----- Original Message ----- From: "Tim Corio" : : Is it reasonable to use a lens designed for a medium or large format : camera on a 35mm camera with a bellows? I sometimes notice lenses : priced low on eBay that I think might be fun to try on my 35mm. : : I'm thinking since the lens is intended to cast its image over a larger : area, My 35mm camera would only be using the central portion which is : usually the highest quality part of the image. This could be an : excelent way to get a good quality macro lens for higher magnifications : (4x to 10x). As Andy stated, large format lenses are generally of lower resolving power and sharpness than 35mm lenses - often much lower. ..as many Canon users who invested in Hassy adapters can varify (!) If you want to confirm this look up the resolving figures for various lenses - Robert Monaghan has a wealth of data on lenses. Most lens development over the past 40 years has been done on the miniature formats and it really shows up in the area of sharpness - however if you want the sharpest of the sharp look at the novoflex range, these lenses have aquired cult status for the fact they were not an 'optimised' design and cnter shapness was not sacrificed to enhance edge shapness. The cult status was attained when certain styles of wildlife photographers who generally center their subjects and *desire* low edge detail discovered the blisteringly sharp centers these lenses have Having said all thisd, having fun is a GOOD thjing and sharpness is neither here nor there if oyu now how to make good images with whatever is at hand And again I cite 'Plungercam' as a great example of what can be done with ''junk' :) http://www.marktucker.com/plungercam/ k
