180mm for Portraiture

[drew.saunders]

I have a 180 Xenar that I bought in 2011 and haven't used as much as I'd like. I asked my home machinist friend Milt (who builds his own hot rods) to drill out my lensboard to fit the #2 sized hole, and tap screws for the flange, so to say "thanks" did a portrait session of Milt and his wife Mary with the 180 Xenar.

You'll absolutely want a hood with this lens, as it flares if you suggest the presence of side light!

From that portrait session, the good shots are:
10-30-11-1 by Drew Saunders, on Flickr
10-30-11-2 by Drew Saunders, on Flickr
10-30-11-3 by Drew Saunders, on Flickr

Almost 11 years later, I took it out again, and will try to remember to use it more often. Here's a shot from a recent visit to a nearby garden:
04-08-2022-04 by Drew Saunders, on Flickr

[Peter De Smidt]

Don't stress over this. Take a look and find what seems like the best fit. There are no guarantees with anything that you buy that it will be The One. Get one in a good shutter with the flash sync you need, assuming you're using flash. Now go take a bunch of pictures. Most 1980s lenses and newer are optimized for work at f/22. They get less sharp at bigger stops. Note: it's better to have a lens that's sharper than it needs to be than one that isn't sharp enough. "Sharpness" in portraiture has more to do with lighting, focusing, aperture, and shutter speed than it does with different types of lenses, assuming the lenses were not designed to be soft focus. If you want to use filters, make sure the lens has standard filter threads....

[AidanAvery]

Thanks to those who have replied so far, this is all very helpful.

@Drew, thanks for sharing those images. The background rendering is very smooth, and subjects are sharp but not too sharp. Really lovely.

@Peter and Ulophot, thank you both for the input regarding sharpness.

I think I'm still struggling a little bit with the shutter question. Let's say I buy a Xenar or other older Tessar-like lens with a shutter included. How would I go about mounting this to one of my boards.

My other remaining question is, how do I know which lenses/shutters are compatible with strobes. I have pc-sync chord, and I'm willing to invest in whatever other chord I might need. What I absolutely don't want is to end up with a lens/shutter combo that I like, but that cannot be used practically with a strobe. (I only ever need to sync with a single strobe, not multiple, if that makes things easier.)

[xkaes]

My other remaining question is, how do I know which lenses/shutters are compatible with strobes. I have pc-sync chord, and I'm willing to invest in whatever other chord I might need. What I absolutely don't want is to end up with a lens/shutter combo that I like, but that cannot be used practically with a strobe. (I only ever need to sync with a single strobe, not multiple, if that makes things easier.)

Most shutters have a single contemporary PC connection, and most are X-synch. Some shutters have a switch such as FP or X synch. Just make sure your shutter has a contemporary X-synch PC connection. If you need more than one strobe at some point, you can get "dongles" that allow you to connect more than one flash cable to the shutter. These are usually about $5. Just like a common household electrical extension cord.

[Peter De Smidt]

Look for a lens in the right board. Given your camera, you should be able to do that. If not, you'll have to buy a board with the right-sized hole, or have a blank board drilled.

According to:
https://www.shutterbug.com/content/c...norail-classic
Your camera takes standard Linhof 162mm square lens boards. (I don't know any more, as I don't have any of the related gear, but there are many here that do, and I'm sure they'll chime in if I'm wrong.)

[AidanAvery]

Thanks, Peter and xkaes. Again, both comments were very helpful. I think I'll look for a Xenar in the right board in that case.

@drew, were those photos above taken with the 180mm Schneider that reads "tele-xenar"? I'm not sure if there's a lens that omits the "tele" or not, but just want to make sure I'm understanding which exact lens you used.

[Peter De Smidt]

Note that 180mm and 210mm lenses are very similar, but 210s are much more common, and thus maybe cheaper.

[xkaes]

You might find this Ph.D thesis regarding the history and nature of portrait & soft-focus lenses interesting/revealing/informative/helpful/etc. I know I did:

https://research-repository.st-andre...=6&isAllowed=y

[AidanAvery]

Wow, yes, I will really enjoy reading that. Thank you.

And yes, Peter, I initially went back and forth thinking about a 210 as well, I see they are everyone online. But I recently downsized my shooting space, and I seem drawn to the 180 focal length just a bit more, so for now I'll try to hold out for a 180. Thank you.

[mdarnton]

210 mm isn't as long as it might seem. This is a 210 mm Paragon from about 5 feet:. https://www.flickr.com/photos/mdarnt...in/dateposted/