Just Got a Horseman FA 4x5 View

[ic-racer]

I have been using a Horseman VH-R 6x9 for some time and have been looking for a FA for about a year. Finally got one. So far I have tried the Horseman 65, 90, 105 SUPER, 120, and 150 lenses that I already own, and they all seem to cover 4x5. I don't have any film holders yet, so I can't test it with film yet.

I'm not going to fool around with the processing, I'm just going straight to the Jobo Expert Drum. (of course I don't have this yet either). I have bid on a few of these but they do tend to get bid up to some big dollars and I have not won one yet.

I did pick up a nice Schneider Componon-S 150 5.6 enlarging lens but need a 42mm cone for the enlarger (don't have this yet either).

I did a search on film clips and I may go with the ones with the little pins.

I have a glassless 4x5 carrier and I think this will work fine. I have had good results with the glassless carriers at low magnifications (6x9cm and 6x6cm up to 16x20" enlargements). I always let the negative 'cook' a little with the enlarger lenscap on prior to exposing the paper, but sometimes the negative will still 'pop.'

Not neccessary, but on the wish list, are the Horseman zoom finder, the 6x or 7x magnifier, and a 5x7 coverage lens.

[Ted Harris]

Hmmm, why do you want a lens that covers 5x7 when the FA cannot be cponverted to 5x7? Are you sure the Horseman 65 covers 4x5? Same for the 90 and 105. They may just barely cover without movements. Check before you go out and miss a shot. The long barrel Horseman loupe is an excellent accessory if you plan on using the the pop up lens hood.

[Robert A. Zeichner]

Assuming you have the ER Horseman lenses and not the Topcors, the 65 f7 will just cover with an image circle of 152mm at f22. The 90 f5.6 only covers 150mm at f22. The 105mm, the 120mm and the 150mm all have image circles of 160mm at f22.

If you confine your tilts and swings to the rear of the camera, you will not run into any problems. Your target area actually shrinks as you tilt or swing at the film plane. You will not have much rise or shift possibilities with the 105, 120 and 150mm lenses and none at all with the 65 and 90mm lenses.

I have a genuine Horseman lens shade that is intended for the 90 5.6, 105 3.5, 120 5.6 or the 150 5.6. At least that's what is engraved on the shade. I would sell it for $20 plus $4 for shipping. I also have the zoom viewfinder complete with the accessory hand grip. I hadn't thought of selling it, but probably should as I don't any longer have the camera and I never use it. I'll ponder that a bit.

If you are looking for a compact 8" lens with 5x7 coverage, I would recommend the Kodak f7.7 203mm Ektar. It's a great performer and I have an extra one of those I might sell as well. Mine would come with a slip on 33mm series 6 adapter and a series 6 shade. I have series 6 filters if you are interested as well. Send a PM and we can discuss off line.

[ic-racer]

Actually I have a 1991 product listing and it details the coverage of all the lenses with diagrams and tables. Also, the VH-R owner's manual has this info, and each lens has the coverage circle on the lens barrel. According to the factory literature, those lenses listed in the original post, will cover 4x5, but as we all know the image circle falls off gradually. Anyway, the reason for the post was that by checking with my eye and loupe these lenses do cover 4x5 well enough for me. What I cannot check is edge sharpness, I will need film for that.

A lens that covers 5x7 would be nice if I need to use the movements. I'm thinking 90 or 135mm.

[ic-racer]

Assuming you have the ER Horseman lenses and not the Topcors, the 65 f7 will just cover with an image circle of 152mm at f22. The 90 f5.6 only covers 150mm at f22. The 105mm, the 120mm and the 150mm all have image circles of 160mm at f22.

If you confine your tilts and swings to the rear of the camera, you will not run into any problems. Your target area actually shrinks as you tilt or swing at the film plane. You will not have much rise or shift possibilities with the 105, 120 and 150mm lenses and none at all with the 65 and 90mm lenses.

I have a genuine Horseman lens shade that is intended for the 90 5.6, 105 3.5, 120 5.6 or the 150 5.6. At least that's what is engraved on the shade. I would sell it for $20 plus $4 for shipping. I also have the zoom viewfinder complete with the accessory hand grip. I hadn't thought of selling it, but probably should as I don't any longer have the camera and I never use it. I'll ponder that a bit.

If you are looking for a compact 8" lens with 5x7 coverage, I would recommend the Kodak f7.7 203mm Ektar. It's a great performer and I have an extra one of those I might sell as well. Mine would come with a slip on 33mm series 6 adapter and a series 6 shade. I have series 6 filters if you are interested as well. Send a PM and we can discuss off line.

Thanks for the offer on the shade. I have the two round shades, but what I am lookng for is the bigger rectangular shade for the 105.

[ic-racer]

Nice thing about the FA is that the front standard is almost the same as that of the VH-R, so I am familiar with all the little adjustments for the center stops.

I set up my enlarger laser alignment light on a shelf, pointing toward the camera (on tripod). With the lens board off, and with a flat glass touching the rails where the film holder would go, I get the laser beam to point right back on itself.
Then I mount the lens board and put a flat glass (microscope slide) over the front of the lens and see that the laser reflects back on itself.

My HV-R was off and needed adjustment, but this FA was right on the money.

I took the back apart to clean in between the ground glass and the fresnel. Everything seemed in order, it did not look like it had been tampered.

Next step is to check it with film. I do some wide open shots at an 'infinity' scene. I will check for proper edge to edge focus (as there is never any guarantee that the optical center of the lens is perpendicular to the front of the barrel). I also will test with the focus in front of the ground glass and behind the ground glass to make shure the ground glass is shimmed correctly.

