Re: [Largeformat] Re: Polaroid 545

[slberfuchs@aol.com]

Doug,

Whether or not you need a macro lens on a 4x5 is purely a question of what 
sorts of things you are shooting.  Any lens will work in macro ranges but 
only some are optimized for operation at those magnifications.  If you are 
doing archival documentation work of flat objects or scientific work where 
absolute accuracy of detail is a necessity then you will need a flat field 
and/or macro lens.  It also, of course, depends on what you mean by "macro" 
work.  If you are talking about life sized magnifications or 2x life sized in 
that general range then, if you are talking standard full frame enlargements 
it is unlikely that you will see any image degradation from any of the 
regular lenses.  If you are talking about either extreme magnification of the 
subject or large blowups of the negative then you might need to rethink the 
lens requirements.  I used to do a lot of product photography in the studio, 
frequently at 1:1 ratios or a little larger and did them all quite 
satisfactorily with the only lens I owned at the time, a 150 convertible 
Symmar.

Cheers,

Ted