[LargeFormat] Wista technical and Schneider lenses II, portrait

[largeformat@f32.net]

As I mentioned in an earlier message, I have a Wista VX, which I use most of
the time with a 90mm Schneider Super Angulon XL. I'm *really* happy with
this combination.

However I want to do portraiture with it, including 'tight' head shots. Yes
I *know* there's an element of "don't start from here", but I'd really
appreciate some advice.

The problem is that the maximum bellows draw of the Wista technical cameras
is 300mm and I'm pretty sure that the focal length I want to use is
somewhere around 270mm, and I don't think that's going to work, is it?

Now you can get a lens panel for the Wista with a sort of extension-tube
affair, but it's a bit Heath-Robinson. You can also get extension rails/beds
for them, but as far as I can tell to fit these you need to change the
bellows, and all of a sudden we're talking a) a fair bit of cash for a
clunky solution and b) a lot of hassle changing over.

Which brings me to telephotos. I know about the 270mm Nikkor and that it
*just* covers 5x4 (or seems to from the figures), I know about the 300mm
Fujinon T (and that Robert White can supply these here in the UK), but is
there anything else I should be looking at?

I know there used to be a 270mm f5.5 Schneider Tele-Arton which seems - from
the figures on Schneider's web site - to be almost perfect for my needs, and
they do come up on the used market from time to time, but are they any good?
There were other Schneider tele lenses of about the same focal length, are
any of them suitable?

I expect to hear some answers along the lines of "buy a used monorail with
enough draw, and a used 270mm non-Tele", and I do realise this is a sound
option, it's just that if it was possible to do it all on the Wista, I'd
really like to do it all that way.

-- 
David Morton
dmorton@journalist.co.uk

"The more opinions you have, the less you see." -- Wim Wenders.