Cheap lens for Intrepid 4x5?

[jusxusfanatic]

Cheap lens for Intrepid 4x5?

Hi there, I'm about to buy my first 4x5 field after some research that the Intrepid would be the best for me. Now I'm thinking of the lens. It supports Linhof/Technika style boards. I was looking at the 90mm f8 Nikkor SW and the 90mm f/8 Fujinon SW on Michael Strickland's website. Are there any other choices that are around that price range? My budget for the whole system is around 600 - 700 US. Thanks

[Dan Fromm]

Go look on eBay.

90/6.8: Angulon, Raptar/Optar

90/8: Fujinon SW, Ilex (if you can find one), Super Angulon

Michael Strickland may be a good photographer but he's not a diligent shopper and his judgement about what works well seems a little off.

[Doremus Scudder]

If this is your first (and, for a while, only) lens, then you may want to look at a more "normal" focal length. 90mm is a standard wide angle of view lens for 4x5 (roughly 28mm on 35mm film). "Normal" for 4x5 is somewhere around 150mm. There are many of those as well as many of my favorite focal length, 135mm for relatively inexpensive used. A newer 150mm or 135mm Plasmat from any of the major lens makers (Schneider, Rodenstock, Fujinon and Nikon) will be a superb performer and not too expensive.

If, indeed, you are looking for a wide angle, then keep in mind that the Angulon lenses (not Super Angulon) than Dan suggests, while being good performers, have less coverage than the Super Angulon/Grandagon/SW types of lenses in that focal length.

Best,

Doremus

[jusxusfanatic]

Thanks for the info :) Yea it's gonna be my first field camera. 90mm is equivalent to 28mm if I'm right? The 90/8 is cheaper, so I might have a look at that

[Tobias Key]

If are looking at older 90mm f8's beware that some of them come in the long obsolete #00 shutter. These are not so nice to use as a #0 shutter and finding a lens board will be much harder, and you may even have to go to the expense of having someone drill a board for you. That will more than wipe out any price advantage you gain over a newer lens in a #0 shutter.

[jusxusfanatic]

Thanks for the reminder, the intrepid supprts linhof and technika boards, so I think they are not that hard to find

[jusxusfanatic]

Oo the 210mm f5.6 looks pretty good, not sure about it fro landscapes tho, any suggestions?

[gnuyork]

I have a 90 and a 210. I use both for landscapes.

[jusxusfanatic]

Sounds good, but actually, I decided to buy a wista 45n with a rodenstock 150/4.5. I heard you can do forward tilt using that lens right? And you can only do backward tilts

[Doremus Scudder]

Sounds good, but actually, I decided to buy a wista 45n with a rodenstock 150/4.5. I heard you can do forward tilt using that lens right? And you can only do backward tilts

Sounds like you need a primer in View Camera Theory and Operation. There are lots of good sources on the web, but I'll recommend "The Camera" by Ansel Adams. You can find a downloadable pdf on the web if you search.

As for tilts: Back tilts, i.e., tilting the camera back, require the least lens coverage and are the safest in that regard. However, tilting the back changes the image perspective (back movements generally change the shape of the image, since it is the position of the back in relation to the subject that determines how the image appears). Front tilts move the image circle of the lens around at the film plane, so you need enough coverage for the displacement of the image circle you are introducing when tilting the front. This should be no problem for most shots with a 150mm Plasmat. These, however, usually have apertures of f/5.6 I'm not sure that Rodenstock even made a taking lens with 150mm focal length... Are you sure you've not made a mistake here?

Best,

Doremus

[Steve Goldstein]

Rodenstock made a 150mm f/4.5 Ysarex. They're old, and not common (at least on eBay). I've never seen any specs for it but I believe it's a basic f/4.5 Tessar formula with 56 degrees of coverage so an image circle of 156mm at infinity and stopped down.

[MAubrey]

If are looking at older 90mm f8's beware that some of them come in the long obsolete #00 shutter. These are not so nice to use as a #0 shutter and finding a lens board will be much harder, and you may even have to go to the expense of having someone drill a board for you. That will more than wipe out any price advantage you gain over a newer lens in a #0 shutter.

There are adapters for #00's on Ebay that screw on the where the retaining ring would otherwise go to let you use boards with #0 holes with a #0 retaining ring.

[Luis-F-S]

Oo the 210mm f5.6 looks pretty good, not sure about it fro landscapes tho, any suggestions?

That should be your first lens.

[Dan Fromm]

There are adapters for #00's on Ebay that screw on the where the retaining ring would otherwise go to let you use boards with #0 holes with a #0 retaining ring.

Having a board drilled for #00 or finding one already drilled isn't the real problem with w/a lenses in #00s.

The real problem is that if the shutter speed markings are on the front of the shutter, as in my 58/5.6 Grandagon that's now mounted in a #00 from a folder, the lens' front cell makes them nearly impossible to see. This isn't a problem with lenses like my junk 90/8 SA that's in a #00 made for it. This shutter has speed and aperture settings on the side of its barrel.

[Don Dudenbostel]

My complaint with the OO shutter is the lack of press focus and T. You have to use a locking cable release to open it to focus on B then go back to your working shutter speed. I had a 90 SA with a OO in the 60's and have a 47 f8 with one on my Brooks Veriwide.

There are plenty of 90 f8 SA in #O shutters for super cheap. Don't overlook the Ilex 90 f8. I e bought them for students under $100 and there great lenses. They're just American made Super Angulon basically.

A 210 is a very good landscape lens. It all depends on what you're shooting. Don't make the mistake of thinking you need a superwide lens. It gives a huge foreground and sky often making what you were interested in very small in the frame.

Consider with a wide lens how much you can compress the bellowsxand still get movements. This is why bag / wide angle bellows are made. I don't know much about the intrepid but I'm guessing for the price it doesn't ha e interchangeable bellows. Youmghtveven have to use a recessed board for any movements.

[Don Dudenbostel]

I went to the Intrepid site. I didn't see any option for a wide angle bellowsand 90 is the shortest lens you can use without a recessed board. I think you'll find the Intrepid isn't a very good wide angle camera. The reason is your bellows will be almost totally compressed. Even using a recessed board I'd be surprised if you could do a half in of vertical movement. As to tilting the front you're limited again by the compression of the bellows. You'll pretty much be shooting with the lens straight on with very little movement.

Once again I'll suggest you buy the Ansel Adams book The Camera, also Exposure and The Negative. Save yourself some disappointment and money. You're going to need a good meter and learn to use it properly, way to process your film, you e not had much experience even with 35 and not had great results, a sturdy tripod, loupe, darkcloth, cable release and film holders. You'll also need a case to carry everything in.

I don't want to preach but you need to learn the basics and theory behind the camera movements first. The basics of exposure, processing and theory of the camera are the foundation of making excellent pictures. You also need to understand what different lens designs offer and what limitations they impose.