121mm Super Angulon in a 8X10" Field Camera?

[light-zone]

I have a Wista 8X10" Field Camera, and my only (well not only)

complaint has been that you can not exchange the bellows for a wide

angle bellows for example.

 

Now to the point... I'm looking to purchase a Schneider Super Angulon

121mm lens and I know that the image circle will cover 8X10" but my

question is, will I be able to get the GG and lens board close enough

to each other to focus at infinity? It would be nice to know before I

go and spend the money.

 

Thanks for the help!

[ole_tjugen]

The Flange Focal Distance of a Schneider Super Angulon 121mm is 132mm.

Collapse your camera (without lens), then measure the distance from GG to lensboard. If this is less than or equal to 132mm, the SA can be focused at infinity.

[light-zone]

Thanks Ole,

 

I did the measuring as you described. I get 120mm from the inside of the GG to the Lensboard, so it looks like it'll work.

[mark_sampson]

Are you sure that the 121 SA will cover 8x10? I've never tried mine on an 8x10 but the specs state only 5x7. Even allowing for a conservative measurement of the coverage there's a big difference...

[ole_tjugen]

You're right, and you're wrong... The specifications say it covers 18x24cm (a European film size) at f16; the diagonal of 8x10" is about 1.5cm longer.

Manufacturer's specifications are always on the conservative side, as the many people who use Angulon 90mm (not Super) on 4x5" will testify. According to Schneider, that lens covers 9x12cm but not 4x5"...

[michael_kadillak6]

I also do not believe the lens will cover 8x10 adequately. I have a Nikon 150mm SW and it will cover 8x10 with an image circle of over 400mm. I have found that the quality of images of many lenses tends to start to degrade when one gets close to the coverage limits. Some lens designs are inherently better in this department than others. As a result, since I want to continually utilize 100% of the negative, I find the "insurance" of having much more coverage than I need rather comforting.

[light-zone]

I've used a 121mm Super Angulon on a Sinar in the Studio, and I know it will cover 8X10", cause I've done it. I just wasn't sure if I could use the lens on my Wista Field camera. The Sinar has a nice wide angle bag bellows and you can really schrunch the front and rear standards together, but the Wista Field has no bag bellows, thus my question.

 

According to Schneider, like previously mentioned, the 121mm SA will cover 18X24cm @ f16. The Compur Shutter stops down to f45 I believe, and that, together with the conservation specs from Schneider, and my own first hand experience with the lens, 8X10 should be no problem.

[light-zone]

One more thing, I'm actually looking to use the lens on a split 8X10", 4X10" to be more acurate, and thus the image diagonal is not as large as a full 8X10, and the panoramic effect of the extreme wide agle should prove interesting with that particular format.

[sergio_ortega6]

The Nikkor 120 SW will fully cover 8x10, will little or no movements. It's also really good for 4x10.

[tedharris]

Have you considered the 110 Super Symmar XL? It covers. I

can tell you it covers from experience, no thardly any movement

but it does cover with no problem.

[light-zone]

Well, the 110XL has a flange focal length of 117mm which unfortunatly will not allow me to focus at infinity with my Wista 8X10. It's also, as I recall, a rather large piece of glass. The 121mm is already breaking my rule of only using small lenses which do not add alot of additional weight to my already much too heavy back pack. I'm not 25 years old anymore... (thank goodness ;-) )

[chris_patti1]

If you want small and light, you might try to find a Berthiot Perigraphe. It's an old superwide design (similar I gather to the hypergon) that at 120mm covers 8x10 with a bit of room to spare. It's about the size and weight of a Sacagawea dollar and has a max aperture of f/14. David Goldfarb, who frequents this board, has had one mounted in a shutter by Steven Grimes. He's got a few sample pictures posted somewhere. You can find links to them and pictures of the mounted lens in this board's archives, I think. Perigraphes sometimes show up on Ebay, and I've seen them go for as little as $50, although I paid a good deal more for mine. The image quality is quite surprisingly good, although I've only made contact prints. If you're not sure you're going to use that focal length much or would like to try it out, the Perigraphe is a lot more economical way to experiment than buying a 121 SA.

[billkantor]

I own a 121 super angulon and it just barely misses covering my 8x10 at infinity. Not too bad if you plan on this (mark your GG) and shoot striaght on without tilts... It will however do nicely with 4x10 format. Coverage is diminished with a filter so if you are using a filter be very careful to check the corners before exposing. A very nice (and big) lens that does cover the full 8x10 is the 155 grandagon.