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View Full Version : Wide angles on 5x12



Diane Maher
11-May-2005, 17:26
I have ordered a 5x12 camera. Will my 159 mm f/9.5 Wollensak and 210 mm G-Claron will cover this format?

Kerry L. Thalmann
11-May-2005, 17:44
Diane,

The image diagonal for 5x12 is only ever so slightly bigger than that for 8x10 (about 322mm vs. about 316mm - the exact image size will very by a few millimeters depending on your film holders). So, basically, any lens that covers 8x10 covers 5x12. That includes your 159mm Wolly, G Claron and your beautiful new 240mm Germinar W.

Congrats on your new camera. Did you get the Shen-Hao. If you did, let us know how you like it. I'm shooting 4x10 myself with a camera I cobbled togther with bits from a Lotus and an ARCA-SWISS. I love these mini-banquet formats. The cameras and holders are still quite manageable, and lenses are a lot smaller, cheaper and easier to find than those capable of covering 7x17 or 8x20.

Kerry

Diane Maher
11-May-2005, 17:49
Hi Kerry,
No, I've ordered a Canham (and there is a bit of a wait for it). I didn't know about the Shen-Hao one until yesterday. Thanks for your response. :)

sanking
11-May-2005, 17:50
I belive that both lenses will cover the format, but you won't have much room for movement. A 240mm G-Claron would cover much better and give you several inches of movement.

Diane Maher
11-May-2005, 17:51
I have a 240 G-Claron too, which I'm using on my 8x10 along with the others.

Kerry L. Thalmann
11-May-2005, 18:02
Oops, I incorrectly assumed you had an f12.5 Wolly (like I). I believe it covers a bit more than your f9.5 version - which should still cover 5x12, but probably won't allow much room for movements.

Wow! A 5x12 Canham! How cool is that (now I'm jealous). Where are you getting your holders, S&S, AWB???

As much as I like 4x10, I gotta admit that 5x12 "looks" a LOT bigger in spite of the numbers only being marginally larger in the x and y dimensions. I plan to scan and elnlarge my 4x10 transparencies. 5x12 is big enough for some nice size contact prints.

Kerry

Diane Maher
11-May-2005, 18:36
LOL! I think it's very cool. :)

I haven't made the decision yet as to where I'm going to get the holders. Both places seem to be pretty close in price according to the information I've received. I agree that the 5x12 images look a lot bigger than 4x10. All my LF work at this time is contact prints.

sanking
11-May-2005, 18:37
And speaking of 5X12, I want to put in a plug for Tillman Crane's beautiful book Touchstones, which was featured in the March/April edition of View Camera. Tillman is an outstanding photographer and this is truly a beautiful book of photographs. All of the photographs in Touchstones were made with a 5X12" camera.

For more information see http://www.tillmancrane.com.

Clayton Tume
11-May-2005, 19:17
Hi Diane!

I can post you some negs shot with these lenses on 5x12, then you can make up your own mind if they will work for you. Both lenses cover ok but neither are sharp enough to the edges for a 3-5 times enlargement which is what I do with them. They may however be good enough for contact prints.

I've also tried a 120 Super Angulon, the late multicoated version. It too throws light into the corners but falloff is severe without a centre filter. I tried +1 and +2 stops and the +2 stop exposure filled in the corners nicely. Overall sharpness is superior to the 2 lenses above.

For film holders I can recommend S&S, extremely well made and great after sales service.

cheers

Clayton

sanking
11-May-2005, 19:37
You might also look for a 210mm Computar or Apo-Kyvytar. Both of these lenses would cover 5X12 with lots and lots of movement, and they are very tiny things. I have a 210mm Computar and it actually covers (just) 7X17, so you can just imagine what it would do for you on 5X12.

Diane Maher
11-May-2005, 20:08
Thanks!

John Z.
11-May-2005, 21:39
A quick question for Sandy and the others while we are on the topic; I am looking at various options for a 210 mm lens for my 11x14 camera, but will need some room for movements. I have a particular photo of an old ruin in mind, but my Protar IV looked soft at the edges when I tried it with alot of back tilt.
What are my best options? Is the Computar still going to offer alot of room, or do I need to go up to a really large lens like the Schneider 210 XL? Thanks for your input.

sanking
11-May-2005, 21:47
"Is the Computar still going to offer alot of room, or do I need to go up to a really large lens like the Schneider 210 XL?"

John,

The 210m Computar will not give you any movement on 11X14. If you need movements consider either a Schneider 210mm Super Angulon or the Schneider 210mm SSXL. Or the 210m Rodenstock Grandagon. All very big lenses, but they will cover 11X14 nicely with considerable room for movement.

Kerry L. Thalmann
11-May-2005, 23:55
John,

If you can get by with a 240mm instead of a 210, the 240mm f9 Computar should cover 11x14 and allow for fairly substantial movements. While it comes in a Copal No. 3 shutter, the 240mm f9 Computar is a LOT smaller, lighter and cheaper than any of the 210s with comparable coverage.

Kerry

Kerry L. Thalmann
12-May-2005, 00:01
I've also tried a 120 Super Angulon, the late multicoated version. It too throws light into the corners but falloff is severe without a centre filter.

Clay,

I have a similar problem with the 110mm Super Symmar XL on 4x10. It covers nicely, but illumination fall-off is severe (especially with high contrast color transparency film). I correct this by using the recommended Schneider center filter. Fortunately, the 110mm SS XL is threaded to accept 52mm filters on the rear. This works out great as all my other 4x10 lenses (150mm Graphic-Kowa, 210mm Graphic-Kowa, 300mm Nikkor M and 450mm Fujinon C) all take 52mm filters on the front.

Kerry

Kerry L. Thalmann
12-May-2005, 00:10
You might also look for a 210mm Computar or Apo-Kyvytar. Both of these lenses would cover 5X12 with lots and lots of movement, and they are very tiny things.

Another option for 5x12 would be the 210mm f9 Graphic-Kowa. I have one that I use on my 4x10. While the Graphic-Kowas and Computars were at one time thought to be identical, this might not be the case (at least not all versions and all focal lengths). See The Computar lens and ULF coverage (http://largeformatphotography.info/lfforum/topic/498719.html) for more discussion on this topic.

Even if the 210mm Graphic-Kowa doesn't cover as much as the 210mm Computar or APO Kyvytar, it should have enough coverage for 5x12 with moderate movements (385 - 390mm image circle). The advantage is that the Graphic-Kowas seem to be much more plentiful and sell for considerably less than the Computars. Just make sure you get one that fits directly in a standard No. 1 shutter (Copal, Compur, etc.). Most, but not all of them, do.

Kerry

clay harmon
12-May-2005, 05:01
If you can track one down, the Rodenstock 120mm f/12 Perigon is an excellent lens for this format. It is basically a coated, slightly faster Protar V that is tiny. And it suffers from a lot less illumination fall-off on the edges than the 110m SymmarXL for some reason. There is a fellow in Germany that has a few of these that are new-old-stock that he picked up when Rodenstock stopped making them. Emile De Leon turned me on to this guy a few years back.

The lens is quite good for most uses on this format.

I have also used an old Geroz Doppel-Anastigmat 180mm lens on this camera. The corners are kind of bad, but it works for some images.