Help for LF virgin - 58mm Schneider XL on Cambo Wide

[Doug Dolde]

That is one hell of a wide lens on 4x5. I can't imagine using one.

[spkennedy3000]

Hi Douglas,

I know it is very wide - I am hoping it is as close to the field of view as possible as my 18mm lens on 35mm.digital - the lens I use almost exclusively, for architecture and landscape (digital 35mm - sorry - please delete if against the rules.)

[Archphoto]

I have the 58XL and use it for interior photography and love it.
Want to start using it on my new Shen Hao in August for some landscapes.

@spkennedy3000: we are not so "anti-digi" as on Apug, so yes you may compare focal length with digital and so on aslong as you stay a bit on the LF and ULF track.
Great shots, it realy shows what you can do with a 58XL in landscapes.

Peter

[Paul O]

The 58XL has a look peculiar to itself and can make great images on 5x4! What's more the Cambo Wide is basically a point and shoot camera so speed of set up and time taken to take photo is minimal - great in fleeting light or bad weather!

What's more combine this set-up with a 6x12 roll film back and you've got a fine panoramic camera too!

I feel the original post was very valid too The question was directed at those who could help with the technicalities of this lens and not on LF photography per se. I only wish that here in the UK we could pick up sheet film as cheaply as our American cousins - cheapest black and white film here is equivalent of $1.65 per sheet (just over £1 GBP each)

[Walter G]

I am hoping it is as close to the field of view as possible as my 18mm lens on 35mm.digital

The 58mm is the jewel in the crown of the super-wide XLs in my opinion and it should be equivalent on the long side to a 19 mm on 35mm. Of course, the different aspect ratio will generate a slightly different 'feel'.

Cheers,

[612tom]

I have the 58XL and use it for interior photography and love it.

Same here - it's a great little lens, both inside and outdoors.

[Walter G]

Ah, the QVB. Are you a Sydney-sider 612tom? Or simply passing through?

[612tom]

Ah, the QVB. Are you a Sydney-sider 612tom? Or simply passing through?

I am indeed a Sydneysider, living on the North Shores. What about you??

[Walter G]

Leichhardt.

Nice to meet you.

[Ed Richards]

Forget about 4x5 finders, get one for 35mm 18 and mask the edges. Better, put a sports finder on it, i.e., just a wire frame finder. Those work pretty well on wide lenses. I assume the lens is on a calibrated cone, so you can zone focus and not worry about the GG. I am not sure why 5.6 would nice for environmental portraits - you are not going to get subject isolation, just a slightly fuzzy background. Better to use a smaller aperture and then you will not have to worry about focus, just set it for the hyperfocal point. Use TMY-2 and you can still get a reasonable shutter speed.

The harder question for environmental portraits is whether you are going to get better results than with your digital - unless you are making really large prints. Weird wides really work well on FF digital because you can see what you are doing. I use 12mm a lot, almost all of the images in this book are at 12mm on a D700. The advantages of LF and ultra wides diminish, in my view, when you include people in the pictures - If something is moving, I would rather have more frames than a little higher resolution. I gave up handheld 4x5 once I got the D700 - there just was not enough of a quality edge to offset the ability to shoot 400 frames instead of 10.