Wista 45dx with 90mm lens, how much movement?

<p>Hello all,<br /> I am looking into buying a field camera for landscapes and also some urban landscapes where I would want to use perspective control.<br /> I am hoping to connect with someone who uses a Wista 45dx with a 90mm f/8 that would tell me how much movement is possible. I understand that a bag bellows and recessed lens board might be necessary which would be a problem seeing as the Wista doesn't have an interchangeable bellows system.<br>

I like the Wista because it is light, has rear movement and in my price range.<br>

Thinking about a Nikkor 90mm f/8 because it will fold into the camera and is also light and very sharp with a large image circle in case I decide to get a monorail one day or go to 5x7.<br>

Thanks in advance for your help.<br /> Benjamin<br /> www.stoneherbert.com</p>

<p>Nikon claimed an image circle at f22 at infinity of 235mm. Rodenstock claims a 236mm image circle for the 90mm 4.5 Grandagon-N at f22 at infinity.<br>

So, according to Rodenstock, the 90mm 4.5 would allow 54mm of rise and 48mm of shift with 4x5 in landscape position (less the 1mm difference in image circle). This is far, far more movement then your camera is capable of. Even if you were to add the Wista 57 conversion back to your camera you would still have 21mm of rise and 16mm of shift (less the 1mm difference in image circle).<br>

I am somewhat skeptical of the printed image circles and coverages in the Nikon brochures as they show that both the 90mm 8.0 and the 90mm 5.6 both cover 105° at f22.<br>

With Rodenstock the 90mm 6.8 cover 102° and the 90mm 4.5 covers 105° at f22 at infinity.<br>

Same with the Schneider Super Angulon. the f8 covered 100° and the 5.6 105°<br>

Fuji claimed 100° for their f8 and 105° for their 5.6.</p>

<p>Hi Bob,</p>

<p>Thank you very much for your response, I have seen other threads you have contributed to and I am very greatful for what you bring to the community. <br>

So you are saying that the field camera (as opposed to a rail) is not as versatile as what can be gotten out of the lenses I understand that but are you saying that due to the pleated bellows the movements for a 90mm lens is so limited that perspective correction is out of the question?</p>

<p>Thanks again,</p>

<p>B</p>

<p>No, I did not say that. I only stated what the published image circles are and how much shift is on the Wista DX cameras. Nothing more.<br>

But you are right, if you want to use all of the circle that these 90mm lenses offer then you would need a camera with more movement, and depending on the design of the camera, maybe a recessed lens board and maybe a bag bellows.<br>

If you want a folding camera with great movement capability (movements essentiall limited by the bellows (that means you can do movements up to the point the bellows will vignete) then a camera like a Linhof Technikardan would be ideal. It folds to the size of a hard back book, opens almost instantly into a 20" rail view camera (45 model). Accepts lenses down to 65mm on a flat board and to 35mm on a recessed board. Has 360° of front and rear swing and tilt (optical axis type movements), 71.1mm of front and rear rise, 61mm of front and rear shift, a Graflock back and accepts a bag bellows. It is all metal.<br>

This camera is much faster and more convenient then a monorail or a wood camera. It is also heavier then your camera but lighter then most monorails, it is also much more expensive then your camera. Lens boards are basically the same as Wista boards are a copy of the Linhof boards.</p>

<p>I've shot with a 90mm Nikkor and a Wista DX. It's a nice combo. You won't be able to rack out the front rise all the way to the absolute maximum, but in reality you don't really need to do that in many situations. Definitely not needed for landscape shooting, and only really in extreme architecture shots where you are really trying to look up but keep things perfectly square.</p>

<p>Also, you can create additional front rise by pointing the camera upwards then using front tilt on both rear and front standards to bring them back to level. The bellows would be the only real limitation, but if I remember right they were decently flexible. </p>

<p>No, I did not say that. I only stated what the published image circles are and how much shift is on the Wista DX cameras. Nothing more.<br>

But you are right, if you want to use all of the circle that these 90mm lenses offer then you would need a camera with more movement, and depending on the design of the camera, maybe a recessed lens board and maybe a bag bellows.<br>

If you want a folding camera with great movement capability (movements essentiall limited by the bellows (that means you can do movements up to the point the bellows will vignete) then a camera like a Linhof Technikardan would be ideal. It folds to the size of a hard back book, opens almost instantly into a 20" rail view camera (45 model). Accepts lenses down to 65mm on a flat board and to 35mm on a recessed board. Has 360° of front and rear swing and tilt (optical axis type movements), 71.1mm of front and rear rise, 61mm of front and rear shift, a Graflock back and accepts a bag bellows. It is all metal.<br>

This camera is much faster and more convenient then a monorail or a wood camera. It is also heavier then your camera but lighter then most monorails, it is also much more expensive then your camera. Lens boards are basically the same as Wista boards are a copy of the Linhof boards.</p>

<p>I own Wista DXs and a 90mm Schneider SA (image circle, 216mm). I use a Technika recessed board. I can easily vignette; in other words, the camera has more movement than the lens has coverage.</p>

<p>With 90mm lenses with larger image circles, I imagine I could utilize most of the image circle, if not vignette as well.</p>

<p>Keep in mind that the bellows on the DX, even with a recessed board, will crinkle a bit obliquely to the folds. This is not the prettiest, but it seems to do no harm to the functionality of the bellows. Mine's still going strong after almost 15 years.</p>

<p>Also, you can get more rise/fall and shift than the actual camera movements by utilizing a "point and shift" technique and using swings/tilts to help out. The bellows is really the limiting factor.</p>

<p>Best,</p>

<p>Doremus</p>

<p>"Also, you can get more rise/fall and shift than the actual camera movements by utilizing a "point and shift" technique and using swings/tilts to help out. "<br>

You mean that you can do indirect displacements by utilizing tilts and swings while tilting or swinging the camera itself.<br>

If you did this directly then you would be using tilts rise and fall for image positioning on the ground glass.<br>

All view cameras are capable of direct and indirect displacements. They are part of a camera's movements.</p>

<p>Hey Doremus,<br>

So you have been using a Technika recessed board? I have been looking at these on ebay and KEH etc and all I can seem to find are ones that are off center. I would have thought that seeing as the lens is closer to the bed of the camera that this would decrease your rise ability and therefore defeat the purpose of the recessed lens board! <br>

What is your experience of this?</p>

<p>The Linhof boards are not off center. They are designed for Linhof cameras and when the front standard is all the way down the optical center of the lens is centered on the center of the ground glass. <br>

That was how the boards were designed.</p>