Great examples guys. As you know very well, sometimes lenses don't need to be 'fast' to have great bokeh and great separation.
These shots, for example, aren't super shallow and yet the subject pops right out:
https://flic.kr/p/ek2h41 with a 150mm Heliar
https://flic.kr/p/kcVsa with a 135mm Planar
https://flic.kr/p/ftpYNs with a 210mm Heliar
The other cheap/easy/cheerful lenses to mess with are old copier lenses... Older ones have a iris & F-stop settings, and are fairly fast (like f4, 4.5, etc.) coated, and FL's usually like 8 1/4", 12", 300mm, etc... And can usually fit on a Speed Graphic easily... (MUCH easier than a Aero Ektar!!!! And won't make your camera cry and moan!!!!)
Check with your local copier repair place... They should have a bunch of 'em...
And a Packard shutter can be mounted on front for you other "squeeze box" photographers... (I'm thinking about "The Who" here...)
Steve K
ilex seminat
A magnifying glass mounted on the front of a shutter with "Tacky Glue" which is easily removed.
Really Jim? In front of any lens?
Joelk's comment "sometimes lenses don't need to be 'fast' to have great bokeh and great separation" is worth reiterating.... At short distances we all know that we can get seperation quite easily and play with swings and tilts, too....
Another favourite of mine is e.g. a Komura 152mm/6" f/3.5 which is wonderful (and was very cheap, as I had to re-cement it when I got it). Many projection lenses are interesting to try of course. I also put a TV-Fujinon (145mm f/1.2) into a Speed Graphic carcass, but max focus was about one metre and optical quality wasn't exactly 4x5". So, things can quickly get very "experimental"....
http://www.jeffbridges.com/perception.html "Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you are right."
215mm f4 no name(probably darlot) portrait petzval for closer shots.
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