I've just picked up a 90mm lens, which is my first wide lens. I generally stick to normal focal lengths but have become interested in architecture recently.
With the standard bellows, I've got fairly limited front rise when focused at infinity. A bag bellows would I assume give me the full range of movements, but is quite expensive. So I was wondering, how much difference would a recessed lens board make with the standard bellows?
The camera you are using will make a difference in the answers.
It is difficult to operate the controls on a shutter that is mounted in a recessed lens board due to the cramped quarters inside of the recess.
If your camera is capable of interchangeable bellows, a bag bellows is preferred for wide angle lenses.
If not, a recessed lens board is your only option.
"It is difficult to operate the controls on a shutter that is mounted in a recessed lens board due to the cramped quarters inside of the recess."
Not necessarily. It depends on the board and its design. Some small boards are very tight, true. But others, like the Linhof 001015 Comfort board have all the operating controls on the front surface of the board, including the aperture scale, aperture selector, press focus control.
Larger boards like a Karda or a M679 recessed board are large enough that they work just like a flat board. They just get the lens closer to the image plane.
The answer really depends on the design of the camera, how close together the standards can get. If they can not get close enough together then you may need both a bag bellows and a recessed board. The other consideration is what kind of movements does the camera have and how much of them you want to use. That can also make either a bag bellows and/or a recessed board necessary.
These are the reasons why manufacturers make both choices available on those cameras that can use them.
Geoffsco,
If you would state the make of the camera that you are using and/or the type of lens board it takes, it would be easier to give you an informed answer to your question.
From experience, recessed lens boards are usually meant to be used with smaller size Copal 0 shutters. A Copal 0 shutter mounted in a standard size Linhof Tech recessed lens board doesn't leave much room for your fingers to operate the controls.
The larger size Toyo field and Toyo View recessed lens boards allow more room to use your finger to operate the shutter controls. However, even with the larger recess it is difficult to see the aperture settings on a Copal 0 shutter behind the flared front element of a wide angle lens.
Having used recessed lens boards, bag bellows, and combinations of recessed lens board and bag bellows, on various makes and sizes of cameras, I prefer using a bag bellows and a flat lens board with wide angle lenses.
"A Copal 0 shutter mounted in a standard size Linhof Tech recessed lens board doesn't leave much room for your fingers to operate the controls. "
That is why Linhof makes the 001015 Comfort board. There is the same amount of maneuvering space as a flat board since all the controls are on the flat part of the board. Not in the recess.
It seems to me that you could answer your own question with just a simple test on your own. Free your lens from its lens board, hold it pushed back with the same amount that a recessed lens board gives and see how it would behave with movements. If you need you could improvise the flat part of the recessed lens board with a piece of cardboard.Originally Posted by Geoffsco
Bob,
Are you sure the camera that the OP is inquiring about takes a Linhof Tech type lens board?
I don't think he is yet to specify what type of camera or board he needs. But the Technika 45 board is the most commonly used by the most camera manufacturers.
Bob,
I understand your desire to plug the products that HP Marketing sells. However, aren't you making an assumption here?
Wisner, Zone VI, Cambo, Deardorf, Sinar, Horseman, Canham, Toyo View, Toyo Field, to mention only a few, do not use Linhof Tech type lens boards.
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