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View Full Version : trouble focussing a 240mm lens on Wista SP - help appreciated!



jasonso
17-Jul-2015, 02:15
I have just got a hold of a 240mm Schneider lens and having only played around with it for a short time last night I was unable to get it to focus on anything near or far! I tried to get it to focus on the far wall of my living room (around 1.5m away) and then the house across the street. I am admittedly completely new to large format but I wasn’t expecting not to be able to focus at all with it - a bit worrying!
So are there any Wista SP users out there that can advise me on what is the closest I should be able to focus a 240mm lens with the standard bellows? Is near infinity my only option with this lens?

richardman
17-Jul-2015, 02:27
Need more info... first, do you really mean 1.5 meters? That's not very far.

Second, can you focus ANY lens at all. Looking at the spec, 240mm should be quite doable on the SP.

For example, make sure the front standard is not tilted and that it is parallel to the back.

jasonso
17-Jul-2015, 02:35
Hi Richard thanks for the reply, yes I meant 1.5 meters - I guess thats a bit unreasonable but I still couldn’t get a focus on a house across the road. I can focus other lenses, yes. No problems with a 150mm lens focussing on things within the room and around the neighbourhood. I’m pretty sure there were no movements but I will double check that tonight

richardman
17-Jul-2015, 02:59
Are the lens cells screwed in tight to the shutter? In fact, are you sure that the back and front cells belong to the same lens?

Once I purchased a 150mm Sironar from KEH and sent it to Razzle (RIP) and he told me that the back cell is the wrong element!

jasonso
17-Jul-2015, 03:22
I hadn't thought about that, I really hope not. I guess if I can't figure it out last resort will be to take it to a tech but I am really hoping its just an error on my part!

IanG
17-Jul-2015, 03:31
Sounds very odd, a 240mm is fine with a Wista SP which has 12"/300mm extension, enough to focus reasonably close to around 1.5m. I'd get the lens checked.

Ian

Bob Salomon
17-Jul-2015, 03:41
Get a large piece of white cardboard. Turn off all your room lights, close your drapes. Point the lens out a window, hold the cardboard behind the lens. Point the lens at a distant object and move the cardboard towards and away from the lens. Make sure the shutter is open. If your lens is properly set up it will project an image onto the cardboard. When it does measure the distance between the back of the shutter and the cardboard. That is how much extension your camera will need to focus that lens at that distance.
If the lens does not cast a sharp image this way there is a problem with the lens. Return it or see a service center.

jasonso
17-Jul-2015, 04:13
Bob, thanks I will try this out tonight

jasonso
17-Jul-2015, 14:36
Ok it was me in the end, the lens is fine. I didn't realise the Wista's bellows track extends even further out than I thought possible! I can get a sharp focus around 1 meter in front of the lens and on clouds in the distance. Relieved.
I also discovered that I can't actually change the aperture when this lens is attached because the leaver is stopped by the lensboard clip but thats fine I can work around that.

137052

Oren Grad
17-Jul-2015, 14:44
I also discovered that I can't actually change the aperture when this lens is attached because the leaver is stopped by the lensboard clip but thats fine I can work around that.

You shouldn't have to loosen the lens to change the aperture. Lenses in Copal 3 generally come with a spacer ring that should allow mounting to a Technika-type board with plenty of room to move the aperture control.

Doremus Scudder
17-Jul-2015, 14:51
Ok it was me in the end, the lens is fine. ... Relieved.
I also discovered that I can't actually change the aperture when this lens is attached because the leaver is stopped by the lensboard clip but thats fine I can work around that.

Jason,

You can loosen the retaining ring on your lens and mount it turned on the lensboard a bit to solve your interference problem. Some lenses have a small screw in the back of the shutter that fits into a hole in the lensboard to stop the lens from turning. If this is there, you can just remove it; the lens will mount fine without it. If there's no screw there (usually the case with used lenses), then you're good to go. Simply position the lens so all the controls have their full adjustment.

Best,

Doremus

Alan Gales
17-Jul-2015, 15:03
Jason, If you don't have one yet get yourself one of these: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/131992-USA/Rodenstock_260600_Metal_Lens_Wrench.html

It will make what Doremus is telling you a snap!

richardman
17-Jul-2015, 15:06
So your bellow was too far out?

A rule of thumb, with exceptions for tele-lens and retrofocus wide angle etc. is that for objects in "normal" distance, the bellow length is not too far off from the focal length.

Alan Gales
17-Jul-2015, 15:13
So your bellow was too far out?

A rule of thumb, with exceptions for tele-lens and retrofocus wide angle etc. is that for objects in "normal" distance, the bellow length is not too far off from the focal length.

I think he was too close to focus on a wall inside the house. When he focussed on the house across the street he only had one bed extension extended. He didn't realize that the SP has two bed extensions.

mike rosenlof
17-Jul-2015, 20:29
I think he was too close to focus on a wall inside the house. When he focussed on the house across the street he only had one bed extension extended. He didn't realize that the SP has two bed extensions.

It happens. After having an SP for two or three years, I was doing a portrait with a 210 and completely forgot about the second bed extension. Couldn't get nearly as close as I had wanted. A couple of days later it hit, and I felt pretty silly.