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gmed
21-Jun-2011, 10:08
I have just started to purchase LF equipment. I recetnly bought the Chamonix 045-1.
I currently shoot Nikon full frame digital, and my main area of photography is Landscape. I still plan to cw digital as this is going to be my main tool, but I Want to start LF for the slower pace of photography, and ability to make large photos, hoping to go pro by next year.

my question is, do I buy a 90mm now or buy a 150mm, then get the 90 in the future?
My subjects are mainly going to be sea, desert, and alpine.

any advice is appreciated.

Gevork

Scotty230358
21-Jun-2011, 10:13
I would recommend you start with something in the 120 to 150 range. When I started LF I was surprised just how much you can get in with a standard lens. You will find a 90mm lens considerably wider.

Bob Hubert
21-Jun-2011, 11:54
I always found wider lenses to be more difficult to compose when I was starting out. Good landscape demands that you isolate your subject in the frame so I would also recommend the 150 and save the 90 for later. I do a lot of work on the Maine coast and find the 225- 250mm to be very usable as well when shooting 4x5.

Bob

James E Galvin
21-Jun-2011, 12:02
In Death Valley landscapes I use 203 or 210 most of the time. I have found, in 10 years, one scene that wanted 90, and one that wanted 65. But several that wanted 135 or 360.

BrianShaw
21-Jun-2011, 12:11
What you get depends mostly on what you want/need. (You already know that!) I get most usage out of my "normal" lenses, followed by the slightly longer lenses (190, 210 and 300). I shot amost 3 decades worth of LF without a 90 or wider. Then I bought one thinking I'd see life differntly with it. So far I've composed with it, shot a test roll using a roll film back... but have not yet exposed a piece of sheet film with it. I think I'll only be using it mostly for architecture whenever I get around to that, or as a "normal" lens with a roll film holder.

Scott Walker
21-Jun-2011, 12:13
Start with the 150, the 90 is more difficult to use and I think most people would agree that 90mm is not their go to lens for landscape.

gmed
21-Jun-2011, 12:17
Thank you for the responses.
Now if I were to use the 4x5 for panoramic shots (crop from top and bottom), would the 120 or 150 serve me well?

generally, my favorite FL for 35mm is 24mm. I do a lot of seascape photography. But I dont plan to shoot a lot of seascape with the LF. Im thinking 120 would be best of both worlds.

Ive looked at a lot of photos by Ansel Adams, and I noticed a lot of them are either standard or telephoto. More and more, I see myself using telephoto or standard when shooting with my digital, simply to isolate the subject better. with super wide, the subject just gets lost in the photo, unless I shoot seascape, where I try to have boulders and waaves as my foreground, and the sky and horizon as my background. in alpine or desert photography, I would imagine using less wide angles. this is the impressionI am getting.

What do you think?

BrianShaw
21-Jun-2011, 12:20
I find 120 to be too wide... but I also feel 24mm too wide for 35mm photography. If you like wide I'd not go wider than 120. Personally, I'd encourage you to first try a 135 or 150 and see if it fits your needs. If you really want to follow in AA's footsteps... do what you have already realized; get lenses that are normal and slightly long.

gmed
21-Jun-2011, 12:27
Youre right Brian.

Again, the only timeI really go wide is shooting seascapes. My favorites shots of Yosemite from few months ago were with 50mm and 70mm.

what do you think of Rodenstock 150mm f5.6 Apo-Sironar -N Lens? I found one on ebay for $369.

Scott Walker
21-Jun-2011, 13:01
Thank you for the responses.
Now if I were to use the 4x5 for panoramic shots (crop from top and bottom), would the 120 or 150 serve me well?

generally, my favorite FL for 35mm is 24mm. I do a lot of seascape photography. But I dont plan to shoot a lot of seascape with the LF. Im thinking 120 would be best of both worlds.

I find myself doing this as well when I am around or on the water. I especially like the pano look you get when you crop a bit of sky and use a wide lens. I use a 150mm on 8x10 for this. This said, I still only find myself using a wider than normal lens for maybe 1 in 10 or 15 shots.

Preston
21-Jun-2011, 13:48
I do shoot mostly landscape and believe the 150 is a sound choice for starting out with 4x5. I use my 180 and 210 quite a bit. I don't have a 150. I have a 90mm, but don't use it very often because I find that my 135 works very well when I need a wider lens.

