Bellows length and lenses

[David Richhart]

I am working in 8x10 format with a 14" lens. Everything is working very well, an d I am considering the purchase of another lens in the 19"-24" range for landsca pe work. Will my 22" bellows handle the larger lenses when focussing at infini ty? Do all lenses of the same size work at about the same focal length? Is there a "rule of thumb" relationship between lens size and focal length...{a 14" lens will focus at about 14" at infinity}? I know that sounds like a couple o f dumb beginner questions, but Steve Simmons didn't have room for everything in his book! With a handshake -Dave

[Sean Billy Bob Boy yates]

With 22" of draw, you'll find it tight working with anything longer than 18", unless you go with a telephoto design. Check out Fuji and Nikkor's telephoto offerings. There may be older telephot lenses, but unfortunatley I am ignorant of them.

The conservative rule is that you need 1.3X the bellows for your longest lens for general use.