Focus lens

[Chris7521]

I'm still pretty new to LF and have wondered what attributes a "focus lens" has? This pertains to a lot of those old lenses around EBay. Sorry if it's a dumb question but, I just don't find the info around. Thanks for any help!

[Dan Fromm]

I just did a search for "focus lens" on eBay. Ain't no LF "focus lenses" there. Please give some examples.

When you ask a question, please be as specific as possible. Make it easy for people to understand what you're asking about.

I did find "auto focus lens," "manual focus lens," "soft focus lens," even "fixed focus lens." The first two instances of "fixed focus lenses" were auto-focus Nikkors. Go figure.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Your question is the best start-point to large format photography. I am somewhat amazed how people make LF photographs with little or no understanding of the complexities. AND THAT IS PERFECTLY GOOD. oops, me shouting.

Your adventure begins with understanding what focal-length means and then your understanding will devolve when you pay attention to the metric-nerds.

No help, I know. I hope my response will arouse the best informed of this site.

[Oren Grad]

Dan, here's an example of the sort of listing that might be triggering the OP's question: "Aldis f8 10 Inch Focus Large Format Lens". Of course, in that case it's simply referring to the focal length.

[djdister]

Please read:

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/lenses-primer/

Photography With Large-Format Cameras, Eastman Kodak
The Camera, Ansel Adams

[Dustin McAmera]

Not really for LF, but I've come across sets of 'focusing lenses', i.e. auxiliary lenses just like a portrait attachment for a box camera, to give a fixed-focus camera more than one focus distance. I even have a set (Beck, if I remember right).

[Bob Salomon]

To me I thought that he is asking about a focusing loupe.

[Mark Sawyer]

As the OP mentions "focus lenses" as "old lenses", I'd ponder a guess he might be referring to old lenses with tangential or radial drive focusing. The feature might be nice on a simple rigid box camera, but doesn't matter on a camera that focuses with bellows extension.

[Chris7521]

Ok, sorry I asked such a stupid question and not explaining well enough. That is what newbies do. You where all there. I swear I have seen lets say a COOKE lens that just says "focus" but most say "EQ focus", some of which are clearly SF lenses with the softness adjustment, some no. What I want to know I guess for now is, what eq focus means. Can't seem to find the one I just saw that only said focus..
Ebay examples
Eq focus only 361725776182
Eq focus Process 291881025383

[Chris7521]

You have me all wrong. I am not that lost but, thanks...

Your question is the best start-point to large format photography. I am somewhat amazed how people make LF photographs with little or no understanding of the complexities. AND THAT IS PERFECTLY GOOD. oops, me shouting.

Your adventure begins with understanding what focal-length means and then your understanding will devolve when you pay attention to the metric-nerds.

No help, I know. I hope my response will arouse the best informed of this site.