Hi all, quick question about Calumet 4x5 & recessed lensboard.

[Moomike]

Hi everyone,

I have recently become the proud owner of an old Calumet 4x5 view camera & 150mm lens (my first venture into large format photography & my first post here :) ) & I was wondering if anyone could advise me of how short a focal length I could get away with without needing a recessed lensboard? At first I thought it was the standard length rail but it would seem that it is a 12" bellows extension rather than the usual 16" and I've been unable to find a point of reference to use for this.

Thanks in advance to anyone that may have any ideas/can offer any help. Am looking forward to contributing to the forums.

[redshift]

Send me an private message with your email address. I'll send you an instruction manual. Click on "redshift" in this box and the private mail option will show up.


Hi everyone,

I have recently become the proud owner of an old Calumet 4x5 view camera & 150mm lens (my first venture into large format photography & my first post here :) ) & I was wondering if anyone could advise me of how short a focal length I could get away with without needing a recessed lensboard? At first I thought it was the standard length rail but it would seem that it is a 12" bellows extension rather than the usual 16" and I've been unable to find a point of reference to use for this.

Thanks in advance to anyone that may have any ideas/can offer any help. Am looking forward to contributing to the forums.

[Moomike]

Send me an private message with your email address. I'll send you an instruction manual. Click on "redshift" in this box and the private mail option will show up.

Thank you redshift, will do. Appreciate the help.

[Moomike]

The manual unfortunately didn't shed any light on the subject (thanks again redshift) is anyone else able to help?

[Dan Fromm]

See http://www.cameraeccentric.com/html/info/calumet_1.html, p. 5.

I sold my CC-401 a while ago so don't have one for a quick measurement. I also don't recall whether the bellows can be collapsed fully with the tripod mounting block between the standards.

[photonsoup]

Since 150mm=~6" you can quite easily focus at infinity with a flat lens board. Fully extended to 12" will have you focusing very close (think macro).

[Oren Grad]

Welcome to the Forum!

Published specifications are often imprecise, and it sounds like you have a non-standard configuration in any case. So the most reliable way to know is to measure from your own camera. Take off the standard lens in its lensboard, move the front standard back as close to the rear standard as you can, and measure the distance from the GG inner surface to the bearing surface of the front standard. That will tell you the shortest flange-to-film distance you can achieve; you can compare that against the "FFD" or "optical register" specification for lenses you are considering to see which lenses you will be able to focus to infinity without a recessed mount.

[Moomike]

See http://www.cameraeccentric.com/html/info/calumet_1.html, p. 5.

I sold my CC-401 a while ago so don't have one for a quick measurement. I also don't recall whether the bellows can be collapsed fully with the tripod mounting block between the standards.

That link is incredibly useful thanks Dan, just need to try to understand it all now :) The bellows can be fully collapsed over the mounting block.


Since 150mm=~6" you can quite easily focus at infinity with a flat lens board. Fully extended to 12" will have you focusing very close (think macro).

Thanks for the advice photonsoup, I'm looking forward to experimenting to see what this camera can do. Without this sounding like a stupid question, given that infinity focus at 6 inches is achievable, is there a way for me to determine the calculation for which focal length infinity focus would be unachievable with a flat lens board? Say a 90mm lens would be approximately 3.5" would this be too close to achieve infinity focus?

I feel like I'm on the edge of understanding & it's refreshingly frustrating compared to my usual digital work :) haha.

[Moomike]

Welcome to the Forum!

Published specifications are often imprecise, and it sounds like you have a non-standard configuration in any case. So the most reliable way to know is to measure from your own camera. Take off the standard lens in its lensboard, move the front standard back as close to the rear standard as you can, and measure the distance from the GG inner surface to the bearing surface of the front standard. That will tell you the shortest flange-to-film distance you can achieve; you can compare that against the "FFD" or "optical register" specification for lenses you are considering to see which lenses you will be able to focus to infinity without a recessed mount.

Thanks for the reply Oren, It's looking to be 8cm/approx 3.2 inches or so (I wasn't too sure what the bearing surface was so I measured to the area the lens board slots into the front standard) I assume each manufacturer publishes an optical register for their lenses for you to refer to (I'll google it along with the bearing surface :) )

I know this is a film forum & I am looking forward to being able to contribute in a relevant way but until that point, if there is anything at all I can help anyone with in regards to any kind of post processing (Photoshop/Lightroom, etc) just give me a shout & I'll be happy to help. Really appreciate the help & patience of everyone that is taking the time to help.

[Oren Grad]

I assume each manufacturer publishes an optical register for their lenses for you to refer to

Most manufacturers use the term "flange focal distance". Some catalogs from Rodenstock use the term "optical register", which is the same thing. It's a commonly-provided specification for modern lenses.

Don't worry about "bearing surface" - it's not a standard term. You've grasped the basic idea already.