Extreme wide angle lens for Whole Plate format

**Corran** · 22-May-2017, 09:28

I think 4x5 is the best compromise for extreme wide-angle. The Schneider 47mm XL is the widest modern lens that you can easily get your hands on and use. The 90mm XL should be about the same FOV on 8x10, but as shown doesn't really cover. For 6x7 I can use my 38mm XL with a custom camera but that's not as wide. You could spend big bucks on a rare 28mm XL which I think would cover 6x7 for about the same FOV as that 47mm.

If you can deal with a 1:2 ratio the 38mm XL works on 6x12 format and the 72mm XL from what I understand works for 4x10, but I've never tried to use mine on that format. You'd likely need a custom camera to get the lens centered and close enough to the film for best results. On the small-format side you can get the 10mm Voigtlander for 35mm film or digital for perhaps the widest horizontal image possible. Speaking of aspect ratios, that 38mm XL will cover a 4x4 area so you can shoot 4x5 with it and crop. It's like a Hasselblad SWC with a huge sheet of film and wider FOV!

As discussed on that other thread, the Hypergon might be the actual widest lens. The 75mm purportedly covers 8x10, which is amazing. I wonder if the rare 60mm covers whole-plate? It'd come close, since it covers 5x7 with room to spare. But they are expensive and as a 100-year-old lens might not hold up.

Fisheyes are just a different animal altogether.

**Pere Casals** · 22-May-2017, 10:11

Originally Posted by Corran

I think 4x5 is the best compromise for extreme wide-angle. The Schneider 47mm XL is the widest modern lens that you can easily get your hands on and use. The 90mm XL should be about the same FOV on 8x10, but as shown doesn't really cover. For 6x7 I can use my 38mm XL with a custom camera but that's not as wide. You could spend big bucks on a rare 28mm XL which I think would cover 6x7 for about the same FOV as that 47mm.

If you can deal with a 1:2 ratio the 38mm XL works on 6x12 format and the 72mm XL from what I understand works for 4x10, but I've never tried to use mine on that format. You'd likely need a custom camera to get the lens centered and close enough to the film for best results. On the small-format side you can get the 10mm Voigtlander for 35mm film or digital for perhaps the widest horizontal image possible. Speaking of aspect ratios, that 38mm XL will cover a 4x4 area so you can shoot 4x5 with it and crop. It's like a Hasselblad SWC with a huge sheet of film and wider FOV!

As discussed on that other thread, the Hypergon might be the actual widest lens. The 75mm purportedly covers 8x10, which is amazing. I wonder if the rare 60mm covers whole-plate? It'd come close, since it covers 5x7 with room to spare. But they are expensive and as a 100-year-old lens might not hold up.

Fisheyes are just a different animal altogether.

The Hypergons are cult objects, so very, very expensives, but even not technically advanced they have an amazing footprint, art is not only related to glass performance...

I agree... the 47 and 38XL are really powerful choices.

Of course, fisheyes are different animal, but this is a resource LF lacks, this is 180º view.

What I mean is that for extreme wide I feel a weak push to do it with LF rather in MF, I don't know exactly why... My widest is a Fuji 65, still I've not used it.