmats if you are planning on just working in the studio. If you like softer lenses for portraiture, there are tons out there, but I'm not the guy to ask about them (Jim Galli is your man here).

Best,

Doremus