newbie needs LF portrait lens

[Erich Budeshefsky]

My question concerns finding the right lens to shoot models/people on my 4x5. M ost of my shots are outside, but I would welcome any comments on portrait lens t hat would be "studio-only."

[Doug Paramore]

Erich: If you will follow the forum down to Jan. 28, you will find some opinions on portrait lenses for 4x5. A 300 mm is probably best for head and shoulders shots, but it's gonna take a lot of bellows extension. A lot will depend upon your camera...the amount of extension, the size of the lens board, how heavily it is built, etc. With shorter bellows draw, you may want to look into a telephoto design. One tip...don't buy the sharpest lens you can find for portraits. Your subjects will hate you and your pictures. If you have to settle for a sharp lens, at least get diffusion filters, which could cost as much as a suitable portrait lens. Good shooting, Doug.

[Ellis Vener]

How much bellows extension do you have? If you have a standard bellows on most c ameras that will be your physical limitation, and probably you'll only be able to get away with a 210mm lens for head and shoulders work. As far as angle of long dimension coverage goes, figure it is a rough conversion factor of 3x when you compare lenses for a 35mm camera to an LF.

[Erich Budeshefsky]

Thank you for the answers... No further responses necessary