I just bought a Toyo 45AX, and I like it.

However, it replaced an old Speed Graphic, which had the very nice option of fitting the lens into the body when it folds up! This makes the whole package infinitely more portable when you don't have to wrap and protect the lens/lensboard separately from the body.

The new Roddie 150/5.6 that I have with the Toyo definitely does NOT fit when the body is folded up. I also have a standard recessed board, which kind of almost fits it but doesn't quite -- it brings the lens back enough into the base that the front is about 5mm too far out, and the back element is large enough that it pushes against the fresnel groundglass.

Are there any widely-available classic/older lenses in the 135/150/180 standard range that will fit, probably with the recessed board, into the 45AX, CLOSED? Chris Perez's website mentions some very teeny Xenar 135/5.6 class lenses, but I've never seen any in used stores, so I don't know whether they would even possibly fit.

I suspect the 240/9 class lenses might be small enough -- does anyone know for certain?

Thanks!

-jon

-- J. Law (jrl@blast.princeton.edu), July 14, 1999

Answers

I have a 150mm Schneider Xenar which is very small and might fit, but I don't think I'd do it. That camera isn't designed to swallow a lens and it might damage the lens or the camera itself. I have an older Toyo field camera and I've never tried it.

-- David Grandy (dgrandy@accesscable.net), July 14, 1999.

Try the Fuji 150mm f6.3 WS. It is the shortest lens in this focal length, in modern design, that I know of.

-- Pat Raymore (PATRICK.F.RAYMORE@KP.ORG), July 15, 1999.