Linhof Technika IV lens suggestion

David A. Goldfarb said:

As an academic exercise, I checked which lens/shutter is the largest one I own that will fold in a Technika, and I can say definitively that an 8.25” Dagor in an Ilex #3 shutter on a flat board will close in a Technika, so a 7” Dagor in any shutter the same size or smaller should close inside the camera.

In practice, though, I use the 8.25” Dagor as an 8x10” lens, and I have a 210mm Symmar convertible that makes more sense for 4x5” in that it uses the filters and shades in my 4x5” kit and has more than enough coverage for 4x5” and is cammed for the Tech V. The 210mm Symmar does not close inside the camera.

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David A. Goldfarb said:

A 150/4.5 Xenar on a flat board does fold in a Technika.

As for a 180, if you really need it to fold in the camera, maybe something like a 7" Dagor would fit in a small enough shutter to close in the camera, but it would be hard to find, and you would probably have to make a project of it to find one, maybe in barrel, and have it mounted in a shutter that fits, which could end up costing as much as a more modern lens, though the Dagor would still be a great lens with a huge image circle.

On the other hand, if you're mainly shooting architecture like in the Joseph Bellows images you linked, do you really need a lens that folds in the camera? Putting a lens on a Technika and setting it at infinity is a quick operation. If you're using camera movements and a tripod, then the rangefinder isn't as important, and you're not shooting action handheld where you'll want to open the camera and pull the standard forward as quickly as possible. You'll be carrying the camera, a tripod, filmholders, a light meter, and possibly other accessories like filters and a lens shade, so it's not like a lens outside the camera adds much to your kit.

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Bob S said:

No modern 180 will fold into a Technika, 150 on a recessed board is the longest. But 150 in a 1 shutter won’t fold. Look at the bed of your camera. Between the tracks you will see a circle. For a lens to close the front rim must fit inside that circle. Plus the length of the lens when inside the body must be short enough to fit cleanly within the circle without touching the bed itself.

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David A. Goldfarb said:

A 150/4.5 Xenar on a flat board does fold in a Technika.

As for a 180, if you really need it to fold in the camera, maybe something like a 7" Dagor would fit in a small enough shutter to close in the camera, but it would be hard to find, and you would probably have to make a project of it to find one, maybe in barrel, and have it mounted in a shutter that fits, which could end up costing as much as a more modern lens, though the Dagor would still be a great lens with a huge image circle.

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David A. Goldfarb said:

so it's not like a lens outside the camera adds much to your kit.

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138S said:

Yes... The technikas are insanely good cameras, but it's hand-holdability is not much practical anyway, still they sport a rangefinder.

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OP, for advanced achitecture shooting what you need is a good lens with ample coverage.

Here you have an extensive review and the manual: https://www.largeformatphotography.info/linhof/technika.html

With the technila you'll have to practice this kind of operation to shine in architecture:

View attachment 247270


Achitecture glass usually sports an oversized image circle to allow extensive movements. That oversized circle takes a lot of light that ends bouncing in the bellows and generating a lot of flare, so a compendium shade may be very usefull to overcome flare.


Of course it depends on what architechture shooting style you are to practice, but in general LF architecture shooting is a challenging discipline, mastering movements is important.

For that I would prefer a monorail of the Sinar Norma class, I feel the technika is more landscape oriented but as it's a very versatile camera it also will do architecture with indirect movements like those depicted in the picture I posted.

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CameronRabbit said:

Thank you, that is a great image! I'm getting some great lessons here.
I prefer to shoot in a straightforward, simple way, like the photos on Bellows's website. I typically usually do a slight rise and all other adjustments by just physically positioning myself so that camera captures what I want. I have a Kardan Standard which is great and I agree, much better for arch photography, but I love that that the Technika fits into a backpack and takes 30 seconds to set up.

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