Lenses that will fit in a Wista 45 when closed?

[steve_robb1]

<p>Good afternoon all,</p>

<p>I have just bought an old Wista 45 Technical to replace my good old Cambo SC... I can feel location shooting getting easier already! I only received the Wista yesterday, so between work and taking a young lady out to dinner, I haven't had much of a chance to have a proper play with it yet.</p>

<p>I did pop a lens on the (very small and convenient to pack) lens board to have a quick fiddle. I noticed that this lens got in the way of the base rails when trying to close the camera, so I'm wondering, a) are these cameras not designed to hold a lens while shut? & b) if they are, are there any specific models I should be looking at to use with it? I haven't tried any of my other lenses yet, but it would be nice to have even just one lens that can live inside the camera (perhaps a 135mm?) to make for a convenient carry setup.</p>

<p>I currently have a four lens setup which I'll have to get new boards for, I have a Nikor-m 300mm (being more compact, it <em>might</em> fit?) as well as a 180, 135 and 90mm (whose models I can't recall at the moment). I have been maning to upgrade the 135 & 180 anyway, since their front elements aren't the nicest, so I'm not too fussed if I need different ones in those ranges to fit (thinking a 210 might suit me better than the 180 anyway).</p>

<p>Does anyone have any recommendations for a lens (or two) that fall between 135 & 210, and would be suitable to live inside this Wista folder (it's an older version, before the SP)? Also, while I'm buying lens boards, will I need a recessed board for the 90mm?</p>

<p>Thanks for your help, it's much appreciated.</p>

<p>Steve</p>

[jeff_guthrie]

<p>You won't need a recessed board for the 90mm (I too have an old Wista 45). As for which lens will fit and allow the camera to fold up, hopefully someone else here can answer that question for you.</p>

[brucecahn]

<p>Possibly no lens. I have not used a Wista in years, but this type of camera does not fold with a lens mounted. A few exceptions are the Linhof Master Technika with a 135 Rodenstock (and maybe a 120 Schneider), and the discontinued Calumet wooden field, which has a hole in the base for a lens to fit when folded.</p>

[steve_robb1]

<p>Interesting, thanks for that Bruce, I suspect you're right.</p>

<p>Jeff, thanks for the response, I just tried to pop my 90 in and had suden pulpetations when the rear element was too large to fit through the front standard! (it's a Komuranon 5.6) After a brief "Of crap, I wonder how much I would get for it, and if I can get a decent replacement with that cash" I remembered that therear "shade" (for want of a better term?) is removable, just leaving the unprotected convex element on the rear of the lens. Doing this it fits perfectly. I'm assuming there are no latent problems with this? The shade is more for protection of the real element than anything else, correct?</p>

[demetrius_latchis]

<p>I know the Wista SP will take the Schneider 150 mm lens with the board reversed and fold up.</p>

[bob_salomon]

<p>The Technika can take a 150mm Apo Sironar S and fold when using the 001016 recessed board.</p>

[richard_f]

<p>I had an SP, and it folded and closed with a 135mm Sironar, board unreversed.</p>

[steve_robb1]

<p>Thanks for the idea. Richard, I can confirm that a Sironar (which, as it turns out, is what my 135 is) fits beautifully in an older Wista with the board reversed. Hmmm, dang, now I have to rethink my 'need' to upgrade it :)</p>

<p>Thanks again.</p>

[ivan_j._eberle1]

<p>Not to gloat, but my Meridian 45B closes up and latches with an unreversed 210mm f/5.6 Caltar IIN (same as a Rodenstock Sironar N) on a custom 5/32" recessed aluminum board. The Nikkor SW 90mm f/8 also fits unreversed on a flat board, albeit with a thinner-than-stock lens cap. LF Forum members were most helpful in measuring their Nikkors and pointing me to the Rodenstock and Schneider specs pages-- to find what would fit, prior to purchase.</p>

[terry_dent1]

<p>I just got a Wista 45 and I have been looking at the Geronar series of lens. They look like they would fold up inside. Haven't got one yet though...................they are awful slow.</p>

[mark_denton1]

<p>I have a Wista 45VX and this closes up fine with a Nikkor 150mm 5.6 reversed, and with a Fujinon 105mm 5.6 unreversed.</p>

<p>HTH</p>

[steve_robb1]

<p>Thanks for the input guys, appreciate the comments. I'd say my Nikor M 300 should fit inside (haven't gotten it off the big board onto the Wista one yet, can't find my lens wrench, and it's on a LOT tighter than the others were!). I might have to look in to replacing my 90mm though, it's a big whopper, I've seen smaller ones, physically about the size of a 'regular' lens (know what I mean?). I'm impressed with the compactness of the Wista (coming from a monorail, that's no surprise), now I just need to trim down the rest of my LF kit.</p>

<p>Thanks again guys.</p>

<p>Steve</p>

[niklas_persson]

<p>I read this post a few weeks ago, and now I'm on the hunt for a 150mm lens. So I forgot that this post existed, remembered it and searched for it but didn't find it until now. The conclusion I posted a question of what 150mm (if any) would fit inside a folded Wista 45SP. I got some short answers and kind of were able to draw some conclusions from that (Schneider Symmar-S seems to fit with board reversed IF it is a copal #0 or something small and doesn't have any extended release connection on the board - otherwise it would probably not fit the appx. 80mm hole behind the lens board!)</p>

<p>Link to the post: http://www.photo.net/large-format-photography-forum/00Us6g</p>

<p>Happy folding!<br>

Niklas</p>

[noah]

<p>I know this is an old thread, but this question seems to come up from time to time. I just bought a Wista 45VX and it came with a Sinaron S 150mm lens, which if I'm not mistaken is the same or similar to a rodenstock Sironar N lens. My 150 Sinaron S folds unreversed.</p>

<p>I had been planning to get a 150 Apo Sironar S since the 150 will be my main lens and I want the best performance and coverage. But perhaps I'll reconsider, or at least keep the little Sinaron for when I want to travel light. It's very nice to be able to keep the lens in the camera, ready to shoot.</p>