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thread
4-Jun-2009, 07:00
Anybody has experience with this lens (the old version). I wonder how the coverage for 4x5 with this lens. I am planning to find one for my architecture photo purpose and currently is using a super angulon 90mm f/8 for that. planning to get a wider lens wonder if the 65mm is a good choice?

Bob Salomon
4-Jun-2009, 07:45
It will give you 12mm of rise and 10mm of shift on 4x5 in the landscape position. You will probably want the center filter as you will see fall-off. It requires the 70001 Center Filter from rodenstock or you can use the 705851 Center Filter from Heliopan.

Eric James
4-Jun-2009, 07:51
Most of the 65mm lenses have limited movement on 4X5. The Grandagon 65mm f4.5 covers a 170mm circle - not too much to play with for architecture photography. With an image circle of 226mm, the Schneider 72mm Super Angulon XL would be a better choice - they go for roughly $2000 new, but one in excellent shape sold here recently for ~800 USD.

Leonard Evens
4-Jun-2009, 07:55
As best I can tell, this lens has an image circle of 170 mm, which will cover the 4 x 5 frame, but allow only minimal movements. That would make it of limited use for architectural photography. The problem with using wide angle lenses to photograph buildings is that one often ends up with a large empty foreground unless one can get closer and use a significant rise. I sometimes encounter that problem even with my f/4.5 75 mm Grandagon-N which as an image circle of 195 mm. Of course one can get around that by incorporating something interesting in the foreground which enhances the picture, but that is not always feasible.

I believe it would be more appropriate for use with 6 x 9 or similar formats. I have a Horseman 65 mm lens, which may be a somewhat similar lens, which I've used with my Horseman 980, a 6 x 9 camera. 65 mm focal length for the smaller format is roughly equivalent to 90 mm in 4 x 5.

Mark Sampson
4-Jun-2009, 09:36
People used 65mm lenses for a long time because there was almost nothing wider that covered 4x5. About 20 years ago there was a fad for converting the (1960s) Graflex XL's 58mm lens to work on a 4x5 camera... until Rodenstock introduced a 58 designed for 4x5. Shortly after that Schneider stepped up and began introducing more ultrashort/ultrawide (XL series) lenses. I think these are limited-use anyway, unless you're photographing kitchens and bathrooms. But one key to using a limited-coverage lens is to have a tripod that will let you put the lens where it needs to be, and not rely on movements that ain't there.

Bob Salomon
4-Jun-2009, 11:53
But one key to using a limited-coverage lens is to have a tripod that will let you put the lens where it needs to be, and not rely on movements that ain't there.

You just hit one of the key advantages of the Quadropod! It can be mounted to book shelves, windows or put two long legs on the floor and two short ones against the wall.

thread
4-Jun-2009, 12:45
Thank you all for the info. I think I will stick with my 90mm for a while and save up for the 72mm in the future. Thanks again.