How to decide for a set of three lenses for a Linhof Technika IV

[Greg]

Oh it so depends on the subject matter that you shoot. My lens set for 4x5 goes from 65mm to a 600mm tele. Years ago when I was shooting mainly waterfalls here in New England, used to take a 65mm, 75mm, and a 90mm with me. Most of the time pretty much impossible to physically get in closer or farther away from the falls. Now almost all of my images are shot with a 300mm, 500mm, or 600mm tele. Tomorrow a 400mm tele should arrive which should fill in the void. Now shoot mostly from the side of the road, and again physically get in closer or farther away just not possible most of thew time.

[Ig Nacio]

Hello Bob,

Thank you for your message : ) !!!

Yes, the comfort board is interesting
because one does not have to fiddle
with the actual speed and aperture
ring. The comfort board, if I
understood well, provides helpful rings
and accessories that help do the job.
The drawback is the high price.

Thank you again, kind regards!

[Ig Nacio]

Hello Eric,

Thank you for your message : ) !!!

Yes, that is what I like the most,
that it is small lens!

Is the center filter only needed
when shooting color, or is it also
needed for B&W? I mean, when
shooting with a 75mm. lens.

Thank you again, kind regards!

[Bob Salomon]

Hello Eric,

Thank you for your message : ) !!!

Yes, that is what I like the most,
that it is small lens!

Is the center filter only needed
when shooting color, or is it also
needed for B&W? I mean, when
shooting with a 75mm. lens.

Thank you again, kind regards!

All of the recent wide angle design lenses suffer from fall off center to edge. To correct that fall off you need a correct center filter. Regardless of focal length of the wide angle focal length, they all have this fall off.
With B&W you could dodge and burn while printing to correct the fall off. Color is a different story. This means that you would have to be an incredible printer to make a series of identical B&W enlargements. The center filter helps you to overcome the fall off.
Bear in mind, you want to use these lenses on a view camera, that means that you will, more then likely, use the camera’s movements. So even if you decide to use a 90 without the center filter if you apply movements you will accentuate the fall off asymmetrically. So you should consider the need for the CF regardless of the brand of lenses you decide to use.

[Ig Nacio]

Hello Kent,

Thank you for your message : ) !!!

It seems to me, that you use your 90mm. lens
mostly as your wide angle of choice. Is that
because your 75mm. requires a center filter?

Could you please tell us when or why you may
use the 90mm. more often than your 75mm.?

Could you please tell how big is your 90mm.
and 75mm. lenses?

You mentioned: "Although the lens equivalents you calculated are close you're likely to find the format doesn't directly translate to 35mm."
Could you please tell a bit more? That could
help me more to decide between the 90mm. and
the 75mm.

Thank you again, kind regards!

P.S. I liked the quote below your name!

[Bob Salomon]

Hello Kent,

Thank you for your message : ) !!!

It seems to me, that you use your 90mm. lens
mostly as your wide angle of choice. Is that
because your 75mm. requires a center filter?

Could you please tell us when or why you may
use the 90mm. more often than your 75mm.?

Could you please tell how big is your 90mm.
and 75mm. lenses?

You mentioned: "Although the lens equivalents you calculated are close you're likely to find the format doesn't directly translate to 35mm."
Could you please tell a bit more? That could
help me more to decide between the 90mm. and
the 75mm.

Thank you again, kind regards!

P.S. I liked the quote below your name!

4x5 is a short, squat format while 35 mm is a longer format. You can print an entire 45 image and make an 810 or 16x20.

You can’t do that with 35mm, you would have to crop the negative to make an 810, 16x20 or even a 4x5 print. They are completely different image ratios.

[Ig Nacio]

Hello Greg,

Thank you for your message : ) !!!

I think that is very important!
To know as much as possible,
what subject matter will one
shoot with each focal length.

Thank you again, kind regards!

[neil poulsen]

From your description of photographing architecture, a 90mm is a good choice. An 80mm SW would kind of split the difference between a 75mm and a 90mm. (Quite a bit more expensive, though.)

If the 90mm, consider getting an f5.6 (or f4.5) 90mm SW lens, or a 90mm f8 Nikon SW lens. The Nikon f8 lens matches the 235mm image diameter of the faster lenses.

Personally, I like both the 180mm and 120mm lenses. These were my first two lens choices.

[Ig Nacio]

Hello Bob,

Thank you for your message : ) !!!

I hope people in this forum don't throw a shoe at me ; ) !!!

As a starter, I may not print with an elarger. I'll scan.

Perhaps I should forget about the 90mm. and 75mm. lenses.
Perhaps I should stich images at the beginning.

Does a 105 mm. lens needs a center filter? It is equivalent
to a 35mm. lens in 35mm. format, isn't?

One of the main reasons to start shooting large format film
is because of archival. To document and archive. Digital
files may get erased if a hard drive fails. Film should last
longer, or may be not.

That is cool, I find this format very interesting : ) !!!

Thank you again, kind regards!

[Bob Salomon]

Hello Bob,

Thank you for your message : ) !!!

I hope people in this forum don't throw a shoe at me ; ) !!!

As a starter, I may not print with an elarger. I'll scan.

Perhaps I should forget about the 90mm. and 75mm. lenses.
Perhaps I should stich images at the beginning.

Does a 105 mm. lens needs a center filter? It is equivalent
to a 35mm. lens in 35mm. format, isn't?

One of the main reasons to start shooting large format film
is because of archival. To document and archive. Digital
files may get erased if a hard drive fails. Film should last
longer, or may be not.

That is cool, I find this format very interesting : ) !!!

Thank you again, kind regards!

A 105 is not a wide angle. Recent wide angles cover a circle around 100 to 105°. A 100 or 105mm is in the 68 to 70° range. Those don’t need a Caf but they also don’t cover 45.