need lens recommendation

[lightfootwillwalkinthecat]

I'm in the early stages of planning a wet plate 20X20 camera build... ( I haven't shot large format in over 20 years )
Is there any lens you guys could recommend ( $500- $800 range ) that would cover a 20" x 20" with no movements , head and shoulder type portraits, so no infinity coverage needed...
obviously used is fine, just want something sharp... Thanks

[Peter De Smidt]

What aperture do you want to shoot at? Will you be using flash or natural light?

[lightfootwillwalkinthecat]

What aperture do you want to shoot at? Will you be using flash or natural light?

probably F8 - F11
yes I will be using strobe

[Peter De Smidt]

Check out: https://photographylife.com/best-lenses-14x17-12x20#best-moderately-long-lenses-700mm-and-up

Maybe a 610mm APO Nikkor would cover, but I'm not sure.....When you get above that, lenses get really pricey and rare.

[ridax]

Any process lens starting from about 600mm and longer would cover that close-up. A tessar-type process lens would do even in a 450mm focal length. But personally, I'd prefer something about 750mm for better perspective.

[lightfootwillwalkinthecat]

Check out: https://photographylife.com/best-lenses-14x17-12x20#best-moderately-long-lenses-700mm-and-up

Maybe a 610mm APO Nikkor would cover, but I'm not sure.....When you get above that, lenses get really pricey and rare.

With that information and also realizing that I will probably want to shoot closer to F22-32 with such a large format...
I'm looking at this lens... anything good or bad you've heard ?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/354287421882?hash=item527d2d09ba:g:ZmsAAOSwXS5jJ9mt&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4FsvcKlaFmLiebMFO6cigI3huqO2G4lF4aOLhi%2B7U%2FdVX8V%2F6lH%2BWwURHXldehEnAUTT7Fhc3FPSNoBfnHu4rlHp6rqT9SHIu6pSvKKke8TQUznTXrRPrKGI4VN6%2FFyFM%2BjRVM3U2AdO4rftbfdjOaBxj0Z%2B%2FHIDuPiTAmOGFPLrsHNywSy4FN4nFxLqF5n3FaFn433dgARbSClY0Fz0wu12XUex5WTkWFX%2B3NsYRh2M6y0NSBQTESlC62hlP0hYqXUjx%2Bfec%2F42FkoCX3T%2FBZtqfOnaHof5XXGN1vUBDg99%7Ctkp%3ABFBMmLPGk_Vg

[Peter De Smidt]

Remember that if you're shooting near 1x magnification, which you likely will be, the loss of light due to bellows extension will be two stops. So, a lens set at f/11 will effectively be at f/22.

That's a telephoto lens. It won't cover your format, as it's image circle at infinity is 260mm. It would probably cover the 8x10" format at 1x magnification. You likely don't want a telephoto lens, a lens who's extension is designed to be less that what a regular lens's would be. 'Telephoto' and 'long lens' aren't really synonymous.


I don't have experience with formats bigger than 11x14. Some people here do. You might private message Sandy King, Tracy Storer, Jim Fitzgerald.....

[Bernice Loui]

Wet plate, think again about exposure aperture -vs- image format size -vs- lens needed. Consider this wet 4x5 plate article using 12,000 watt/seconds of strobe power.

https://pdnonline.com/gear/lighting-techniques/how-i-got-that-shot-wet-plate-portraits-in-a-flash/

"White and Alsop used a Toyo 4×5 monorail camera, and switched between two lenses, a Schneider 150mm f/5.6 and a Kodak Aero Ektar 7 inch. The Aero Ektar, Alsop notes, “can open up to f/2.5. While this is good when making images with a slow ‘film,’ it also renders the depth of field unusable, so it was used at f/5.6.” He adds, “To make this lens work with the Toyo I had to ‘repurpose’ it and make a DIY lensboard out of plywood.”


Might be helpful:

~Matching the UV light source (strobe) to best fit wet plate.

~Matching the lens with best transmission for the UV light source to best fit wet plate.

~Metering of strobe light source (UV) to produce proper exposure of wet plate.

The camera will be just one aspect of this image making system. Do consider the entire image making system need beyond just the lens.


Bernice