[ic-racer]

Just printed the first few pictures and I am really impressed with the Horseman 120 (6x9) lens. Excellent edge to edge coverage and edge sharpness. In terms of movements, the image gets blurry about 7mm from the dark part of the image circle. I did some experiments with the lens shifted way over with the bellows contorted and just got 3-5mm of frank vingnetting (though, as stated above, the 'sharp' image area did not start for another 7mm from the edge of the circle).

I may be getting the disease 'large format-itis' because these 4x5 negatives are looking kind of small. Certainly when processing them by hand in my 11x17 trays they look very tiny. Also, my camera is qute small (of course this is a GOOD thing). But after doing so much 6x9 lately, the step to 4x5 is not a big one. Now I am really anxious to see what 8x10 does....

[Danny Liao]

ic-racer,
if you decide to go to 8x10, i'll take the FA off your hands.=)

[ic-racer]

ic-racer,
if you decide to go to 8x10, i'll take the FA off your hands.=)

That would be impossible because I have 'equipment acquisition syndrome' also;)

Seriously, though, it did take about one year of scanning e-bay to get a good one.

[ic-racer]

A used Jobo Expert drum just went for $250.00 on e-bay:( . At that price I am just going to go to Freestyle and get a brand new one for $295.00

[ic-racer]

Here is a list of the lenses I have to test:
65mm Super
75mm Pro
90mm Super
105mm Pro
105mm Super
120mm Super
150mm Super
180mm Tele

I will not be considering the "Pro" lenses and the "Tele" lens, as they have published image circles less than 150mm

120mm Super:

This lens is fantastic. Of all the Horseman 6x9 lenses, it is the only one with a big 160mm image even wide open. There is corner to corner sharpness when no movements are in place. Small movements are also acceptable, with retained sharpness at all corners. This lens is light and compact and can stay in place while the camera folds. I have made 16x20s with negatives from this lens and they have absolute corner to corner sharpness. This really IS a 4x5 lens and can be used as such 'without excuses' when movements are not needed.

150mm Super:

I figured this lens would be a good performer as longer lenses tend to have larger coverage. Again, like the 120, there is good edge to edge sharpness when movements are centered. Slightly less coverage than the 120.

105 Super:

I was a little dissapointed in this lens as a 4x5 lens. It LOOKS like a 4x5 lens (it is the largest of the Horseman 4x5 lenses) and has a monster rear element. However, there is a slight image falloff at the edges with, about 5mm or so area of lack of edge sharpness. Its coverage is better than the 90mm but not nearly as good as the 120 and 150. 6x12 will probably be OK with this lens. Not really a 4x5 lens :(

90mm Super:

With no movements in place there is obvious image falloff at the corners. About 5mm-7mm from the point of image falloff there is lack of sharpness. Looks like it would be Might be OK for 6x12 but falls short for 4x5 without cropping the edges. Less coverage than the 105. Not really usefull for general 4x5 work.

[ic-racer]

Re-evaluation of the 90mm lens reveals that the sharp image area extends to the 6x12 image area. Therefore this lens is not totally useless on the FA. It would give excellent edge to edge sharp images with the 6x12 back, as long as movements were not needed. Since the sharp image area of the 105 is larger than that of the 90, I suspect the 105 SUPER is also a reasonable lens for 6x12 format on the FA

[ic-racer]

The 75mm Horseman lens is a great 6x9 lens. It has less coverage than the 65mm, however, it seems a little sharper.

With an image circle of about 140mm this won't cover 4x5. However, vignetting on the edges with this lens gives a very satisfying image.

It is kind of unique to have this vignetted view in the 4x5 format. There are not that many 75mm LF lenses out there with this small circle. The images look more like something one would get by mounting a common 4x5 lens on an 8x10 camera (the ubiquitous 150mm to be exact.)

[ic-racer]

Speaking of 150mm lenses, I just got a 150 Fujinon for the Horseman FA. For other people that are new to 4x5 I thought I would share my experience finding a 'modern' lens.

Since there are 4 major lens manufactures, and each line has many nuances and historical categories and names to remember, this is somewhat of a formidable task to assimilate all this, and even more so to learn the prices of each item so that one can make a good buy.

The players are Schneider, Rodenstock, Nikon and Fuji.

First I just chose arbitrary criteria to eliminate some of the brands (assuming all are relatively comparable)

I LOVE Schneider enlarging lenses and like to 'stay in the family,' however, the Schneider name caries a premium on the second-hand market. It makes finding a 'first lens on a budget' a more difficult task. So, out with Schneider.

Next is Nikon. I don't want to shoot flames, and I am shure they are excellent lenses, but I never liked Nikon, so out with Nikon. (remember this is an ARBITRARY criteria).

Next is Rodenstock. I have never owned a Rodenstock anything and thought the nomenclature would be difficult to understand, especially when they have re-branded lenses on the marked (ie Caltar etc.). I am shure they are excellent, but I had difficulty figuring out if a Caltar xxx was really worth $500 or so.

Finally, Fuji. I love the Fuji medium format cameras and really wish I had a bunch of them. I love Fuji film and the Fuji lenses carry more of a discount on the second hand market. So, IN WITH FUJI.

So, I found some great Fuji LF lens pages on the net and spent a few months reviewing e-bay Fuji lenses that have sold, and following KEH's Fuji offerings and prices.

I eventually bid on a black copal shutter, EBC Fujinon-W 150/5.6 from this 1962garys on e-bay. I backed out once because the lens is in Japan and the paypal money was to go to an e-mail address that started with 'lostinjapan':eek: I was shure it was going to be a scam. But this 1962garys has excellent feedback.

Anyway, I did a buy-it-now and the lens came from Japan to my door in less than a week.:) The lens was in mint condition with no surprises.