First LF field camera questions

[rob champagne]

Sorry I made an error. The IIB has a shorter minimum bellows extension than the IIA. The IIB has minimum of 80mm. The IIA has minimum of 110mm.

That means that on the IIA (with standard bellows) the shortest lens without using a recessed lens board is 120mm(according to robert white). On the IIB (with standard bellows) the shortest lens without using a recessed lensboard is ??? but assume 85mm.

Recessed lens boards are to be avoided if possible so if you want to use a 90mm lens then the IIB would be a better option otherwise you will need to use a recessed lens board on the IIA with a 90mm lens.
Recessed lens boards make seeing and getting at the lens controls fiddly.

HOWEVER, with a bag bellows then things change and you may be able to use flat lens boards with shorter lenses. But we are getting into the nitty gritty of these camera specifics which I have no experience with so you would be better advised to check this out with Robert White to be sure about the combinations.

When I bought my setup I was so paranoid about not having enough movements I bought lenses with plenty of image circle. Never use it most of the time except a little front tilt and occasional small front rise. All my lenses would cover 5x7 with room to spare. I could have saved myself a lot of money had I known what I know now. Mind you I could always move upto 5x7 without having to replace any lenses. This is something I have been thinking about. Got my eye on a Mike Walker XL wide 5x7.

[PaulBradley]

Thanks Rob. I will talk to Robert White to get the specifics. I appreciate your cautionary tale about being paranoid about not having enough movements - I think I am in danger of suffering the same paranoia, so I will be coming back here when I make my lens choices to see what I really need in terms of coverage, but as you said the ability to move to 5x7 might be nice, but I hear the film choices are more limited.

[Mick Fagan]

I have the HZX45-IIA Shen Hao model camera, it does not have rear standard focus capability. It does look in the pictures as though it does, but the metal channel is there to allow you to slide the rear forwards to allow you to use short focal length lenses without having the front of the camera getting in the way. That rear knob, allows you to lock the rear standard in place.

I have a Schneider Angulon f/6.8 90mm lens on a Linhof recessed board, the recess is 10mm only and there is no problems with access to the mechanicals. My lens has a Linhof Synchro Compur shutter. I would humbly suggest that this is realistically the shortest lens you can attach with the standard bellows and still move the front standard up or down, or the rear up or slide it sideways, rear or front swing is not really an option, but if you push enough, it could be done a bit.

The Shen Hao (my model) has the ability to remove the bellows in about 30 seconds flat, re-fitting takes about a minute, so that isn't an issue.

The camera is capable, and in my case does, hold very heavy lenses on the front at full extension, I have a Komuron 400T which is a huge piece of glass, it works well.

I looked around a real long time before I had decided to get the Shen Hao camera. Value for money and the range of possibilities with all of the different movements, made it a no brainer in the end.

I have a geared Calumet monorail camera, old decrepit and as heavy as a truck, the Shen Hao cannot match it in a studio situation, but it's a reasonable second.

In the field, the Shen Hao is brilliant. Whack it on a tripod, open it up, reverse my 150 Fujinon lens which stays on in the folded position, and you are away focusing in about 45 seconds if you are in a hurry, I know this because I have done it.

Geared movements are good, in fact sometimes they are a requirement, but realistically, you reach forward, loosen a knob with one hand, then slide the front up or down with the other hand, lock and you're away.

For your main chosen application, I can see how a rear focus arrangement would be better, especially if maintaining a set ratio on your film. Apart from a rear focus capability, the rear of the Shen Hao is brilliant. It slides left or right, swings left or right and goes up. There are very few cameras in this price bracket that can do anywhere near that, it is an impressive bang for you buck.

Mick.

[edebill]

Out of interest I’ve just weighed my Shen Hao field camera, 3 lens kit and tripod at 14kg (about 30lbs) ready to go in it’s back pack. There’s nothing to leave out, but quite a few things that I could add in - if my legs could take the strain.

30lbs is awfully heavy. I can fit my Tachihara rig (with 3 lenses and tripod) into a backpack with total weight of 19lb

http://www.openphotographyforums.com...ead.php?t=2308

These days I use film holders instead of quickloads. I carry less film, but I'm not limited by quickload availability. I end up with only 16 sheets of film that way, but it's rare for me to want to shoot more than that on a single hike anyway.

[rob champagne]

That's a pity if the Shen-hao doesn't have rear focus. Worth checking if some models do though. Some of the Ebony cameras with triple bed extension have both front and back focussing but they are in a different price bracket.
I guess you will either have to go for a hybrid field monorail or live with no rear focus until you can get a monorail as well for macro work. There seem to be more studio monorails on the bay than anything else so prices of those are low at the moment. But you can do macro without rear focus so whilst it might be a pain in the short term, you would end with the right tools for the jobs in the long term and especially the right tool for what you do most of. i.e. field work. So I wouldn't dismiss the shen-hao if its in your price bracket and will do 75% of what you want to do.

[PaulBradley]

Rob,

Indeed - as you said, I will have to make do for indoor work at the moment, but studio monorails are so cheap on ebay I can see me getting another camera at some point - I think the Shen Hao is going to be an excellent field camera which is 80+ % of what I'll be doing, and will suffice for macro work for the time being.

[Bandicoot]

I really like the modularity of the Sinar, the geared movements and the build quality, so I'd be looking for those qualities in another camera if I do decide to get something else. I am a little split between the Sinar (which I still really like the idea of and do want) and something a little more portable like a Shen Hao or a Wista so I am still doing my research on the pros and cons, but the lack of geared movements puts me off the field cameras a bit and I am also concerned about the interchangability of parts, wheras the Sinar seems like a system that will grow easily as my needs change.

I use Arca Swiss, which is a little lighter than Sinar but equally well built and with similar levels of system modularity (and a tendency to be a bit more expensive too ) Also like you I do both studio based still-life and landscape and architecture 'out and about'.

I like geared movements, so I use Arca Monoliths in the studio, but I very rarely take one outside: they are just far too heavy. For that I use other combinations of Arca F and 'pre-F' parts to make my field cameras far far lighter, and I don't really miss the geared movements much when I'm doing landscapes.

And, for all that, I am as a project that I do a bit of every now and then rebuilding a half-plate sized field camera as well, to be the even lighter, even more compact, option.

In LF there is no one camera that is ideal for every single situation - but if I had to limit myself to one it would be a lighter weight monorail (like an Arca F)
so no geared movements.



Peter