lensboard for wista dx zone vi

<p>Hello,<br>

I'm new to LF and just bought an used Wista Zone VI DX with a 90mm lens. The problem is I don't know which lensboard to get. There's a center drilled and offset drilled to the bottom. Both indicate it's for Wista and Linof. What's the difference and which one is better for a beginner to learn about movement?<br>

Thank you very much!<br>

—Chi</p>

<p>The real Linhof Technika uses an offset-drilled board (I don't know why).</p>

<p>Many other cameras use the same 96mm x 99mm board, but with a center-drilled hole.</p>

<p>I prefer the center-drilled version for my Zone VI. With the offset-drilled board you lose a bit of front rise.</p>

<p>You can buy new (non-Linhor) pre-drilled boards for about $30 from the major online vendors like B&H http://www.bhphotovideo.com/</p>

<p>- Leigh</p>

<p>The reason for the hole placement on a Linhof board is because with that position, with all camera controls zeroed, the optical center of the lens will be centered on the center of the ground glass. Wista uses the same set-up.</p>

<p>Yes, I know that.</p>

<p>I just don't understand the rationale behind the odd-ball design decision in the first place.</p>

<p>- Leigh</p>

 

<p>The decision is so that rise is not added when the controls are at zero. Since this is the most copied lens board in the industry and the one that fits to the most different cameras from manufacturers other then Linhof it would appear that many manufacturers and users are accustomed to it.</p>

<p>If you compare a center-drilled board with one that's drilled 13mm low, the centered board will permit 13mm greater rise than the offset board in ANY front standard on any camera.</p>

<p>It's one of those "Laws of Physics" things.</p>

<p>The centered board starts lower when zeroed on the film, so it has more room to move up.</p>

<p>- Leigh</p>

<p>But it is very difficult to know when it is cenetred on the film. And some lenses, like wide angles, suffer from fall-off that can be corrected by a center filter, if desired. Starting with a lensboard off the center of the fil when everything is zeroed makes using lenses like this more complicated. Especially if the shooter decides not to use a center filter and ends up with unsymmetrical fall-off in the image.<br>

If you want to use centered boards, go right ahead, there is nothing stopping you from doing so. But, if you are using them on a modern (last 10 years) Linhof they also simply won't fit properly and will have a lot of movement corner to corner and in and out since they are not remotely as precisely made as the modern Technika board.</p>

<p>Two thoughts:</p>

<p>With my Wista DX, a 90mm lens requires a recessed lens board in order to take advantage of all the movement possibility. I would look for a recessed board if I were you.</p>

<p>Second, off-center drilled recessed boards may or may not fit the 90mm lens you have. You'll have to try it. Sometimes there is interference with the shutter at the bottom (I fixed a similar problem by filing the hole larger and then using a light-proof shim).</p>

<p>About off-center boards and rise: Most cameras that take Technika-style boards will allow the board to be mounted up-side-down. With an off-center-drilled board, this will give you extra rise, even more than a center-drilled board allows. For me, this is an advantage.</p>

<p>If I were designing a camera, I would design it to take off-center square boards, allowing mounting in any orientation and thereby increasing shifts as well.</p>

<p>Hope this helps,</p>

<p>Doremus Scudder</p>