2x3 press cameras, how much lens can they take?

Idle speculation really, but my understanding is that you have to stretch the bellows to focus close on press and view cameras. Do the little press cameras stretch enough for, say, a 150 or 200 mm lens at portrait length?
tried searching, to no avail, and can't put my hands on one. Thanks!

I imagine it depends heavily on how much near focus you want. And on the specific camera as different models may have different max bellow extension distances. And on the lens mount (is it in shutter or does it have some built in extension).

I would say that 150mm or 165mm would probably work. It might be a bit of a stretch for 200mm lenses. I have used a 165mm on my 3-1/4x4-1/4 Speed Graphic and I like this as a portrait setup.

The Horseman VH and VH-R provide 249mm of extension with the front bellows and another 23mm with the rear extension pulled out. You can also mount lenses in #1 shutter on an extension board to gain a bit more. If you're using a VH-R with cammed Horseman/Topcor lenses, you can focus with the rangefinder down to 2m with either the 150 or 180mm lenses. You can get closer with the ground glass.

Older Horseman 2x3 cameras should be similar, except that I don't recall whether they have the rear extension.

Not sure about the specs for the 2x3 Technikas, but they may be able to do as well or better.

Lauris said:

Do the little press cameras stretch enough for, say, a 150 or 200 mm lens at portrait length?
tried searching, to no avail, and can't put my hands on one. Thanks!

Click to expand...

I've successfully used an 8" Raptar telephoto on a Century Graphic with plenty of bellows left. It's not the best for macro but focusing on the ground glass at 5' is easy.

Sterling