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View Full Version : Nikon 90mm f/8 + Wista Field 45dx. Recessed board? Need advice.



l2oBiN
28-Sep-2010, 14:59
I have been trying to battle with large movements on the wista field 45dx with the nikon 90mm f/8 and it appears if you want to have a good part of the foreground quite close in the image, and exaggerate it with back movements, then adjust the plane of focus with the front, the bellows gets very compressed.
I was thinking of placing the 90mm on a recessed board, however I have no experience with recessed boards.
How they would alter the use of the lens?
Would it improve the movements of the image?
Would it impede on the accessibility to the lens dials?
Would I need a special cable release? if so what type?
Also what would be considered the best compatible recessed lensboard? What kind of depth should be appropriate?

Mark Sampson
28-Sep-2010, 19:20
The tradeoff with a recessed board is that while the bellows move more freely, it then becomes difficult to operate the shutter and aperture. Often you'll need an angled cable-release adapter, not a big deal. I used a 4x5 Tachihara for some years, a camera very similar to your Wista; and I was able to use the 90/8 Nikkor-SW on a standard board without any trouble. Before that, I'd used an older Schneider 90/8 Super-Angulon on a Linhof recessed board- but a previous owner had put a spacer into the recessed board, making it less recessed. (I never knew if that was a factory mod or not) and they'd rigged up a bi-post flash attachment on the face of the board. It worked ok, for not being very recessed, and I traded the lens not for that but for the improved quality of the Nikkor. I digress, but the only way to know if the recessed boar works better is to try it. If you don't like it, you can then sell it here...

Doremus Scudder
29-Sep-2010, 07:14
I use a 90mm f/8 Schneider Super Angulon on a recessed board on my Wista DX.

Without the recessed board, movements are very difficult, with it, I can vignette without crimping the bellows too much. I recommend it if you plan on using movements, especially front standard rise/fall and shift.

To answer your questions:

How it would alter the use of the lens? It makes setting aperture and shutter speed, as well as cocking the shutter a bit more difficult (more later), but otherwise everything functions just fine, except, you have more bellows flexibility.

Would it improve the movements of the image? Not sure what you mean here... A recessed board will allow greater use of the movements you have already by keeping the bellows from compacting and stopping them before they reach their manufactured limits. This translates to "more movements" than without a recessed board.

Would it impede on the accessibility to the lens dials? Yes. I have to set aperture and shutter speed with the end of the cable release. Fingers just won't fit in the space between the barrel on the recessed board and the shutter. You could use a pen or pencil, a stick, etc. Cocking the shutter on my set-up is able to be done with a finger, but just barely, since the cocking lever sticks out just a bit. If I had a deeper recess (which I would like actually), I would have to use my little finger or a pen, pencil, etc. to cock the shutter. That said, I use this lens a lot and don't find the settings or cocking the shutter to be a hindrance at all.

Would I need a special cable release? if so what type? There are a couple of ways to go here. My cable release is a short one that lives on the lens. The nipple that screws into the shutter is very short and has no reinforcing up the braided part of the release. This allows it to work easily. It simply stays with the lens always. These releases are not always easy to find. Most have a longer, stiff section that doesn't allow the release to be mounted in the recessed board. You may have to look a bit for a suitable release, but they are out there. Option 2) Get yourself a 90° adapter. These also take a bit of looking for, but are really nice. They screw into the shutter and are very shallow. They have a standard cable release socket that then faces forward from the lens board. Option 3) Some lens boards, especially the Technika boards, often have an adapter mounted on the board itself which the cable release screws into. The shutter is tripped by a bent wire that runs down and into the recess and touches the regular shutter trip lever. I have not found these to be very reliable, but some like them.

Also what would be considered the best compatible recessed lensboard? What kind of depth should be appropriate? There is a round hole in the front of your Wista's front standard that limits the diameter of the recess to the standard Technika sizes. These are what you should be looking for, i.e., a recessed Technika board or a good knock-off Nikon and Wista made some and there are no-name boards from China and other places. I have one of the latter for a 75mm lens and it works just fine. As for depth, the deeper the recess, the more freedom your bellows will have. Get the deepest one that still allows you to operate the shutter easily. I think Technika had choices up to 60mm or so, but I may be wrong. At any rate, I have a relatively shallow one, and it does the job, but I do have to crimp the bellows a bit when using lots of front rise and forward tilt on the back.

Hope this helps,

Doremus Scudder

Bob McCarthy
29-Sep-2010, 08:48
I have been trying to battle with large movements on the wista field 45dx with the nikon 90mm f/8 and it appears if you want to have a good part of the foreground quite close in the image, and exaggerate it with back movements, then adjust the plane of focus with the front, the bellows gets very compressed.


You can use the back to get everything in focus (foreground to infinity), so as I understand it your trying for an "exaggerated" effect??

Is that right? The limiting factor will be based upon the camera design as your finding out. This is something a field monorail might be much better at if your looking for extreme exaggeration.

bob

Brian Ellis
29-Sep-2010, 10:09
I used a recessed board with an 80mm lens. I was a little worried at first because I read so much about the difficulty of setting the aperture and shutter speed and cocking the shutter with a recessed board. After a few times I didn't find it that hard to do and thought that some of the stuff about difficulty was exaggerated, it wasn't that big a deal to me. If your fingers seem too big you can always use a pencil or something similar. FWIW, I was using a Linhof recessed board on a Linhof Master Technika camera.

l2oBiN
30-Sep-2010, 15:04
could anyone point out such a board on ebay?

l2oBiN
17-Dec-2010, 18:48
Has anyone had any experience with the following board? eBay # 270680960786