Newbie lens question

[ChuckyB]

Hi,

Just bought my first 4x5 camera. A Tachihara 45GF. I bought a kit at Badger with a 150mm.

I won a bid on a 210mm 5.6 Schneider lens: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=120415309644

So can any of the lenses work with all 4x5 cameras? I guess my question is will this work with my camera? I'm guessing all I have to do is get the right lens board right?

I have to decide tonight if I'm buying this lens or not so, any help will be very welcomed.

Thank you

[aduncanson]

Great lens, it will work fine for you. Aside from fine points about the "look" of the lens, mostly you need to be sure that the lens has sufficient coverage for your format and your style of shooting - and yours would be sufficient for almost any reasonable use. (Oh yeah, and you have to be willing to truck its weight.)

Just don't follow the seller's model when it comes to mounting the lens on the board. He had it on backwards.

[Lachlan 717]

Have a look here.

Whilst not a definitive list, it should guide you in the right direction for many "modern" lenses and their maximum coverage.

Lachlan.

[venchka]

You just violated Rule #1: Start with a 150mm lens and wait at least a year before buying a second lens.

Rule #2: Everybody breaks Rule #1.

Two things to keep in mind when buying lenses: Coverage and bellows draw for infinity focus. Shop here first. ebay may not be your friend.

Have fun!

[CatSplat]

Rule #1: Start with a 150mm lens and wait at least a year before buying a second lens.

Rule #2: Everybody breaks Rule #1.

Hahaha!

[gevalia]

You just violated Rule #1: Start with a 150mm lens and wait at least a year before buying a second lens.

Rule #2: Everybody breaks Rule #1.

Two things to keep in mind when buying lenses: Coverage and bellows draw for infinity focus. Shop here first. ebay may not be your friend.

Have fun!

How true.

[Michael_4514]

Just don't follow the seller's model when it comes to mounting the lens on the board. He had it on backwards.

Maybe that explains why he's giving up LF.

[Eirik Berger]

You just violated Rule #1: Start with a 150mm lens and wait at least a year before buying a second lens.

My first LF camera was a Cambo SC with an APO Sironar N 135mm f/5,6 lens. I liked that focal length and my second lens came several years later. And still, this is the lens I use the most. Then again, maybe it is just because it is so small and folds up nicely in my field camera?

[venchka]

135mm is also mentioned at least 49% of the time in Rule #1.

Nothing wrong with playing by the rules.

I broke Rule #1 when I bought my first 4x5 camera. It came with 127mm and 7 7/8" lenses. What was I to do? Not buy it?

[drew.saunders]

Hi,

Just bought my first 4x5 camera. A Tachihara 45GF. I bought a kit at Badger with a 150mm.

I started in LF in college, and re-started with a Tachi kit from Badger. It's an excellent way to start, and the lens should be already mounted correctly on the correct lensboard, which is a plus.

I won a bid on a 210mm 5.6 Schneider lens: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=120415309644

So can any of the lenses work with all 4x5 cameras? I guess my question is will this work with my camera? I'm guessing all I have to do is get the right lens board right?

Yes, that lens will be fine, and you may end up preferring the 210 over the 150. Since that 210 is older, the shutter will almost certainly be inaccurate at the high speeds, by up to a whole stop at the 1/400 speed (i.e.: it's really shooting at 1/200 or thereabouts), so if you can't get it tested, avoid the high speeds until you have a good idea as to what they really are, or just assume they're slow and open up the shutter a bit. If you're not shooting slide film, you should be fine.

You can get a correct lensboard from Badger for that lens (it's a Copal size 1) and this spanner wrench: http://www.badgergraphic.com/store/c..._detail&p=1263 will let you mount it on the board.

Drew