horseman fa + rollfilm back what lenses??

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game

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hi everyone,
I managed to get a horseman Fa form ebay, for a really nice price. Right now I am wondering since it came without lenses, what lenses I should want.

I think the rodenstock sinaron 150mm copal 0 will be fine. I have that one already. I think with a slight wide angle lens I'll be fine.

I also want to use a rollfilm back on occasion for especially 6x6 6x7 6x9 and 6x12 (a sinar zoom)

If I would want as less lenses as possible, but all with 4x5 coverage, what could I buy?

I am not really an expert here, so all help is more than welcome, many thanks in advance! kind regards gAME
 

Roger Hicks

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The classic choice is 90-150-210, roughly 28-45-65 in 35 terms, but I find that I very seldom use 150 and am happier with 110 or 120 -- 210 - 300. But so much depends on what you shoot that it's almost impossible to give useful advice. This is true even with a single subject: some love wide-angles for landscapes, but generally I prefer longer lenses EXCEPT with panoramic formats, where I like 90mm on 617. For years, too, I loved a 120/6,8 Angulon (on a Toho FC45) as an ultra-light travel lens.

Most common 90s except the 90/6.8 (not Super) Angulon allow 4x5 with movements; the Angulon is on the limit for all but 1-2cm of movement. After that it's down to budget, size, weight and personal preference.

Cheers,

Roger
 

Prospero

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Congratulations. My Horseman FA came with a Nikkor 150/5.6 and I have to say that I use that a lot. The next most commonly used is a Schneider Super Angulon 90/8, which is OK for all but extreme movements. I have a Fuji W210 which has huge coverage.

Because of the small lensboard not all lenses are usable - Horseman publish a very useful lens guide. If you haven't found it already you can find it here:

http://www.komamura.co.jp/e/lens_list.html

Good luck!
 

Michael W

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Game - did you buy the camera from Australia? I did see one listed on ebay a few weeks back, from a Melbourne camera shop. Looked like a good deal.
 
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game

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hi guys,

I got it from ebay.com from a japanese seller. Think it hasn't been online for more than a few hours :wink:
Only downside was that it did not came with lenses ...
I have a 150 rodenstock that is cool regarding the lenslist horseman provides. Thanks for the link. (allready had it but still)
My idea was to have a rollfilm back with it to cover mainly 6x7, and some panoramic shots on occasion maybe.
If I'd buy a standard lens for 6x7 than I also cover wide angle for 4x5 was my idea ... did I figure right here?
I guess coverage is the main concern. the 100mm schneider & rodenstock do not cover it, so I guess I have to move to 90mm grandanon or something...

Did I make any wrong assumptions here?

Thanks for the support, Game
 

Ole

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Most 100mm lenses won't cover 4x5".

There are far more options in 90mm WA - from all the main manufacturers: Schneider, Rodenstock, Fujinon, Nikkor...

The problem with that is that the really good wide-angle lenses are fairly large, and either very expensive or very dark. The 90/8 Schneider Super Angulon could well be the cheapest commonly available one, but it's both dark and (fairly) big and heavy. The 90/6.8 Angulon that Roger mentioned is much smaller, much lighter, a bit brighter, and not much cheaper for the late good ones. In a pinch you can use a bit more movements that Roger said, if you don't mind the sky going a little blurry...

There's also the Ilex Acugon lenses: Little known, but quite good. I use a 65/8 on 4x5". There's also a few other sizes of this to be found, including a 90/8.
 

Ole

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Precisely, Robert.

But there are cases where there's something else than sky up there, as often around here.

(there was a url link here which no longer exists) is an example - not of over-extending the coverage of a 90mm Angulon, but of over-extending the coverage of a 210mm Angulon!
 

WJC

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Hi game,

Three lightweight lenses that are very well suited for the Horseman FA:

120 Apo Symmar Schneider
135 Sironar Rodenstock
200 Nikkor M or 210 G Claron

I use them for 4x5 or with rollfilm.

Good Shooting,

WJC
 

Bandicoot

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My idea was to have a rollfilm back with it to cover mainly 6x7, and some panoramic shots on occasion maybe.

If I'd buy a standard lens for 6x7 than I also cover wide angle for 4x5 was my idea ... did I figure right here?

I guess coverage is the main concern. the 100mm schneider & rodenstock do not cover it, so I guess I have to move to 90mm grandanon or something...

Yes, that logic works. The 100mm lenses are very nice for 6x9 and smaller (rollfilm) formats, but they won't work for 4x5. 90mm is (arguably) closer to being 'normal' for the 6x7 format anyway. I like the Schneider Super-Angulon 90mm f8 a lot on 4x5, and it will work well as a 'normal' lens for your rollfilm back too - on which it will allow a huge amount of movement. The earlier 90mm f6.8 Angulon that others have mentioned is also a nice len, and much lighter, but it is not (quite) as sharp and has much less movement potential when you use it on 4x5 - they also aren't all that cheap any more. There are other 90/8 options, including a nice Fuji that is no longer made. Anything faster will be easier to focus, but will generally weigh a ton.

Your 150mm is a nice length as a 'short-long' lens for the rollfilm back, so you have that covered.

For a 'short-long' on 4x5 the 210mm is usually suggested. It's a nice length and used ones are plentiful and reasonably priced - but you may find that it seems a little bit closer to the 150mm length than you want. If you are really trying to maximise your flexibility from a small number of lenses, you might want to consider whether a 240mm would be more useful to you. This depends on your shooting style and subject preferences, of course. For your rollfilm use, on 6x7 think of these as the (35mm) equivalents of about a 105mm and a 120mm respectively.

That would give you a very useful 90-150-210/240 kit for 4x5 use. What you then don't have is a wide lens for your rollfilm back. Most lenses that will do that duty are quite expensive, but the old Schneider Super-Angulon 65mm f8 is fairly reasonable and also quite small and light for a wide. I think I remember there is a no-longer-made Fuji 75mm f8 that is also good and very compact. Both these would also work as extra wide lenses on 4x5.

A really cheap option for a rollfilm wide would be the 75mm f4.5 Tominon from a Polaroid copy camera: this is a sharp reverse-Tessar designed for macro work on 4x5, but sharp to infinity when stopped down: it will just cover 6x7 at infinity and you can get one for peanuts.

Ask if you want any other suggestions. I use rollfilm backs - including a Sinar Zoom like yours - a lot, as well as 4x5, so am quite used to thinking about lenses that will work on both.


Peter
 
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game

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very usefull peter!

I really use standard lenses 70 % of the time, with 29% reserved for wide angle use and 1 for slight tele lenses. I will forget the latter catagorie for now, and focus on the wide angle part.

the 150mm will cover my standard lens needs for 4x5.
than a 90mm will cover de standard lens needs for 6x7 and wideangle for 4x5.

Maybe something better will suit me in the end but it sounds reasonable to focus on a 90mm for now.

horseman suggests quite a few, so I will keep my eyes open on ebay.
a fast lens is sort of important for me since I like to work in low light..

I guess the size of a lens is of not to much a deal since the size of the camera. Or will most of them fold inside the body? I think not.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone,
I think the Grandagon N 90mm F6.8 is the best choice...

game
 
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