good/best portrait lens for 5x7

[tenderobject]

happy new year guys! this will be my first post for 2011..

anyway, got my setup already. a few lenses now. 150 and 210 modern lenses but would like to try out close/portraiture. what would be the best focal length for this type of work? i have 300mm barrel lenses i need to test. maybe longer would do or 300mm would be fine? can you suggest good and affordable lenses that are good for this kind of work? old or modern lenses. if you can share your experience that would be awesome.

thank you!

[mdm]

210 should be ok for now.

[Jim Galli]

I think a 14" petzval would be perfect if you could find one small enough to fit your lens panels. I'm mis-behaving badly since I just put one in the classifieds . 300mm barrels would be the most logical place to begin. Slightly long for the format but with bellows room when you get in close up.

[tenderobject]

thanks mdm..

jim, i still need to test the 300mm barrel that i bought from you. will try to test it this week with paper negative. my first try wasn't successfull co's i forgot the bellows factor hahaha. will test the 210 symmar that i got last year as well.. tried the 150mm symmar and i was happy with the result.

thank you guys!

[Jim Galli]

thanks mdm..

jim, i still need to test the 300mm barrel that i bought from you. will try to test it this week with paper negative. my first try wasn't successfull co's i forgot the bellows factor hahaha. will test the 210 symmar that i got last year as well.. tried the 150mm symmar and i was happy with the result.

thank you guys!

Follow through on that because that old lens was somewhat flarey, which is not a bad thing in portraiture. A bit of flare can light up the shadows and add some mystery.

[tenderobject]

Follow through on that because that old lens was somewhat flarey, which is not a bad thing in portraiture. A bit of flare can light up the shadows and add some mystery.

will update you when im done testing it again! hope it all works!

[Paul Fitzgerald]

" can you suggest good and affordable lenses that are good for this kind of work? old or modern lenses. if you can share your experience that would be awesome."

IF you can find one in usable condition an:

Emil Busch / Rathenow
Busch-Bis-Teler Ser. II f/7 #3 16"

works very well for portraits, fits right in with the usual suspects, hard to find.
It's the original telephoto lens so it uses the same bellows extension as a 300mm.

[Jay Decker]

While portraits taken with modern sharp lenses are great; however, I tend to prefer the look of "vintage" lenses for portraiture. For 5x7, I've become rather fond of the 250mm f/4.5 Zeiss Tessar, 300mm f/4.5 Heliar, Dallymer 4D and Dallymer 3B. The Tessar is lovely for portraits and cost $45 for the lens in barrel.

[Frank Petronio]

There is a nice vintage 240/4.5 Xenar in the classifieds (no association w seller).

[jnantz]

i like to use something kind of longish for 5x7 portraits ( like 14" )
so you can get a nice crop and not be in the subject's face.