Big Aperature lens for 4x5 Shen Hao Field

[chachahavana]

Hi everyone

I am new to LF photography and LF Forum.

I like very much short DOF and bokeh created by big aperture lenses. I have a 180mm f/5.6 lens to go with my Shen Hao field and am looking for something faster with a shutter, eg, the Xenota 150mm f/2.8.

I would like to learn more about the variety of lenses in this aspect and where I could find them.

Appreciate very much your suggestions and comments.

cheers
ChaCha

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chachah...7600900489543/

[Sheldon N]

The Xenotar 150mm f/2.8 is a good choice, abeit usually fairly expensive.

Try looking for a 210mm f/4.5 lens. The Voigtlander Heliars are very desireable because of their bokeh, but they have been fairly expensive lately too. A cheaper option might be a 210mm f/4.5 Schneider Xenar in a Copal 3 shutter.

There are some more exotic fast lenses in barrel, but those would be difficult to mount on a Shen Hao.

[Jan Pedersen]

Another fast lens is the Dallmeyer Pentac, it's an 8" (203mm) F2.9 They usually come in barrels but can be mounted in #5 Alphax and Compund shutters.
Most of the lenses are not made by Dallmeyer but by subs and are often named AM (Air Ministry) AM lenses vary in QT It is a Heliar design, big and need to be mounted on special lens boards. I have one and use it on a Shen Hao so it can be done.

[chachahavana]

Thanks for sharing Sheldon. Do you know the price of a Xenota amd where I could find one.

This afternoon, I've bought an old/new stock of Great Wall ( Shanghai made, very rare, I even don't know it exists !) 210mm f/4.5 w/ compur 3 shutter. I will try it later.

Just check out your flickr stream, the images are Great. Do you mind sharing with me what equiptment do you use.

cheers
ChaCha

[chachahavana]

Hi Jan
Thank you for sharing.

[Ken Lee]

A 300mm or 400 Tele (such as the Fujinon T lenses) will render the background with a strong blur. With the lens wide open, you won't get any artifacts from the 5-bladed diaphragm. Using slow film and a neutral density filter, you can shoot outdoors at a high shutter speed.

This image was made at around f/22 with a Fujinon 400T. If I took it today, I would have tried a shot wide open as well.

[chachahavana]

Thank you very much Ken, I am thinking about a 300mm as well.

[Sheldon N]

Thanks for sharing Sheldon. Do you know the price of a Xenota amd where I could find one.

This afternoon, I've bought an old/new stock of Great Wall ( Shanghai made, very rare, I even don't know it exists !) 210mm f/4.5 w/ compur 3 shutter. I will try it later.

Just check out your flickr stream, the images are Great. Do you mind sharing with me what equiptment do you use.

cheers
ChaCha

Thanks for the kind words. I shoot with an Arca Swiss 4x5 Field camera and for lenses I use 90mm SW Nikkor f/8, 150mm f/5.6 Rodenstock APO Sironar-S, 240mm f/9 Fuji A, and 360mm f/10 Fuji A.

The 150mm Xenotar f/2.8 typically sells for $500-750, depending on who's bidding on any given day. They only come up rarely, so you'd have to hunt for one.

[chachahavana]

Hi Sheldon

Thank you again for the info and the sharing !

cheers
ChaCha

[Mark Sawyer]

Hi, ChaCha!

Just a point you're probably aware of, but if you're after minimal depth of field, a 300mm lens at f/5.6 will have noticeably less depth of field than your 180mm at f/5.6. Don't just think wider, think longer! In portraits, a longer focal length can be kinder to facial features and let you back off to a less-intrusive distance, too...