65mm vs 75mm lens

[KyledeC]

Which is a better focal length for wide angle landscape work, a 65mm or a 75mm lens?

Is there a noticeable difference between the two sizes?

Thank you,
Kyle

[evan clarke]

Need to check the coverage of the various lenses, some have a very small image circle..EC

[Walter Calahan]

both

They offer two different wide angle ways of seeing. They are not interchangeable.

If you can only afford one, the best solution is to test both to see if they fit your shooting style.

[Ed Richards]

It also depends on what you next wider lens is. If it is a 90, you might want the 65. If it is a 110 or 120, the 75 might be better.

[Gem Singer]

Neither one.

A 90, 110, or 120 is a better choice. Larger image circles allow for greater movement capability.

A 65 covers 6x7 or 6x9. A 75 is nice for interior shots where working space is limited.

[Leigh]

Image circle will be a major concern.

The diagonal of a 4x5 sheet is ~163mm. I consider that the minimum usable IC, even though the actual image size is slightly smaller.

I have the4 65mm/4 and 75mm/4.5 Nikor SW lenses. Both will cover 4x5 satisfactorily, but the IC of the 65mm is only 169mm, affording very small movements. In contrast the IC of the 75mm is 200mm.

That being said, movements are usually not as important with wide-angle lenses as they are with longer focal lengths, but it depends on your shooting style.

- Leigh

[Alan Gales]

I own a Tachihara which can't take a bag bellows. I could use a 65mm in a recessed board with little to no movements or a 75mm lens on a regular board (I have heard) or a recessed board with some movements. I own a 75mm Nikkor SW in a recessed board and it has enough movements for me.

So it kind of depends on the camera you own also.

[KyledeC]

Thank you all. Your advice is very helpful. My next size lens is a 135mm. I have thought about the image circle issue as well, and my conclusion was that with such a wide lens I would not be using extreme movements.

I have just been wanting a lens that can really cover a wide field of view for large landscape compositions. Based on what you guys have said, a 75mm does sound like it would be the better size. But would there be any benefit to something as wide as a 65mm?

And I am shooting with an Arca Field 4x5.

[vinny]

only you can make the choice, depends on how you shoot, where you shoot. I'd go for a 90mm if I were you. the 65mm may be the least used lens in your bag or the most used.

[engl]

Go with a Nikkor SW 65/4. You can always crop slightly for the field of view you'd get with a 75mm. At F4 it is faster than any 75mm lens so the ground glass is nice and bright, and precise focusing is easier. Both 65mm and 75mm windeangles typically have the same angular coverage (105 degrees), so any image you can get by using a 75mm lens and movements, you can also get using a 65mm by cropping just a little bit.

[Filmnut]

Tough for anyone but you to make the choice. I shoot with an old Speed Graphic, and the widest I have is 75mm, and I find I really don't use it for landscape too much, I prefer the 90mm or 127mm. Though that depends so much on the scene, it is really hard to make any rules!
Keith

[Leigh]

Well, Vinny recommends the 90mm, and engl recommends 65mm.

I'll jump in the middle and recommend the 75mm/4.5 Nikor-SW.

I own all three, and find the 65mm is the least-used of the group. Of course your habits and mine are probably different.

Your 135mm has a viewing angle of 43° on the long side, while the 75mm is 59°. That's a huge difference.

The 65mm is only 4° wider than the 75mm.

The difference in gg brightness between f/4 and f/4.5 is imperceptible, and the 75mm will be brighter near the edges than the 65mm due to optical issues.

- Leigh

[JimL]

I believe the angles of view for 4x5 (for the long side ~ 120mm) are:
135mm - 48°
75mm - 77°
65mm - 85°

[Leigh]

Hi Jim,

Yep, there was an error in my spreadsheet.

Using 127mm (5") I get
135mm- 50.4°
75mm - 80.5°
65mm - 88.7°

slightly wider due to the longer dimension (127 v. 120). 127 is the actual film width; 120 is probably closer to the image width.

Using 120mm I get the same numbers you posted.

FWIW, the actual formula is: A = 2 * arctan( W / F ) where
A = angle of view in degrees
W = width of interest / 2 [i.e. W=60 for 120mm or W=63.5 for 127mm]
F = focal length
width and focal length must be in the same units (mm or cm or inches or furlongs or whatever)

Thanks.

- Leigh

[Zaitz]

I love the 75mm lens. It is close to a 16mm lens on my D300s. I disagree with those saying it is not good for landscapes. It was also recommended against to me last fall when I first got into 4x5. But I would have saved some time and money had I got one right away. My 75mm f6.8 Caltar n-II MC is working fantastic and isn't that expensive. Same as Rodenstock grandagon 75mm.

[ImSoNegative]

i have both but i use my 90 most of the time, for my style 65 is just too wide

[redu]

You will definitelly need up down shifts if you will shoot architecture. According to my humble evaluation of lenses at this focal length, Your inexpensive choices are 75mm f4.5 Nikkor SW and 75mm f4.5 Grandagon N or the logical choice is 72mm f5.6 Super Angulon XL. All depending upon the size of your pockets.

[Professional]

I was going to ask about the widest lens i can go with 4x5, and then i forgot to mention before that i tested a friend's lens, SA 65mm, i couldn't use the lens on my Shen Hao, only very tight squeeze of bellow which means i need to use a recessed lens board or maybe wide bellow, but i am not looking to buy this lens, i want to go with 72 or 75, but what i saw is that 65mm image view was great, so i don't want to be far from this view with 90 or 110 and above.