What did Ansel Adams mean when he said he used a _ inch lens?

In his book where he discusses his 40 photographs, in just about every
shot taken with a view camera he mentions it was a so and so inch
lens.
Can someone direct me to a site etc that explains this?

From his book "Examples" pg 16, "I used my 7-inch Zeiss-Dagor or my
newly acquired Kodak 8- ich Anastigmat(later known as Kodak Ektar)."

Thanks for any direction on this, I'm sure obvious topic which I am
not getting.

Bill Mcdonald in Joshua Tree.
Olympus E-10, Olympus IS-3 DLX.
Vivitar V3800N.
Amateur.

Bill Mcdonald wrote:
In his book where he discusses his 40 photographs, in just about every
shot taken with a view camera he mentions it was a so and so inch
lens.
Can someone direct me to a site etc that explains this?


Explains what? 1 inch is equal about 25mm. If you want to convert what he
was using to mm then just plug the number of inches into any imperial to
metric converter. Now if you're trying to convert what the lens he used
would be in a different format then you need to know the two film formats.

Nick

He's referring to the focal length. Once upon a time it was expressed in
inches. That 8" Kodak is a close equivalent to a 210 mm lens.

John Emmons

"Bill Mcdonald" wrote in message
...
In his book where he discusses his 40 photographs, in just about every
shot taken with a view camera he mentions it was a so and so inch
lens.
Can someone direct me to a site etc that explains this?

From his book "Examples" pg 16, "I used my 7-inch Zeiss-Dagor or my
newly acquired Kodak 8- ich Anastigmat(later known as Kodak Ektar)."

Thanks for any direction on this, I'm sure obvious topic which I am
not getting.

Bill Mcdonald in Joshua Tree.
Olympus E-10, Olympus IS-3 DLX.
Vivitar V3800N.
Amateur.

"Bill Mcdonald" wrote in message
...
In his book where he discusses his 40 photographs, in just about every
shot taken with a view camera he mentions it was a so and so inch
lens.
Can someone direct me to a site etc that explains this?

From his book "Examples" pg 16, "I used my 7-inch Zeiss-Dagor or my
newly acquired Kodak 8- ich Anastigmat(later known as Kodak Ektar)."

Thanks for any direction on this, I'm sure obvious topic which I am
not getting.

Once upon a time there was an archaic system of units of measure, in this
system, a lens' focal length was given in inches, which BTW can be easily
converted to the "current and universal" metric system by multiplying inches
by 25.4 with the result being expressed in millimeters. :-)

Guillermo

Bill Mcdonald wrote:
In his book where he discusses his 40 photographs, in just about every
shot taken with a view camera he mentions it was a so and so inch
lens.
Can someone direct me to a site etc that explains this?

From his book "Examples" pg 16, "I used my 7-inch Zeiss-Dagor or my
newly acquired Kodak 8- ich Anastigmat(later known as Kodak Ektar)."

Thanks for any direction on this, I'm sure obvious topic which I am
not getting.

Lenses have focal lengths. Many lenses, almost all for large format,
have one fixed focal length. Some lenses are zoom lenses which means
you can vary the focal length. In any case, the focal length together
with the format determine the angle of view seen by the lens. A short
focal length has a wide angle of view, and a long focal length lens has
a narrow angle of view. Together with the wider angle, objects are
smaller. Together with the narrower angle, objects are bigger.

Your Olympus probably has a zoom lens, and you can move between W (for
wide) and T (for telephoto) You are just changing the focal length,
the angle of view and how much objects at a fixed distance from the lens
are magnified.

With a view camera, you need to change the lens in order to change the
focal length. These cameras are designed so that is relatively easy to
do. Adams includes information about the focal length so you can
evaluate issues like perspective. It is traditional for photographers
to include such information.

At one time focal lengths were measured in inches. These days they are
almost always measured in millimeters. To convert inches to mm,
multiply by 25.4.

For a 4 x 5 format, 150 mm or about 6 inches is considered a normal
lens. A focal length like 100 mm or 4 inches would be considered wide
angle, and a lens like 50 mm or 2 inches would be considered extremely
wide angle. A focal length like 300 mm or about 12 inches or larger
would be considered long.

The focal length has to be considered in relation to the format. What
would be a long lens for 35 mm would be considered a wide angle or
normal lens for 4 x 5, if it could cover the format, which generally it
wouldn't.


Bill Mcdonald in Joshua Tree.
Olympus E-10, Olympus IS-3 DLX.
Vivitar V3800N.
Amateur.

Thanks a lot guys--reading this newsgroup is like getting a college
education;-)
Bill Mcdonald in Joshua Tree.
Olympus E-10, Olympus IS-3 DLX.
Vivitar V3800N.
Amateur.

f/256 wrote:
"Bill Mcdonald" wrote in message
...

In his book where he discusses his 40 photographs, in just about
every shot taken with a view camera he mentions it was a so and so
inch lens. Can someone direct me to a site etc that explains this?

From his book "Examples" pg 16, "I used my 7-inch Zeiss-Dagor or my
newly acquired Kodak 8- ich Anastigmat(later known as Kodak
Ektar)."

Thanks for any direction on this, I'm sure obvious topic which I am
not getting.


Once upon a time there was an archaic system of units of measure, in
this system, a lens' focal length was given in inches, which BTW can
be easily converted to the "current and universal" metric system by
multiplying inches by 25.4 with the result being expressed in
millimeters. :-)

More archaic yet, in the 19th century, some manufacturers gave inches
and meant the plate size they expected you to be using. I.e., a 10" lens
would cover a 10" plate. (I do not recall if that was the diagonal or
the wide side of the plate.)

--
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/V\ Registered Machine 73926.
/( )\ Shrewsbury, New Jersey http://counter.li.org
^^-^^ 10:45am up 9 days, 22:12, 3 users, load average: 2.25, 2.15, 2.10

"Jean-David Beyer" wrote...
f/256 wrote:
"Bill Mcdonald" wrote in message
...

In his book where he discusses his 40 photographs, in just about
every shot taken with a view camera he mentions it was a so and so
inch lens. Can someone direct me to a site etc that explains this?

From his book "Examples" pg 16, "I used my 7-inch Zeiss-Dagor or my
newly acquired Kodak 8- ich Anastigmat(later known as Kodak
Ektar)."

Thanks for any direction on this, I'm sure obvious topic which I am
not getting.


Once upon a time there was an archaic system of units of measure, in
this system, a lens' focal length was given in inches, which BTW can
be easily converted to the "current and universal" metric system by
multiplying inches by 25.4 with the result being expressed in
millimeters. :-)

More archaic yet, in the 19th century, some manufacturers gave inches
and meant the plate size they expected you to be using. I.e., a 10" lens
would cover a 10" plate. (I do not recall if that was the diagonal or
the wide side of the plate.)

More like the _long_ side of the plate...