What is a good swirly bokeh lens that's cheap and good for a Speed Graphic?

[Frank Petronio]

Please don't refer to my prior five years of snide comments about swirly lenses;-p

Looking for something cheap and easy to play with on a 4x5 Speed, cult $$$ lenses need not apply.

[Brian C. Miller]

Please don't refer to my prior five years of snide comments about swirly lenses;-p

... ... ... ... ... te dum te dum te dum ... ... ...


Looking for something cheap and easy to play with on a 4x5 Speed, cult $$$ lenses need not apply.

Look at Jim Gali's pages. There's a picture called "explosion at the mattress factory" (or something like that) which he used a lens from some old projector. The Petzval design has apparently been used in a lot of places, so it's just a matter of sorting through various second-hand shops and other lens garbage bins for something, and then just trying it out.

Anything with a known name will definitely be over $100.

[Mike Anderson]

I think the election really messed with Frank's head.

[E. von Hoegh]

I think the election really messed with Frank's head.

That, or maybe he needs an emetic.

[Frank Petronio]

$100 or even $200 is cheap, I'm really lazy, what is the simple answer?

I'm dreaming of a fast, Brass, and French model with nice engraved cursive writing already expertly mounted on a black Graphic board with no fuss, no muss.

And yeah the election provided the emetic.

[jnantz]

frank

you might be able to find something from a junk store folder
just remove the lens and the choke ( the fstop wafer )
and see if it works. it might run you the price of a piece of foam core
for your lensboard and whatever price they charge you for the junkque folder.
( or box camera ) ...

you don't need to shell out the $$$ ... and it will probably do the same thing.

that is if you can't find the french lens you lust for.

[Kirk Gittings]

a B&L movie projector lens from early in this century $50 max.

[Jody_S]

Do you need an aperture? The 150mm f2.8 from a Rollei MF projector vignettes at infinity, but for portraits it's great. Of course, no aperture, and you need a hacksaw or something to remove the aluminum sleeve that covers the bulk of the lens. Or I suppose you can cut a piece of plywood and hot-glue that sucker in as-is. A lot of the other projector lenses I've tried have serious flare problems, given they have no internal flocking or even black paint. I posted an example, focused at about 20ft, in the Aero-Ektar thread a couple months ago.


Link (http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?82735-Aero-Ektar-Images-post-em!/page7)

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

Oh Frank, why? I thought you were the only voice of sanity and good taste here.

[Frank Petronio]

It's actually a request from a subject! At least I'm not shooting plates ;-)

[C. D. Keth]

It's actually a request from a subject!

That's how it always starts.

[Frank Petronio]

I'm going to do digital collages if the money is there....

[Winger]

You could try taking the bottom part off a pair of binoculars and gluing it to a lensboard. If you have a focal plane shutter, you're good to go. I don't know if all would have great swirly stuff, but it's cheap enough to try.

[Mark Sawyer]

$100 or even $200 is cheap, I'm really lazy, what is the simple answer?

I'm dreaming of a fast, Brass, and French model with nice engraved cursive writing already expertly mounted on a black Graphic board with no fuss, no muss...

You can probably find a nice Cinephor for $50, then have it engraved for another $50. I'm not sure what having it brass plated will run...

[Tim Meisburger]

Just borrow one from Eddie.

[Jim Galli]

Maybe a rental? This is just a phase, right?

[Ari]

What's next, a wooden camera for your soon-to-be "vintage lens collection"?

[Kirk Fry]

Magnifying lenses from Walmart or Target might give the desired "look". I saw some very interesting work high school kids did with this approach using a view camera.

[Lightbender]

Try a 67mm +2 and +3 close-up lens stacked on top of each other.

[dsphotog]

Please don't refer to my prior five years of snide comments about swirly lenses;-p

Looking for something cheap and easy to play with on a 4x5 Speed, cult $$$ lenses need not apply.

The...Mayans...just...might...be...right...about...2012.

[ian kraus]

Hi Frank, have you tried just using one half of some of the lenses that you may already have.

Like using a non-convertible lens as a convertible ? can be fun, can be VERY swirly.


downside is you get to miss all the fun of a new lens ...

[Frank Petronio]

That's a great idea, thanks Ian!

[goamules]

All this hoo-ha about swirly bokeh. Lenses that show edge aberrations are no good. What I think would be better is a lens that swirls in the middle, but is really sharp and high fidelity on the edges! Instead of "swirly bokeh" we could call it a "Coriolis effect." Now that'd be cool huh? Wouldn't it, huh? wouldn't it?

[E. von Hoegh]

All this hoo-ha about swirly bokeh. Lenses that show edge aberrations are no good. What I think would be better is a lens that swirls in the middle, but is really sharp and high fidelity on the edges! Instead of "swirly bokeh" we could call it a "Coriolis effect." Now that'd be cool huh? Wouldn't it, huh? wouldn't it?

Maybe someone can do that in fauxtoshoppe.

[Emil Schildt]

All this hoo-ha about swirly bokeh. Lenses that show edge aberrations are no good. What I think would be better is a lens that swirls in the middle, but is really sharp and high fidelity on the edges! Instead of "swirly bokeh" we could call it a "Coriolis effect." Now that'd be cool huh? Wouldn't it, huh? wouldn't it?

I actually have an old Diana camera that does exactely this...

Two words: NOT cool!

:eek:

[Corran]

Why don't you hit up the surplus stores and find one of those Aero Ektar lenses hmm???

:rolleyes: