lens for 8x10 wet plate

[robin j]

What fast lens would you suggest for an 8x10 wet plate camera to shoot half length to head/shoulders portraits ......I'm thinking the longer the lens the better, keeping a decent distance from my subject to reduce bellows extension and therefore exposure time.....as well I want something fast such as f4 - f4.5 ?

Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Robin

[E. von Hoegh]

A 360/4.5 Schneider Xenar in barrel.

[Paul Fitzgerald]

"A 360/4.5 Schneider Xenar in barrel." +1
420/4.5 Rodenstock Ysar

How large is your lens board?

[goamules]

Petzvals are the classic wetplate lens!
http://www.flickr.com/groups/868027@N25/

[robin j]

Having an 8x10 made.....I can order it anywhere from 7"-9".

[fecaleagle]

Having an 8x10 made.....I can order it anywhere from 7"-9".

Christ, that should do it. The general rule for petzvals, based on my extensive research and limited, true understanding of things, is that the focal length is roughly eqivalent to the coverage at infinity. I picked up a 10" petzval that covers 8x10 at all but infinity, but the focus fall-off is significant! I bought it to use on a 5x7, and in my opinion, it is perfect for the ~8.25" image circle required. So to cover 8x10 (12.8" minimum image circle), you'd need one in the neighborhood of 14-15" to have some room to spare and a not-too-drastic focus falloff toward the edges. But hey, some people are into that stuff. The guy I bought my 10" from was using it solely for 8x10 wet-plate portraits. Petzvals in those sizes can be cost-prohibitive for some of us, but you are having an 8x10 made, so I would guess you can swing it.

Then again, you'll be managing your exposures with a hat/lens cap/darkslide/packard, so the xenar has some advantages. I tend to agree with Garrett though, you can't beat a petzval if you're going for that wet-plate collodion look.

[fecaleagle]

Thought I should mention, the faster the petzval, the bigger the barrel's going to get. Mine is 10" ~f/3.2, and I had to clip the flange to fit it on a 5.25" lens board. Garrett can give you (and me too) a better sense of what size board you'd need to handle the flange on a fast petzval for 8x10, but I would guess 7-8" would handle anything in the 14-15" range.

[goamules]

The bare minimum lensboard for a large, fast Petzval to cover 8x10 would be 6", but that might preclude using a few Extra Quick ones. A 9" board was the norm on studio cameras, but you'll seldom use the whole thing. I'd say if you are going to make your own lensboards, a 7 or 8 inch would be good. That's not a standard size, so it won't fit other cameras. That's the attraction of a 9" board, I can swap lenses to most of my other studio cameras.

A F3.8 12" or 14" Petzval would be a better match to cover 8x10, a 10" may or may not cover. Slower ones will cover more, so a 10" F5 would work.

[E. von Hoegh]

I suggested the Xenar because it's fast and available relatively cheaply in bbl.
Please, if you decide on a Petzval, use it as it was intended and leave the swirlies somewhere outside your plate.

[fecaleagle]

Please, if you decide on a Petzval, use it as it was intended and leave the swirlies somewhere outside your plate.

Amen. I am a hip, young man, but I find the way that these lenses are used today a little disturbing as well. I cross-referenced the late 19th century lens catalog that John Coffer sent me with the coverage suggestions from sellers on ebay: coverage and good representation of a subject are very different things. The 10" portrait lenses WERE recommended to cover a whole plate with a subject distance of 10-15 feet, IIRC. I find it a very comfortable FL to use for portraits on a 5x7, and it does a very good job at infinity on that format. I will definitely be looking at a 15" if I can ever move up to 8x10. That said, a Xenar is the easiest way in.