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glrerun
19-Aug-2016, 21:10
I just read that a Wista DX in 4x5 can take a 47mm Super Angulon. Could that be true? Seems awful small to me, but if true, this would make an excellent architectural interior camera.

RJ-
1-Sep-2016, 16:17
Hi Glrerun,

It can indeed take a 47mm Super Angulon f5.6 lens with limited image circle coverage.
The greater image circle of the 47mm SuperAngulon XL f5.6 lens is much more challenging to mount, even with recessed top hat boards.

When you use the DX, you will have to drop the camera bed, and use parallel rear tilts in order to avoid the front bed encroaching into the images.

Whereas this is workable, it is really exhausting having to zero the tilt movements, align as parallel as possible, since any rear tilt deviation from plane parallelism decreases the focussing sharpness across the plane of the image much more dramatically. If you try and set up your Wista camera this way from folded, you can see how cumbersome the effort is, just to set your field camera up each time, for each architectural shot. That is, before the considerations for the limited image circle of the 47mm Super Angulon f5.6 lens enters into the image making process.

There are many superior architectural cameras in my view. Of the ones I've used, The perfectly plane parallel lens-film back Silvestri T30/Hermes are incredibly quick. They have the shift functions which you need for corrections of convergence, as well as cross-plane shift movements without the trouble of set-up times of the Wista DX.

If you are strapped for just one 5" x 4" camera, the Wista DX is a great starter. However if you're intending to specialise in architecture, have a look at the Argentum Architec: http://www.argentumcamera.com/eng/pages/cameras/architec_eng.htm

a second-hand Silvestri T30 or Hermes or SLV: http://www.silvestricamera.com/eng/timeline.html

You can see the design differences between a pure architectural tool camera versus a generic field camera trying to do everything, but at a set-up cost.

Kind regards,

RJ

Mark Sampson
1-Sep-2016, 16:46
If you're shooting architecture for your own enjoyment then go ahead and use the Wista. The post above explains that it is possible to use a 47mm lens on that camera. it would indeed be easier to use a dedicated wide-angle camera as above, or a monorail camera like a Sinar. My experience with a Zone VI field camera is that using a 75mm with it was slow and frustrating... a 47mm would not be any easier.
However, if you intend to work professionally, then you don't want a 4x5 of any sort; any/all clients will want a digital file as the deliverable, and film cameras have been impractical for this purpose for a long time. I shoot architecture professionally, and have not used 4x5 for that purpose since 2009- even then it was an archaic method. I'd also add that 47mm is extremely wide- when I was shooting kitchens and bathrooms I used a 75mm, could have used a 65 or 58 occasionally. I don't miss using 4x5 on the job at all- although the cameras and lenses you'd need are a subject for a different thread on a different forum.