PDA

View Full Version : Need Advice on lens for Horseman VH-R



Phil Smith
16-Jul-2011, 22:55
I have a Horseman medium format VH-R Topcon. Have 105mm lens. Have chance to buy a:
NIKON NIKKOR SW 65 MM f/4 LENS. Would this be a decent lens for this camera? Would I have to use a recessed lens board? Is lens board 80mm x 80mm? Would I look for a #0 copal board? As is evident, I'm not sure what I need to add a wide angle lens to my camera. Any general suggestions on a good medium wide angle lens for this camera and correct lens board would be appreciated? PCS

Frank Bunnik
16-Jul-2011, 23:14
Here is the list from Horseman that tells you which lenses will fit your camera:
http://www.komamura.co.jp/e/lens_list.html

The Nikkor will fit according to this list (which comes from Horseman itself). The lens will mount on a flat panel. When I had a VH-R, I used the Horseman 65mm lens which was also on a flat panel. Regarding the size of your lens board, I would suggest you measure the one the 105mm lens is in. I am not sure about the size of the board since I no longer have a VH-R.

All the best, Frank

www.frankbunnik.zenfolio.com

Jeff Keller
17-Jul-2011, 00:55
I believe the Horseman 65mm lens is positioned inside the box at infinity and thus no significant movements are possible. I don't remember how much movement is possible with the Horseman 75mm lens.

A recessed lensboard might help but I haven't tried that. The only Horseman made boards I've seen are flat about 80x80. There are some Chinese made top-hat boards sold on ebay but I don't think they sell recessed boards.

Don't expect any significant movements, but the Nikkor should fit and work fine. Both the bellows and the front standard opening can handle the 54mm rear element diameter shown in the handy chart Frank posted. (Thanks for posting that Frank)

I've heard of people slicing the top of a VH so that they can get rise with short focal lengths. I don't think I've seen any images they captured using rise.

Good luck
Jeff Keller

ic-racer
17-Jul-2011, 06:58
65mm Topcor on the Recessed board clears the body and covers 4x5. You might want to look for one of those. Look for the one mounted on a wrinkle finish black board. The 65mm on the flat board is hammered metal finish gray.
The swing center detent needs to be centered perfectly to get good side-to-side sharpness.

Frank Bunnik
17-Jul-2011, 08:10
I made a mistake in my previous post. I had the 75mm not the 65mm lens.

Phil Smith
24-Jul-2011, 17:16
Thanks all for the useful advice, phil