Petzval for 4x5" format - suggestion needed...

Hi all,

I am entering to large format again after many years of absence from the medium & now getting into it in a bit more arty approach... so many things are new to me, hence my need for help on the matter.

I would love to hear from experts & enthusiasts on the forum about some cool Petzval lenses that would be good for 4x5 format in the manner that is currently expected from Petzval - namely swirly bokeh.

Of course I would prefer some not so expensive lens but even those price ones are cool to be suggested :)

I would love to have a swirl on "head & shoulders" type of shots & some half figure shots too - so if different lenses would perform better on these two type of shots - please suggest. (Discussing those that will swirl & would not vignette on some totals / shots focused on infinity is welcome too).

I hope I am not asking too much & not discussing things already discussed.

http://www.largeformatphotography.in...=post+petzvals

for 4x5, look for something with a focal length about 6"...
the swirl happens most around the edges of the field so if you use a longer focal length much longer than that the format doesn't "see" the swirly edges
projection lenses were often petzvals and are relatively cheap

Thanks for a pointer Vinny.
On the other hand I am using some approx. 135mm no name petzval at the moment for close up shots (head & shoulders) and it works nice - but vignetting starts to expands as I go towards infinity & swirls become more of a blur too.
I am wondering if 150-160mm lens would be enough for some full figure shots & if 190-210mm would be good for totals?
I mean - would these lenses make shots without vignette & swirl on those distances?

Thanks Andrew for the reply. Would you use 6" Petzval for a shot from close up to infinity & would it give same look through out?

Peruse the pictures on this group I started, almost 500 members! You can see the affect of different focal lengths, and speeds.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/868027@N25/

Thanks for one more pointer Garrett! Will do.