If you can, see if you can borrow or rent a 150 and/or a 180 to see which fits your vision the best. The aspect ratio for 4x5 is quite different than 35mm, so you really need to carefully evaluate which will be best, while leaving the 35mm aspect ratio at the door, i.e. evaluate the 4x5 on its own merits.

--P

DrTang
21-Jun-2011, 13:53
I find 120 to be too wide... but I also feel 24mm too wide for 35mm photography.

Funny

I used to use a 24mm as my normal lens back in the 35mm film days. In fact..I'd love to have one for my pentax screwmount set I play with now

Of course I was usually shooting people..on the street and at events and such

gmed
21-Jun-2011, 13:57
that is true, the aspect ratio of 4x5 is diffeent, more like the 4/3, which i find that the 50mm equivalent is wider than on 2/3.

150 it is for now.

Scott Walker
21-Jun-2011, 14:22
If you have an iPhone there is an app that allows you to use the camera viewing screen as a viewfinder and it can be pre programed with a bunch of different focal length lenses 110mm and longer for 4x5 and wider with a wide angle adapter for the phone. It is called Viewfinder Pro. Great tool, It allows you to see what is going to be visible on the ground glass with each lens you have or in your case which lens you buy.

Steve M Hostetter
21-Jun-2011, 15:43
I use a 90mm XL for architecture mostly because I can move in close and still keep lines straight w/ tons of movement ... (I like the perspective it allows)
You can do that also from a distance with a 150mm lens with a more compressed perspective.

Mark Woods
21-Jun-2011, 16:02
I find the lens I go to the most is the 90mm in 4x5. I like it even with the landscapes I've shot. But they aren't traditional landscapes.

BrianShaw
21-Jun-2011, 16:25
Funny

Odd, perhaps... but not very funny.

What IS funny is that I think my choice of lens is perhaps because my eyes are too close together. :D

Light Guru
21-Jun-2011, 17:04
If you have an iPhone there is an app that allows you to use the camera viewing screen as a viewfinder and it can be pre programed with a bunch of different focal length lenses 110mm and longer for 4x5 and wider with a wide angle adapter for the phone. It is called Viewfinder Pro. Great tool, It allows you to see what is going to be visible on the ground glass with each lens you have or in your case which lens you buy.

Scott what's the name of that app?

Kuzano
21-Jun-2011, 17:15
Common thinking on part of newbies:
90mm is wide angle
Landscape is wide angle of view
ergo
90mm is landscape lens.

Not so. As you've seen by the posts, there is no direct connect between wide angle lenses and landscape. There is a connect between the focal length of the lens to use and the subject matter. If you start out thinking short focal length equals landscape, you'll end up fighting many of your landscape compositions to get the right image.

If you go around the internet and peruse the landscapes you like and then find out the lenses used, you'll see a wide range of focal lengths which may surprise you.

I'd say first choice 150, and then go down or up from there as you progress and review your achievements. I have a 120, 150 and 210. I don't often find myself wanting for another focal length as long as I stay with 4X5.

I also shoot 6X9 MF and have a 65mm and 100mm lens. I use the 100 more often than the 65. On that format the 100 equates roughly to a 180 on 4X5. The 65 = close to 120 and often has more subject than I want in the image.

I submit that starting out with only a 90 will be seriously limiting your 4X5 experience in the beginning, until you determine your style for landscapes.

John NYC
21-Jun-2011, 20:59
Whatever you start with, buy it used and cheap. Try to find one for the going rate (i.e., great condition but not the perfect diamond example that has not a speck of dust) and you will not lose money when you resell it.

I have found that focal length preference is a personal journey. Some people think it doesn't matter, but to me it does. I've gone through both long and short ends of the spectrum on LF (and other formats), and I am back to just "normal" lenses in all formats. So, I would say, start with a 150.

Scott Walker
21-Jun-2011, 22:12
Scott what's the name of that app?

Viewfinder Pro

gmed
21-Jun-2011, 23:45
Im telling you, you guys are awesome. You rarely get this kind of advice on the digital forums, everyone tries to attack you.


Thank you for all the great info. Im so looking forward to enjoying film photography like when I first got into it. I just have to get used to the film loading.

again thank you. Ive got my eye on few Nikon 150mm lenses