Toyo 45AX with 58XL

[Ira Gluck]

I've searched through the archives and I don't think I've seen the exact answer to my question.

Primary question, will the bed show on either horizontal or vertical composition s on the Toyo 45AX if I drop the bed?

A secondary question, for those of you who have used the 58XL, what is the disto rtion like? (i.e. is the picture rectilinear, or is their a "fish-eye" type loo k to straight lines?)

A final question, what size recessed board would those of you who have used the lens on the Toyo suggest? (12.5, 25, 45?)

Many thanks in advance.

[Jean-Marie Solichon]

Ira, I use a Toyo 45 AII (same as your AX except the back) and a Rodenstock 55mm. If you drop the bed in either composition you will not have it in your picture. With horizontal composition you even may not need to drop the bed but I feel safer to drop it anytime I mount my 55mm just in case I quickly change my composition . My recessed board is what I believe to be the standard Toyo recessed board = about 13-14mm deep.I cannot comment on the 58 XL distortion; the 55mm Rodenstock Apo-Grandagon looks quite "clean" to my eyes, although distortion is not absent specially at the far edges of the format. Just a point you did not mention : this lens definitely needs a center filter (mine is a 2 stop series IIIC from Schneider).

[Glenn Kroeger]

Ira: I have used a 55mm also on a 45A. You have to drop the bed, but it won't interfere when dropped.

Toyo makes a 12.5mm recessed board which is the one to use. The older, deeper board is nearly impossible to use, even with a Copal 0 shutter. Finding an angle to mount the lens where you can cock it, set the aperture and attach an angled cable release is nearly impossible.

[Mike Mahoney]

Apart from the bed appearing in the picture, how can you get around the minimum bellows extension of 70mm with a flat board, or 57.5 with the 12.5 recessed board at infinity focus? You would have no room for movements either. Maybe infinity focus is not a consideration for you, but as a landscape camera, your focusing options with a 58 lens and the 12.5 recessed board seem limited, and the deeper 25mm recessed board seems almost unusable. Try the combination before you buy, as bag bellows is not an option on the 45AX.

[Al Harrison]

I have a 45A 25mm recessed lens board for sale. Brand new. If you are going to use the 58mm on the Toyo, that's the board you'll have to use. There is a limitation of around 70mm minimum with my 45AII. I use a 25mm board on a 65 S.A. I've got an angled cable attachment, and I can drop the bed. Just be careful with the short lens. A great way to crush the bellows. (for your information, I have several studio cameras and have found that it is great to adapt all my lenses to the Toyo45AII, whether or not I use them on it...the 110mm boards are so much more compact with the lens when transporting)

a. Harrison

[Stefano Gatti]

I use a Toyo A and the Schneider 58XL with the original 12,5mm recessed board for landscape photography: no problem at all.

I hope this will help you.