Selection a 90, 150 and 210mm for my Wista 45SP

[pmazolo]

Hi, I just got me a Wista 45SP of ebay. Now I need optics for it. Theres a lot of lenses on ebay and I cant make up my mind what to go for, so I need some help:

1. I think I would like MC coating and at least f5.6 for focusing reasons (want to try using only the focusing hood and fresnel, no cloth most of the time...). I dont want huge and too heavy lenses to carry around, and I probably dont need super much movement on that camera, or super expensive optic quality.

2. I think I will get 3 lenses. Probably 90mm, 135mm, and 210mm. But that could perhaps also be 75mm, 150mm, 240mm or other combinations, if there are reasons for it...

3. I hear some lenses wont fit the 45SP. Someone said max rear barrel 80mm...what lenses should I avoid in this range?

4. I would like at least one lens to fold into the closed 45sp. Hear the 135 Sironar S will do that on a flat board. Any more options for me with flat board?

5. What should I pay for the lenses you suggest on ebay, munted in a copal shutter and prefferably in a Linhof/Wista board?

Rgds
PM

[Andrew_4548]

Welcome to the land of 4x5

It's possibly a good idea to have a scan through Kerry Thalmann's LF page for some ideas and a lot of info on lenses.

I suppose your subjects will determine quite a bit the direction you should be looking for lenses - e.g. architectural can need of lots of movements and generally faster aperture will be different to landscape needs where lightweight and smaller size are more prominent. For example, in the 90mm length, there's the 90mm f/5.6 Super Angulon XL at one end of the spectrum - big heavy, lots of movements, big filter size, maybe needs a centre filter depending upon how critical you are. At the other end is the older 90mm f/6.8 Angulon - small, lightweight but the image circle just covers 5x4 so limited in the movements available. A mid-ground lens is the 90mm f/8 Angulon - a compromise between both extremes but at f/8 it gets more interesting to focus unless it's sunny and you'll possibly need a darkcloth by then.

The lenses I've mentioned are all Schneiders but there's many other makes available - Rodenstock, Fuji (discontinued but available secondhand), Nikon (discontinued but available secondhand), Caltar (rebadged Rodenstocks for Calumet), Linhof (can be either Schneider, Rodenstock and maybe others) etc. Then there's all the older lenses to look at with names you've never heard of...

There's a lot to choose from...

To try to answer some of your qustions:

1. See above
2. Apart from the subjects, will your bellows allow very short and long lenses on flat panels? You might get away with a 90mm but struggle with a 75mm - check the specs given for the camera.
3. It's possibly lenses like the Schneider XL range - the 90mm comes with a removable rear flange to allow it to fit through some holes. It will be mainly on the wider focal lengths or faster aperture lenses where the problem could surface. You shouldn't have much trouble with 'normal' f5.6 lenses - YMMV
4. Can't help on that one as I haven't got a folding camera.
5. Can't really advise - look around some of the online LF dealers to get an idea of market prices or previously ended auctions to see what stuff went for - it might be cheaper finding some items at a dealer (with a guarantee thrown in) if people have got carried away when bidding...

Andrew

[IanG]

Here's the correct link :-)

[pmazolo]

Thanks Andrew!
As I mentioned, I would probably prefer small size and weight over optical performance, but only to a limit....and I probably would like at least f5.6 to try to get away with not using a cloth all the time. My subjects are mainly landscape, but could be people, architecture or anything as I am not using this camera for my business (I use digital for that), but for my fine-art stuff. But this should be a light and easy to use kit. I own a very extensive Sinar F2 kit that I can use when I really need large movements, long/wide lenses etc. (Up to now I have been taking the F2 into the woods!!! But its kind of heavy and slow to use there...;-)

How bad are those old lenses I see all the time? They seems to be fast and super small in size....Xenar 135/4.7 etc

Rgds
PM

[pmazolo]

Great link that!!! Exactly what I need! /PM

[Darryl Baird]

Hi, I just got me a Wista 45SP of ebay. Now I need optics for it. Theres a lot of lenses on ebay and I cant make up my mind what to go for, so I need some help:

1. I think I would like MC coating and at least f5.6 for focusing reasons (want to try using only the focusing hood and fresnel, no cloth most of the time...). I dont want huge and too heavy lenses to carry around, and I probably dont need super much movement on that camera, or super expensive optic quality.

I got an older Wista recently and have gone through a similar process, the Thalmann site has been extremely helpful to determine several choices of optics. I settled on 90mm Fuji 5.6 (I also have a 58mm SA XL that has yet to be resolved with a recessed board), 135mm Zeiss Tessar (single coated), a 203mm 7.7 Ektar (so sharp!), and a 240 G-Claron (I also use on 8x10).

don't reject single coated lenses outright unless you expect a lot of flare or are very, very picky about color. that said, there are always choices of color film that will equally affect your outcome

2. I think I will get 3 lenses. Probably 90mm, 135mm, and 210mm. But that could perhaps also be 75mm, 150mm, 240mm or other combinations, if there are reasons for it...

90, 135, and 210 are excellent for a starter lit. longer lenses will test your camera bellows extension and tripod rigidity.

3. I hear some lenses wont fit the 45SP. Someone said max rear barrel 80mm...what lenses should I avoid in this range?

I have shot with the 58mm on a flat lens board on the inside rail of my Wista... no movements at all, but it was at least possible. I've seen cheap ($36) recessed boards of 11mm depth that would probably do the trick, but access to the lens shutter speeds and apertures is diminished

4. I would like at least one lens to fold into the closed 45sp. Hear the 135 Sironar S will do that on a flat board. Any more options for me with flat board?

both my 135mm and 203mm will fold within the camera

5. What should I pay for the lenses you suggest on ebay, munted in a copal shutter and prefferably in a Linhof/Wista board?

90mm is the pricey lens >$300 and up to $700
135mm is usually cheap between $100-$300 (I got my Zeiss for about $50)
210mm is also around $250-400, I spent <$200 on the 203mm

-db

[Bill_1856]

Don't overdo it. Start with one, use it for a while, and then decide what else you might need (or perhaps you won't need anytihing else at all).
I believe the best conbination of price and performance is with Symmar-S Multicoated lenses in Copal shutters.
Either the 135 or 150 would be good, although I personally prefer 135mm.

[Andrew_4548]

Sorry about the link - that's the joys of cut & paste

I know what you mean about lugging Sinar gear around - I've got a P2 and tripod to match etc - not exactly the most portable of options.

If you've got all the gear for the F2, how easy would it be to transfer some lenses onto the smaller panels and try them or are they in constant use / not suitable?

[pmazolo]

Well Andrew, all the Sinar lenses are without shutter, and I pretty much know what I use, so I figure just go get those three right away. Thanks to the link I now think it should be possible to get all three small enough to fit in the folded camera! Wow, compare this to the F2 kit in the woods...;-) /PM

[pmazolo]

Darryl, thanks for a very informative post!
Would you say theres a great difference in matte-screen lightness between the f5.6 and the f7.7?
I think older non-MC could be a nice way to go. Flare I can usually handle, and color is no problem as I scan everything and lambdaprint huge. The only issues with older lenses might be sharpness and contrast....and some seems to have very small image circle...
Any other recommendations for starting to use the Wista?
I am thinking of getting readyload film instead of loading cassettes: lighter to carry, can have more sheets ready, and no reload problem in the woods....what film holder/back do I need to get for this? /PM