Some LF people I know use reproduction (flat field lenses) instead of normal lenses. they say it eliminates problem of lens curvature causing out of focus at corners. Any experience out there? Can repro lenses be mounted in shutters or do you just use long exposures?

-- John Laragh (jwl@taconic.net), November 25, 1999

Answers

John, Some lenses on shutter are of the kind you describe (Schneider G-Claron, Rodenstock Apo-Ronar) and they perform well in general photography. You can sometimes find them on Normal Mount for a low price, as they are used in graphic art as repro lenses, and then have them mounted on shutters, but not all repro lenses have standard shutter threads. Steve Grimes www.skgrimes.com will tell you more. It is a good alternative to buying very expensive long focals for LF photography. You just have to remember that these repro lenses have to be used at small apertures to deliver sharp distants (f22). Out of focus corners: Yes, this will be avoided by using these lenses for repro ore close-up photography. For normal photography, any good lens correctly stopped should produce sharp corners.

-- Paul Schilliger (pschilliger@vtx.ch), November 25, 1999.