I Joined The Club- Brand 17

[spleenrippa]

My brother decided to pass on it, so I gave him to go-ahead to pick it up for me from a shop in the city (Victoria, BC).
Apparently, I'm now a 4x5 shooter!
Or I will be, anyway, when the camera isn't 250km away
Bellows and movements are good from what he says, just needs a lens... Um... How does one go about choosing a LF lens? :rolleyes:
Information on these 'Brand' cameras is scarce. All I've found is that short focal lengths might not work because of the bellows length.
Excited to have finally joined the LF club, but I'm going to need help. Sorry to n00b you guys up!

P.S. Sorry about the photo... My brother just took a quick snap with his BB.

[David William White]

Well, 150mm is the 'normal' lens for the 4x5 & easiest to learn the movements with. Get your brother to measure the hole in the lensboard before he ships it. Lenses come mounted to shutters in standard sizes. This one looks like a copal 0, which is 34.7mm in diameter, and the most popular. Copal 1 is 41.8mm.

Then some 4x5 film holders. There are plenty of used available.

Then shoot!

[M.A.Longmore]

Very Nice !
A journey of a thousand miles, begins with the first step.

[Rick A]

Congrats on starting on an expensive journey. You can say the brand out loud, might even help you get info for it so you can accessorize it (gas pangs). Get ready to start enjoying life at a slower pace.

[spleenrippa]

Congrats on starting on an expensive journey. You can say the brand out loud, might even help you get info for it so you can accessorize it (gas pangs). Get ready to start enjoying life at a slower pace.

I think (at least) one of us has misunderstood the other... It's not that I'm ashamed of the cameras brand name, the company IS 'Brand,' which- needless to say- makes it hard to look up... Not a very convenient keyword!

[Vaughn]

From comments on this forum, the favorite "standard" lens for 4x5 seem to range from 135mm to 210mm -- with some people preferring an even shorter lens (90 to 120mm). I prefer the 150mm, myself, but if you do end up with two or three lenses down the line, then you will want to space them out a bit -- say a 90mm, 150mm and a 210mm. There are several possible combinations (90-135-180 is another). Generally one would not have both a 135mm and a 150mm as they are too close in focal length to be different enough to justify the money -- at least not until GAS really settles into your system.

Welcome to the club!

[spleenrippa]

Well, 150mm is the 'normal' lens for the 4x5 & easiest to learn the movements with. Get your brother to measure the hole in the lensboard before he ships it. Lenses come mounted to shutters in standard sizes. This one looks like a copal 0, which is 34.7mm in diameter, and the most popular. Copal 1 is 41.8mm.

Then some 4x5 film holders. There are plenty of used available.

Then shoot!

Thanks so much for the info. I've asked my bro to measure the opening so I can get cracking on lens research.

[ac12]

spleenrippa
I got my first lens (a 150) simply by default.

I first decided on a few 3-lens kits to build towards; 75-150-300, 90-150-300, and 90-180-360. The basic plan was to have each lens be 2x the focal length of the shorter lens. This was so the lenses would not be too close to each other in viewing angle.

Then I started looking for the normal lens, either a 150 or a 180. The 150 came available at the best price and I got it. Which then lines me up for the 90-150-300 kit.

There are many systems that seem to use a 210 as the normal lens.

So in the end the selection of the normal lens will depend on what YOU plan to shoot and which lens kit will best match.

gud luk

[domaz]

It has about the same design as a New-Vue camera with dual rails like that. Hint: You can probably get longer rails at the hardware store (Lowes etc..). Measure the diameter of the rails or go to the store with one and look in the metals section. Find an aluminum hollow of the same diameter and you should be able to use it. I suspect your bellows will extend much farther than the length of the current rails.

[ronlamarsh]

My linhof sports a 150 f4.7 xenar for handheld shots w/sportsfinder but actually much prefer my 180mm computar symetrigon, I have a little used 240mm g-claron and a stunningly sharp 90mm f8 super angulon. Honestly the 180/150 get the majority of use and serve for 90% of my shots but I am learnign to appreciate the 90.