Film Lenses With Digital Backs

[Larry_Menzin]

I have been using a 75mm 4.5 Grandagon-N on an Arca-Swiss view camera with a Phase P20. Most of my work is landscape and I use a sliding back adapter to stitch frames. Although the 75mm Grandagon-N is supposed to cover 4x5, I am getting softness at the edges of my frames. Two horizontal stitched frames are about 68mm wide and about 20% of the right and left edges of this stitched frame shows some softness. Color casts due to shifting are removed pretty well with C1.

Do I need to be using digital lenses to get decent results? Will the smaller image circle and better angle of incidence reduce this problem?

Also, from the spec sheets I've read, it seems that the Rodenstock digital lenses offer better coverage than Schneider. I'm looking at the 70mm APO-Sironar Digital as a possible replacement. Any comments?

[BobDavid]

I've been using the 70mm APO-Sironar Digital for a couple of months. It is a terrifice lens, my favorite. I use it mostly for fine art reproduction/copy work. It has a large image circle. I've got it mounted onto a Horseman 4X5 with an Imacon 384C back. I've shifted 25mm from center and have not seen vignetting or CA. The lens is tack sharp throughout the image circle when stopped down f/11. The color is excellent as is the contrast. I love this lens.

[Gary Ferguson]

I use Rodenstock Apo Sironar Digital lenses in 35mm, 45mm, 55mm, 90mm, and 180mm focal lengths with a P25 and a Linhof M679cs view camera. What can I say, it works!

However, having made the move to "large format digital" after more than twenty years with a 4x5 film camera I'd emphasise that successful large format digital isn't just about putting a digital back on a large format camera. In my opinion the level of precision generally seen in large format cameras, lenses, focusing screens and all the other 4x5 paraphenalia, just isn't sufficient to gain the very best from the relatively tiny 37mm x 49mm sensors.

Equipment is one part of the equation. With 4x5 "close enough is good enough" but with digital if it isn't right then it's wrong. And a key element in my experience is exceptionally high quality lenses that recognise there's generally a trade-off between image circle and resolution. So it's important to aim for as much image circle as your lens movements require, but no more.

The second area is technique. Despite being very experienced with large format photography it took me quite a while to raise my game with digital to the required standard. Camera adjustments, focusing accuracy, even tripod rigidity and shutter maintenance, all needed to be significantly higher than I'd previously found necessary with 4x5 film.