Simple explanation of view camera focusing from the Art Institute of Colorado

[Removed Account]

I've been killing time on YouTube this morning and came across a video from a photography instructor at the Art Institute of Colorado. He gives a very simple, easy to understand method of applying lens plane tilts and swings. Some explanations which get in to mathematics make my head hurt when I've got all the other factors in shooting going through my head but this video is very straightforward. It's located here.

- Justin

[David A. Goldfarb]

Good demo that applies to any camera.

What he didn't tell you is that on the Sinar F2 he's using, he could have also just used the swing/tilt calculator, but either method is quick to do once you get the hang of it.

[Bruce Osgood]

What still confuses me is when the sides are in focus by swing, then the top and bottom are refocused with tilt, aren't the sides out of focus?

[David A. Goldfarb]

What still confuses me is when the sides are in focus by swing, then the top and bottom are refocused with tilt, aren't the sides out of focus?

This opens the very contentious and confusing issue of "yaw." If the rail or baseboard of the camera is level, or if the camera is a "yaw-free" design like the camera in the demo, then you should be able to tilt without upsetting the swing angle. Try it out!

[paxette]

Some explanations which get in to mathematics make my head hurt

I grabbed a copy of Focusing the View Camera by Harold Merklinger before I got my camera. I skimmed through it and thought, 'ohh boy ...' I wish there were more practical examples like the linked video rather than the hard math. Thanks for the link.

[Uhner]

Many thanks for posting this. It is a good demo.

[Chazzy]

Anything has to be better than that incomprehensible article that was recently published in View Camera--twice!!

[NavyMoose]

I saw this video a month or so ago. It was informative. I also don't understand why tilting the camera to focus the top and bottom doesn't throw the sides out of focus. I hope the explanation has less math than the Scheimpflug rule.

[Steve Sherman]

The easy rule of thumb I follow in the field is forget the advertisements you see of cameras with extreme movements, almost never will you encounter a situation where such exaggerated movements are used.

In the field I identify the composition in three dimensional proportions, if the composition resembles a cube then the only thing to increase depth of field is F Stops. If however, the composition resembles a rectangle then swing or shift appropriate standard in the direction of the longest plane of the rectangle.

It usually becomes a combination of both but those are the principles I live by.

Cheers

[Hovig]

Thanks for the link. Learning these things is a long process, and every bit of information is adding to my ability to control better my view camera.