Wide Angle Lens for Busch Pressman 2.25x3.25

Hi all,

One of my co-workers just gave me a Busch Pressman 2 1/4"x3 1/4" press camera with a 101mm Wollensak Rapax lens.

Are there wider angle lenses that will work on this camera? I'd like something in the 65mm range.

Andy, your best bets are probably a 65/6.8 Angulon or a 65/6.8 Optar/Raptar. Alternatively, the extremely rare TTH 64/6.5 for the Envoy camera. See, e.g., http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ENVOY-WID...L-LENSHOOD-TAYLOR-TAYLOR-HOBSON-/201764415815

I hesitate to suggest a more modern lens such as a 65/8 Super Angulon because I'm not sure the rear cell with pass through a 2x3 Pressman's front standard. The lens' rear cell's diameter is 42 mm. Go measure your camera's lens throat.

If you can live with a somewhat longer lens, look for an 80/6.3 Wide Field Ektar. Super lens, somewhat scarce.

^+1 for what Dan says , I adapted a 65/6.8 Angulon to a Mockva 5 camera and it's a lovely little lens . Peter

ps: the Mockva 5 is a 6x9 camera also.

Andy, I've been thinking about what you might do. I have Fuji's answer to the 65/8 SA, the 65/8 SW. Its rear cell barely clears a 2x3 Pacemaker Graphic's lens throat. Since the 2x3 Pressman has a smaller lens throat, that's probably that.

However, if you want to go a little shorter 58/5.6 and 60/5.6 Konica Hexanons and Omegons for Koni-Omega cameras cover 2x3 and have small rear cells. The shutters they were delivered in will work only on a Koni-Omega (or Rapid Omega) body so you'll have to reshutter them. The 58's cells will go into a Copal #0 press shutter. The 60 is a different design and its rear cell will contact a #1 press' diaphragm and shutter blades when properly seated in the shutter. The 60 can be reshuttered, but only in a cock-and-shoot #0. I have both, that's how I know. Good lenses, too. Probably not cost effective, since you'll have to buy a lens, a shutter and have the shutter scaled.

Another option thats not that hard to find and tiny is the Topcon/Horseman 65mm f/7, originally intended for the Horseman VH-R camera but ofcourse adaptable; just a matter of swapping the board.

locutus said:

Another option thats not that hard to find and tiny is the Topcon/Horseman 65mm f/7, originally intended for the Horseman VH-R camera but ofcourse adaptable; just a matter of swapping the board.

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locutus, this may not work.

The 2x3 Busch Pressman has quite a small front standard. According to http://www.cameraeccentric.com/html/info/horseman_2.html, the 65/7 Topcor's rear cell's diameter is 39.5 mm.

There's a very real possibility that it won't pass through the camera's front standard. Also, the 2x3 Pressman has a more-or-less permanently attached spring back so the "unscrew the rear cell; attach board with shutter and front cell; remove focusing panel; screw the rear cell back into the shutter; replace focusing panel" procedure that's used to attach some lenses to a 2x3 camera with a Graflok back is impossible with it.

The OP has your suggestion and the camera and, now, the key dimension. He should measure.

Ah hmmm, yes that would require measurements of a actual Pressman.

I guessed the Topcor would be fine as the VHR also has a fairly small front standard (compared to a 5x4), however obviously the Pressman might be even more compact than the Horseman.

Dan Fromm said:

Andy, your best bets are probably a 65/6.8 Angulon or a 65/6.8 Optar/Raptar. Alternatively, the extremely rare TTH 64/6.5 for the Envoy camera. See, e.g., http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ENVOY-WID...L-LENSHOOD-TAYLOR-TAYLOR-HOBSON-/201764415815

I hesitate to suggest a more modern lens such as a 65/8 Super Angulon because I'm not sure the rear cell with pass through a 2x3 Pressman's front standard. The lens' rear cell's diameter is 42 mm. Go measure your camera's lens throat.

If you can live with a somewhat longer lens, look for an 80/6.3 Wide Field Ektar. Super lens, somewhat scarce.

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Will the angulon 65 mm focus to infinity on the focusing rails, on the 2 by 3 Pressman? The throat size is large enough (50 mm).

mmerig said:

Will the angulon 65 mm focus to infinity on the focusing rails, on the 2 by 3 Pressman? The throat size is large enough (50 mm).

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I don't know. The lens' flange-to-film distance at infinity is 63.5 mm. What's the camera's flange-to-film distance (measure from the front of the lens board) with the standard at the rear of the outer bed rails, bed dropped and enough front rise to center the lens' axis on the gate)? Since you don't have the lens yet, consider whether a 65/8 Fujinon SW will suit you. Flange-to-film distance 71 mm, will fit your camera, and usually the least expensive 65/8 SA clone.

Now for what you don't want to hear. My first 2x3 press camera was a Busch like yours. I played with it and decided that a Pacemaker Graphic would suit me better. 2x3 Pacemaker Graphics are somewhat friendlier to short lenses than the 2x3 Pressman because their inner and outer bed rails are linked. This makes focusing with the standard on the inner rail easy. Key dimensions are minimum extensions: 61.9 mm for 2x3 Pacemaker Speed (mine wouldn't focus the 65/6.8 Raptar I used to have), 34.9 mm for Century and Crown (will focus 35/4.5 Apo-Grandagon). You might be better off with a Century Graphic. Integral Graflok back, linked bed rails and, yes, probably not quite as nice as a 2x3 Pressman.

Thanks, Dan. Post #2 implied that the 65-mm angulon would work on the Pressman, despite the flange distance. I didn't think it would, and short of trying one, and given your reply here, I am almost certain that it won't.

