Transporting Wista Field with lens

[MartinHSchei]

Hi,

I just bought a Wista Field with a Nikkor-W 150mm. Great camera and lens, but i thought is was capable of having the lens mounted when folded?
I have tried several things to make that work but i haven't succeeded.

Is it possible?

Thankful for any reply.

- Martin H. Schei
www.martinhellenschei.com

[stompyq]

I haven't owned a Nikon 150mm but did have a Schneider convertible 135mm f/5.6 (in copal 0). I could fold that one up no problem. However i don't think you can go bigger than that. Certainly the Fuji 240A cannot be folded (groan)

[MartinHSchei]

Hi stompyq,

Ok, so if it can be done with the 135mm i guess the 150mm is just to large for folding.

I like your website by the way.

- Martin

[Doremus Scudder]

Hello Martin,

I have an older Wista DX and the 150 Nikkor W f5.6 folds up inside it nicely along with a 12-inch cable release. However, the older DX base plate (with the tripod socket located inconveniently and illogically at the very rear of the camera) has a recessed cavity that may provide a little more room for the lens. If you have the newer base plate, there may be less room for the lens to fit. However, the trade-off for not being able to fold up the camera with larger lenses is having a much more stable tripod mount, especially with long lenses.

One suggestion: If you don't mind removing the cable release and remounting it every time, you could try mounting the lens backward and then folding the camera up. Be careful when trying this for the first time, since there may not be enough room between the lens and the ground glass (I would remove the back the first time I tried this). If there is not enough clearance for the camera to fold with the lens backward, then you are out of luck.

If you really want the convenience of folding the camera up with the lens mounted, trade your 150 in on a 135... As mentioned, they fit. (My old Ektar 203 f7.7 fits as well).

Good luck,

Doremus Scudder

[Graham Patterson]

I used to be able to close my Wista with a 135mm Symmar-S mounted, but not since I installed my own central tripod mount. I would rather have the better balance than the convenience of a lens ready to go.

[Frank Petronio]

If you can't make it fit, swap it for a smaller lens since it is really nice to stow and go!

[MartinHSchei]

Thanks for the replies everybody.

Doremus Scudder: why didn't i think about mounting the lens backwards! I have tried it now and it works very well. I did remove the back to see if there was room, and it was.
Thanks for the tip.

By the way, there is a hotshoe(?) on top of the camera, maybe for a viewfinder system of some kind?

- Martin