Portrait with a 127mm lens on 4x5 camera

[olympus fan]

I use a 50mm lens for portraits on 35mm. For large format 4x5, if I bought an inexpensive used 127 (135?)mm Kodak Ektar can I achieve the same perspective by pulling the bellows more forward than normal and focus? I've read that a 150mm lens for 4x5" is equivalent to a 45mm lens on 35mm film. It seems that I wouldn't be able to focus at infinity (and I could be wrong) but that is ok for portraits I want to take.

 

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Thanks!

[armin_seeholzer]

Hi David

 

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Its a little bit a wide lens, for portraits. Its at least a 180mm

better a 210mm or 240mm or my favorit a 300mm, but if you make it with

shoulder then it could be working, just test it!

 

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Good luck!

[olympus fan]

Yes, shoulders, actually they are full height portraits. I like the

50mm 35mm film because of the normal perspective. It doesn't appear

to distort someone out of figure.

[doug_paramore]

David: The 150mm lens is considered "normal" for 4x5. There are a lot

of 135mm lenses out there, as they used to be for the 4x5 press

cameras as they gave slightly wider shots, which the press and

wedding photographers needed. If you do your own enlarging, you can

use either one and crop a bit. I, too, recommend the 210 as a long

normal. It gives good perspective to portraits.

 

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Regards,

[olympus fan]

Well, it looks like I'm looking for a used 210. Thank you.

[scott_walton1]

A 210 is a better choice by far but if you stumble into a 300mm range

(300-400mm), that is best by far for a more pleasing look. The

compression you will get is superb for portraits!

[edward_kang]

actually, using long focal lens doesn't necessarily make for

better portraits.

 

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It helps with some types of faces - mostly, white caucasians. However,

for a lot of black and asian men, I find shorter focal lengths to be

better compared to longer ones.

[olympus fan]

Edward: That is good to know. I never thought it matter.

[chris_y.]

On long vs short and face features, the longs help enormously for two

problems, long noses, which they shorten, and sunken eyes, which they

bring forward. It's the perspective effect, a group of things (e.g.

eyeball, cheek, tip of nose) seems closer together the farther away

you get.

 

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210 seems to do ok for head and shoulders on 4x5 in this respect. I

have a 350 for my 4x5 and i find that I have to be about 10 or 12

feet away from the subject, unless i want to get really tight on the

face- also your rail needs to be extra long to focus that length in

4x5.

[david_roy]

So from the points raised above one would really need a 210mm for

some types of subject characteristics and a 300 for others. I

suppose cause I'm cheap I could use the 210mm and crop a bit as a

comment way above suggested for 127mm. At least until next year when

I could afford the other lens.