what focal length (noob)

[speedtrials]

Hi, I'm shooting 4x5 and right now I have a 150mm lens but I find its not wide enough. I'm thinking of going for something is the realm of 135mm-90mm but I'm not sure which one and don't have the opportunity to try lenses before buying. OK Here's the noob part: I like the perspective in the following photos...what kind of focal length would you guess these were taken with (equivalent in 4x5):

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1220/527891876_3d9edb93e6_o.jpg

http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/D/deutche_borse_photography_prize/images/shore1.jpg

ha maybe they are equivalent to a 150mm??

Much appreciated.

[Ole Tjugen]

Looks to me like it might be 100-ish.

A 135mm won't be significantly different from the 150mm you have. I suggest you try a 90mm to see if that's what you want. There are plenty of 90mm lenses which will cover 4x5", from the venerable old 90mm f:6.8 Angulon to the great new Super Duper XL GTi ones. Get an older one, and sell it for about the same (or maybe a little more, with luck) if you don't like it. That's what I do - except that I can't seem to get the hang of the "selling" part of it.

[Jan Pedersen]

Actually, i would guess 210 to 240 but for sure longer than 150

[BennehBoy]

Stephen Shore fan then :) From what I've read he used an 8"x10" Deardorff camera and Kodak Commercial Ektar lenses - no idea what focal lengths.

PS, they're both from his book, 'Uncommon Places', the first is 'California 177, Desert Center, California, December 8, 1976' and the second is 'Merced River, Yosemite Natinol Park, California, August 13 1979' - hope I'm not preaching to the converted!

[speedtrials]

hey guys thanks for the replies! I guess I feel like the 150mm is too narrow for me so I want something wider but perhaps those pics were taken with something longer...it is hard to tell.

@ bennehboy: ya I'm a big fan of shore's!!

[Anupam]

Thinking in terms of 35mm focal lengths might help with your choice, if you can visualize those more easily. You have approximately a 50mm lens. A 90 would give you a 28mm-ish lens.

[David Vickery]

Well, I agree with Jan, the top photograph looks like it was done with a longer than normal focal length lens, not shorter, and I would guess that it was the 14" Ektar based on what Bennehboy contributed and what I know of that lens. I wish I had some of Shore's books.
But, I disagree with the current evaluation of the second photograph. I think that Photograph has been manipulated to some degree at some point in its reproduction, either on purpose on not, because all four corners are slightly dark, which indicates a lens that couldn't quite cover the format. So, if Shore used 8x10 and Ektar lenses then it could have been done with the 190mm Wide Field Ektar and then the photograph could have been reproduced incorrectly resulting in the appearance of being done with a long focal length lens instead of the wider 190mm Ektar. If, however, the photograph is reproduced correctly then it was done with a longer than normal lens that couldn't quite cover the format at the aperture that he selected.
So, as Jan said, for 4x5 I would also suggest 210mm to 240mm if these are the perspectives that you want to reproduce.

[Brian Vuillemenot]

Try a 105 or 110- I use a 110 in combination with a 150, and find them not too close together.

[BennehBoy]

David, you should certainly get a copy of 'Uncommon Places' it's quite excellent.

[neil poulsen]

Not really wanting to split hairs, you're referring to "angle of view," not perspective. "Perspective" is dependent on camera position.

For example, moving closer or further away from a subject is fundamentally different from changing lens focal lengths. The former changes perspective; the latter changes angle of view.

[Donald Miller]

I have found the 90 a virtually unused lens in 4X5 over the twenty five years that I photographed in that format. It is a great focal length lens for architecture or interiors but includes a lot of territory if you are doing landscape for instance.

My all time favorite slightly wide angle is either the 110 or the 120 mm on 4X5.

[IanG]

Donald, that really depends on the type of landscapes your shooting, and where. My 90mm is my second most used lens, after my 150mm but then I rarely shoot wide open landscapes.

I've just been shooting with my 210mm, I rarely use anything longer than a 150mm in fact I've only used my 300mm twice in 20 years, and this was the first time I've used the 210mm outside a studio. The view point and perspective were similar to the examples the OP posted.

Ian

[jimi-the-jive]

try a wollensak raptar, 90mm, they go for about $100-150 i got one in really good nick great for landscapes

[speedtrials]

thanks for all the responses everyone.....I'll try picking up a 210 or 240 and something wider around 100mm. I'm thinking the 150mm is just too middle of the road

cheers

[Skorzen]

I think what really creates the perspective on these shots is that they are taken looking down on the scene. Like someone said I don't get the impression particularly wide lenses were used, it's just the point of view.