The Mamiya 65 mm f3.5 (for TLR) is probably the best option, and I will give this a try. The viewfinder lens may make a good loupe.

I put a graflok back on the Pressman, mainly to allow for preferred roll film backs and easier swapping of the film back and ground glass viewing.

I don't mind hearing about other cameras, including those that could be a better choice, and would have bought a 2 by 3 Century graphic but they didn't come up when I was looking, especially the non Bakelite versions. It would take some doing, but an inner focusing rail could be retro-fitted into the Pressman, but I don't plan on that any time soon.

Let us know how it works out.

Dan Fromm said:

Let us know how it works out.

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Not well. Here is a summary.

1. Re-mounting the Mamyia 65 mm 3.5 (for the TLR) took some time. Removing the flash-sync wire required disassembly down to the shutter's core, to access the solder joint. I could have just clipped it off but wanted to preserve as much of the parts as possible.

The shutter I bought (for cheap) had very slow speeds for 1/4 to 1 sec, with the latter taking about 1 minute to close back up. After some soaking in 95 % alcohol, and working the shutter when wet, and then rinsing with naptha, the speeds came back to near normal and stayed that way.

2. The flange to film distance turned out to be quite short -- 73 mm. So I still had to mount the sliding mechanism inside the body of the camera, just as I would with the usual wide angles, such as the S-K Angulon 65 mm. So, there is no advantage to the retro-focus design on the Busch Pressman.

3. Coverage on 6 by 7 ground glass was complete. I mounted the lens on a 4 by 5 and the circle of illumination is about 3.5 inches, or 89 mm, at f22 (not much change from f3.5 to 22). The sharpness looked good to about 3 inches. This could be enough to cover 6 by 7 (68 mm circle ) or 6 by 8, but I did not check it with an exposed negative.

4. The Mamyia's Seiko shutter does not have a T setting, or a cable release fitting, so focusing with the ground glass is awkward.

5. The Busch Pressman will not close-up with the Mamyia lens mounted. (I was anticipating this). The intact lens will screw into its retaining ring through the board, so it is easier to remove and replace that way instead of with the four tiny mounting screws.

6. The lens is very light, and the viewing lens makes a great loupe for ground glass viewing. The eye relief and focusing distances are ideal.

7. The Busch Pressman 2 by 3 is not wide-angle friendly. Post # 2 indicated that a wide-angle could be used, and that started me down this path with the Pressman.

8. A focusing rail could be retro-fitted into the camera body without much cost if DYI. I think it would take about as much time as taking the Mamyia lens apart and re-mounting it, once the parts are in-hand.

9. The most expedient thing to do, especially since I plan on using it for landscapes with no movements, is to just mark the infinity position on the inner rails, and use it as a fixed-focus camera most of the time.

10. Unless you have one handy, and not used for anything else, I would not recommend using the Mamyia 65 mm f3.5 on a Busch Pressman Model C, or even on a 2 by 3 Century Graphic, because of the lack of a T-setting on the shutter, and no cable release fitting.

Thanks for the update, sorry it didn't work out for you. One lives in hope, especially when someone else does the experiment.

I wasn't sure it would cover 2x3. Good to know that it doesn't. I won't add that lens to my list of short lenses that cover 2x3. If you're not acquainted with it, see https://1drv.ms/x/s!AggQfcczvHGNgYhYGeQuOzsBIyw8Og?e=uIWOnL

Dan Fromm said:

Thanks for the update, sorry it didn't work out for you. One lives in hope, especially when someone else does the experiment.

I wasn't sure it would cover 2x3. Good to know that it doesn't. I won't add that lens to my list of short lenses that cover 2x3. If you're not acquainted with it, see https://1drv.ms/x/s!AggQfcczvHGNgYhYGeQuOzsBIyw8Og?e=uIWOnL

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Yes, I agree on the limited coverage. I was not considering the diagonal of say a 6 by 7 or larger in my comments (#3) above. It looked good on the Pressman ground glass (6 by 7, masked graflok), but I'll bet closer inspection or film exposure would reveal underexposed or fuzzy corners.

mmerig said:

Yes, I agree on the limited coverage. I was not considering the diagonal of say a 6 by 7 or larger in my comments (#3) above. It looked good on the Pressman ground glass (6 by 7, masked graflok), but I'll bet closer inspection or film exposure would reveal underexposed or fuzzy corners.

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About dark corners, that's normal with w/a lenses because of cos^4. That's why we use center filters, especially with reversal film, when one that fits can be found.

About looking good on the GG, I've been, um, taken in by that. Years ago my late friend Charlie Barringer showed me one of his treasures, a 1.75"/2.8 Elcan, a real retrofocus lens in barrel. He'd stuffed it into the front of a Miniature Speed Graphic. It made infinity and seemed to fill the GG with good image. Not long afterwards I came across one at a great price and bought it, had SKGrimes mount it properly on a 2x3 Pacemaker Graphic board. It is the shortest lens I know of that will make infinity on a 2x3 Pacemaker Speed. The wretched thing doesn't quite cover 6x7 and has heavy barrel distortion. It was made for a camera that shot 6x6, and that's all she does. So much for impressions gained by looking at the GG.

mmerig said:

I don't mind hearing about other cameras, including those that could be a better choice, and would have bought a 2 by 3 Century graphic but they didn't come up when I was looking, especially the non Bakelite versions.

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Century Graphic Bakelite body 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 camera with a molded in Graflok back.
Non Bakelite body=Crown Graphic 2 1/4 x 3 1/4. Leather or Leatherette covered Mahogany body with a Graphic (spring) or Graflock back.