Keytarjunkie
18-Dec-2011, 08:42
Hi, So far I haven't bought a decent lens for my mediocre japanese wood 4x5 camera I just got. I found two lenses in a drawer so I decided to just use those until I could afford anything (college student!). One is an old 90/8 Graflex Optar in a Graphex shutter...it's the first one I tested out and it's terrible! :D Not even worth keeping!
The second lens is a Caltar II-E 150mm f/6.3 (multicoated). However, I don't think it is actually a 150mm at all. When I mount it onto my camera, the front standard reaches infinity only a few mm's farther than my 90mm, and based on my eye, it looks to be acting more like a 100mm or 110mm on the ground glass. I also have a 127mm lens attached to my 4x5 rangefinder (http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6151/6137315513_abd0f6fb45_z.jpg) which I don't want to take off for fear of it becoming uncalibrated. However, based on how extended that lens is at infinity, it looks like it's much farther away from the film plane than the "150mm"! I have used a 150mm in the past and it is much more like a "classic 50mm" whereas this Caltar seems to be acting as a wide angle lens. So I guess I'm asking if it is possible that the rear element of this lens was switched with another one at some point in time, and how bad this would be optically. Honestly the ground glass looks fine to me but I have no idea if it will show up any better or worse in print...I guess I will try it out today but I was hoping to get some feedback on it here, where you people are so knowledgeable about everything :) and I'm just a newbie...thanks a bunch!
The second lens is a Caltar II-E 150mm f/6.3 (multicoated). However, I don't think it is actually a 150mm at all. When I mount it onto my camera, the front standard reaches infinity only a few mm's farther than my 90mm, and based on my eye, it looks to be acting more like a 100mm or 110mm on the ground glass. I also have a 127mm lens attached to my 4x5 rangefinder (http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6151/6137315513_abd0f6fb45_z.jpg) which I don't want to take off for fear of it becoming uncalibrated. However, based on how extended that lens is at infinity, it looks like it's much farther away from the film plane than the "150mm"! I have used a 150mm in the past and it is much more like a "classic 50mm" whereas this Caltar seems to be acting as a wide angle lens. So I guess I'm asking if it is possible that the rear element of this lens was switched with another one at some point in time, and how bad this would be optically. Honestly the ground glass looks fine to me but I have no idea if it will show up any better or worse in print...I guess I will try it out today but I was hoping to get some feedback on it here, where you people are so knowledgeable about everything :) and I'm just a newbie...thanks a bunch!