Help me guess: what focal lenght ???

[Joao]

Hello
I was looking at some pictures from Joshua Benoliel, a portuguese photojournalist from the late 19th century – early 20th century. Most of the photos were made from his original 9 x 12 glass negatives. Can someone help me in guessing what could possibly be the focal lenght of the lens he used ? I don’t know anything about the brand or model of his camera. Some samples in this link
http://tinyurl.com/whichfocallenght
(please ignore the portraits, it is the focal lenght in the 9 x 12 street photos I am interested in).
Thank you for your opinions
Joao

 

[John E Earley]

Likely 135mm. Most 9x12 cameras seem to have that focal length or close to it.

 

[taemo]

some nice photos, especially this one to me
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pzPGMQ4VN...iel_varina_lavando_o_peixe_1909_JBN000751.jpg

regarding focal length, it feels like a 35-40mm focal length on 35mm, so 135mm on 4x5

 

[John E Earley]

I liked this duel.

http://biclaranja1.blogs.sapo.pt/arquivo/A25536 Duelo.jpg

 

[Rob-F]

Likely 135mm. Most 9x12 cameras seem to have that focal length or close to it.

Yes, and the film diagonal for 9 x 12CM is 150mm, so the "normal" lens could have easily been selected to match the diagonal, as well.

(And the pictures do seem to have been shot with the "normal" lens.)

 

[x-ray]

Likely 135mm. Most 9x12 cameras seem to have that focal length or close to it.

My guess as well. As you say 135 was pretty much the standard on that format. The perspective has a fairly normal look too.

At that time there weren't many wide lenses and those that existed were very slow like f11-18. Longer glass was slow too at f8 and slower. Couple that with very slow film and you're back to a 135 which might have been an f6.8 if one was lucky.

 

[Joao]

Thank you for your opinions.
I am planning to photograph some places in Lisbon using a lens of similar focal lenght, from the same angle of view , as many spots he photographed are still easily identifiable; a sort of "now and then" project, but with no glass negatives - I will use a SLR with a 135 mm lens.
Once again, thank you.
Joao

 

[John E Earley]

Thank you for your opinions.
I am planning to photograph some places in Lisbon using a lens of similar focal lenght, from the same angle of view , as many spots he photographed are still easily identifiable; a sort of "now and then" project, but with no glass negatives - I will use a SLR with a 135 mm lens.
Once again, thank you.
Joao

When you say "SLR" do you mean "35mm SLR"??

Wouldn't a 40 or 45mm lens on an SLR give an angle of view that was more like the 135mm lens on 9x12 (90mmx120mm) camera than a 135mm lens on a 35mm (24mmx36mm) camera.

The diagonal of the 35mm film is 43mm. The diagonal of the 9x12 is about 150mm.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Thank you for your opinions.
I am planning to photograph some places in Lisbon using a lens of similar focal lenght, from the same angle of view , as many spots he photographed are still easily identifiable; a sort of "now and then" project, but with no glass negatives - I will use a SLR with a 135 mm lens.
Once again, thank you.
Joao

Dear Joao,

This will give you exactly the same perspective, but will cover only 24x36mm instead of 9x12cm, i.e. a tiny chunk out of the picture. To get it all in (i.e. the same field of view as on 9x12), you will need a 45mm lens or something close.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Joao]

OOOOPS ! Point taken...
It was a quick answer without thinking...
Thank you John and Roger for the correction.
Maybe a 1938 Zeiss Ikonta 521 with a 75 mm lens and 4,5 x 6 frames will give a similar view...
Regards
Joao

 

[Roger Hicks]

OOOOPS ! Point taken...
It was a quick answer without thinking...
Thank you John and Roger for the correction.
Maybe a 1938 Zeiss Ikonta 521 with a 75 mm lens and 4,5 x 6 frames will give a similar view...
Regards
Joao

Dear Joao,

Sounds about right. Diagonal of 43x56mm = approx 70mm.

Cheers,

R.