Hello,
Yes I have read largeformatphotograhy.info site and some other resources, and still am confused in few things. And they are:
1. How to determine which focal lenght for what format? That is how to decide/calculate focal lenght of lens I need to have all movement of camera (including scheimpflug) and avoid vignetting?
Others have mentioned some common lenses for 4x5 or 8x10. A very general rule is that if you use a lens that would work for 8x10 on a smaller 4x5 camera, then you should never run out of coverage. However, there are some 4x5 cameras that allow more movement than lenses will cover. There are also older press style cameras (Crown Graphic, Speed Graphic, et al) that have very limited movements.
The other vignetting possible is from the bellows of the camera. This is something you can see on the ground glass while focusing. Most of the time you might find that you do not use much movements, so this is rarely a problem. If you shoot at largest aperture, or use really extreme movements, then sometimes you can run into a vignetting problem with almost any lens.
2. How to determine/calculate ratio between bellows lenght/focal lenght of lens, that is to be able to focus lens from closest focus to infinity what bellows lenght I need?
I don't know if someone mentioned it yet, but a good general rule to get a bellows length twice as long as your most used lens. What you really should figure out is how close you want to focus. If you want to do many shots really close, then obviously a camera with longer bellows will help. So it depends a little on what types of photographs you want to do; landscapes or architecture shots might not need much of any close focus ability, but people shots, or images of insects, flowers, watches, or small objects, might mean more bellows extension is needed. It really depends what you want to photograph.
3. How to determine wide lenses needed, and do I need long or telephoto lenses if I go to longer than normal lenses.
Wide angle lenses are really tough to use when you are starting with large format. The ground glass on the back of the camera will be much dimmer than with a more normal or longer lens, which makes focus and composition very tough. When starting out, I would suggest you not get a wide angle lens; wait until you have been shooting for a little while.
A telephoto lens is a different matter. Basically, you want to give yourself more distance between your subject and the camera, or you simply cannot get any closer to what you want to photograph (too far away). A telephoto lens needs less bellows length for the same focus than a regular long lens design. In large format lenses, do not assume a larger focal length is a telephoto design; these lenses will be indicated as telephoto only if they are constructed differently.
Basically, how to calculate what lens I need for particular camera format at same time keeping movement of camera, focusing through all focus range, and to have whole image and not cropped image or vignetting?
Next thing is reading lens charts. For example Schneider have lens info with telling "this lens is suitable for this format" and Rodenstock have lens charts which tells "this lens using with this format has tilt horizontal x vertical Y". How to read those charts, that is what shift in that situation means.
If answer will be too long, please, source of informations would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Shift is the front displacement/movement of the lens holder board away from the centre. A few cameras also allow shift on the rear standard, which holds the film holder and ground glass. Shift means left or right. Rise means up, and fall means down, though basically same limit as shift in the lens data.
Swing means rotation clockwise or anti-clockwise away from the lens centre, and can be called tilt horizontal. Again, this movement can be duplicated on the rear standard of some cameras. To get a rotation upwards or downwards would be tilt vertical, something that you might see in camera specifications. Some cameras also allow tilt on the rear standard too.
When you read lens specifications, sometimes the companies list how much displacement/movement on different sizes of film for the same lens. The other thing to pay attention to is that most of the specifications are when the aperture on the lens is set to f22.0 and that if you use the lens closer to f5.6 or f8.0 (or whatever maximum aperture is possible), then you get less room for movements.
Really general example of all this is that many more modern 180mm and 210 mm f5.6 lenses in Copal shutters give more than enough room for movements on 4x5. With one of these, you would rarely ever have to worry about vignetting. While there are lenses shorter focal length than these with lots of coverage, they tend to cost much more in the modern varieties.
You have some advise here about old lenses. Just be really careful before you get something really old to learn about large format photography. Old shutters can have trouble working, or need service. Old glass can be fogged, and need cleaning. Unless you want to deal with that on your own, it can cost you more to get some old lenses because you must add the cost of cleaning them, or the cost of fixing/adjusting a shutter. Despite really good advise here about old types of lenses, I suggest getting something more modern like a Nikon/Nikkor, Schneider, or Rodenstock in a Copal shutter.
I suggest starting with one lens, like a 135mm, 150mm, 180mm or 210mm and a 4x5 camera. Use that one lens for a while, until you are comfortable with it. Then you will have a better idea of getting a longer or shorter lens, or you might even find that you are okay with just one lens. Usually you can sell almost any modern lens or slightly modern camera for about what you payed for it, so if you do not like something, just sell and use the money to get something else. Best of luck to you.
Ciao!
Gordon Moat Photography
