Can anyone tell me if there are any decent budget lenses available for the Wista 45DX ? I want to purchase a 90mm Wide angle but at the moment cannot afford the secondhand prices of the top notch lenses. One last question - if I buy a 90mm lens (any make) will I have to buy a new lens panel ? and would it be a sunken panel ? Thanks...Mark Iveson

-- MARK IVESON (M.JA.IVESON@TALK21.COM), August 09, 2001

Answers

Mark, A 90mm lens will work on the Wista without a recessed board.

-- Ben Calwell (bcalwell@aol.com), August 09, 2001.

A friend gave me a 90mm Schneider Angulon (not Super), and it's performed very well for me. Apparently some Angulons are better than others. Get a money-back-if-not-not-satisified guarantee, which I recommend for all used lenses. Be sure the lens is coated if you buy an Angulon.

-- Charlie Strack (charlie_strack@sti.com), August 09, 2001.

Mark:

Take a look at the lens testing data listed on the following site:

http://hevanet.com/cperez/testing.html

The lens specs cover a wide variety of 90mm "budget" lenses including the Congo, the Angulon, the Optar, and the Raptar. This list will tell you which Angulons to watch out for and give you some sense of how other lenses stack up. If your not set on the 90mm focal length, you might also look at something longer, including the 101mm WF Ektar.

I hope this helps. (PS:I would either opt for an Angulon or--better yet--save a little money and find a used 90mm f8 Super Angulon in a synchro-Compur shutter. The F8 generally costs $100 or so less than the f5.6 and you will typically save even more if you find a lens with an older, non-Copal shutter. I'm guessing that if they are available on the used market, you will spend about $300-450. By comparison, the Angulon will come in at roughly $200 depending on the age, the type of shutter, and the condition of the glass)

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-- Dave Willison (dwillisart@aol.com), August 09, 2001.

Finally, if you can afford it, Calumet has the Caltar II 135/5.6 for $470ish. It's a Rodenstock Sironar, and a bit longer than you're looking for, but I've always likes Sironars.

-- Charlie Strack (charlie_strack@sti.com), August 09, 2001.

Mark: While there were some of the older lenses that were better than others, remember that the LF lenses were designed for professional use and as such are usually at least adequate. As already stated, the Angulons are good, as are the Ilex Acugons and some others. The newer lenses might give more coverage and a bit more sharpness, but if you are intersted in making good pictures instead of measuring lines per millimeter, you can be quite happy with the older (cheaper) lenses. I doubt you can see any difference between 50 lpm and 60 lpm in an enlargement from a LF neg. I know I can't. Call Midwest Photo Exchange and explain what you want and what you can pay. They are easy to deal with and can probably come up with something.

Regards,

Doug.

-- Doug Paramore (dougmary@alaweb.com), August 09, 2001.

Mark,

Check out Kerry's site for "budget lenses for 4x5". If you shoot B+W, older classic lenses are OK, and sometimes even desirable. If you do color, get yourself, at least, single-coated modern lenses. I have a Schneider 90/6.8 Angulon (Post WWII) and it's been great. Cheers,

-- Geoffrey Chen (DB45TEK@AOL.COM), August 10, 2001.