anyone out there knows anything about Horseman 45FA with digital back?

[sundaram]

Hey Guys,

I own a Horseman 45FA and a couple of lenses and have done some research for a digital back that would fit, but so far nothing came up. I am still using film on both my panoramic cameras with rollfilm but would find it very difficult, and time, energy consuming, to go hunting for 4x5 sheet film, hence the dream of digital!!! Anyone knows anything??
thanks.

[Kumar]

Hi,

I use a digital back on my Wista 45D. What you need is a Graflok back adapter that will let you use the back of your choice on the Horseman. Send me a PM or email through the forum if you'd like more specific information.

Kumar

[sundaram]

Thanks Kumar,

The Horseman 45FA uses the Graflok system if I mistake not, now what digital back do you have on your Wista?

[lowep]

I made the move from LF to MFDB for the same reason.

My experience was finding a digital system is the easy part - it just takes minimum three or four attempts to gain a foothold - what is not so easy is getting used to what you lose.

I read on this forum and elsewhere that if you are going digital then forget about your LF lenses that are not suitable for MF digital and also forget about your LF camera and graflox back that doesn't have good enough tolerances for mounting a MF digital back and while you are at it remember that instead of composing a 4x5 image on your ground glass you will have to get used to composing an image the same matchbox size as the sensor on your MFDB.

So I bought a MF camera just like everybody else did.

If I were not working at the moment in west africa where film and film labs are not within reach I would go back to 4x5 film without hesitation tomorrow. But that is not an option at the moment and meanwhile I am getting addicted to playing with all the different buttons.

Now that I have got that bit out of my system I would like to encourage you to go ahead so that if you make the transition work then maybe I can learn from your experiences.

Kumar since you have actually made the move to 4x5 + MFDB (LFMFDB?) instead of just reading about it on the internet maybe you can give your opinion on these considerations?    

[Kumar]

Unlike may others who have found it difficult to make the move, I'm pretty happy with LF + MFDB. Earlier too, I mainly used roll film with the Sinar, so dealing with "cropped sensors" wasn't a problem at all. I have always been able to nail focus on the groundglass, even with cameras that are apparently not designed for digital. In my kind of photography - architecture and interiors and landscape, there is always enough time to set everything properly. Things are a bit more difficult with the Wista, since only rise is geared, but it is manageable. For those still shooting film, high end scanners are available for less than $2,000, so if your clients allow you the time, and professional film processing is available in your area, film has never been so great an option. I still shoot a considerable amount of film, and since I own an iQSmart scanner, film is very cost-effective.

Kumar

[lowep]

Thanks for the positive input Kumar,

couple of questions:

Regarding workflow, do you remove the ground glass and replace it with your DB every time you take a photo, and if so do you face any problems with having the DB end up in the right place, which is more critical with digital than film, right, otherwise WTF are all those Alpa alpha guys talking about?

Regarding your LFDB work, do you have any images posted anywhere on the internet?

Regarding IQ, do you use expensive made-for-digital lenses or pre-digital regular "4x5" lenses?

Regarding focussing, is it much more difficult to examine and focus on the reduced-size area of a MFDB matchbox than a 4x5 image?

(yes I know that the best way to answer the last three of these questions is to test drive a system but they don't grow on trees where I am at the moment)
 

[Kumar]

I have a Kapture Group sliding back that is accurate.

A lot of the photos on my website in the architecture and interiors sections were done with a DB. The landscape and personal sections are entirely with a Betterlight scan back on a Cambo WDS/Sinar/Wista.

I have one 35mm Sinaron digital lens. The others are all Rodenstock/Fujinon pre-digital lenses.

It is a bit more difficult to focus, but I have not had any problems. Some cameras have lousy screens, and for those, a Maxwell screen would be an extremely good investment.

Kumar

[lowep]

I thought few of the architecture shots were gorgeous - until I looked at the betterlight images in your personal portfolio:-) Some of these don't LOOK like digital images. Even on a Macbook LCD the quality you aim for and care you take to get what you want is obvious. Disturbingly convincing 4x5 LFDB work.

[Kumar]

Thanks for the kind words, but I hope you meant "a few" rather than just "few"...Details, details

Kumar

[lowep]

"More than a few" (as you surely know yourself since nobody makes photos like you have done without knowing what they are doing ) and yes I agree with you details are very important. I am quite interested in this thread because for me it is an opportunity to reflect on my own transition from film to MFDB that as you can see from what I have written is still not complete even though several years have gone by and at the moment is taking an unexpected detour into video. I am not interested in swings and tilts and stuff like that but did enjoy very much the whole process of working with a 4x5 camera. Now I am asking myself what is it that I miss and cannot do with my present very fine rig that is a Sinar MFDB and a Contax 645. Technically the answer is not much but as you know there is more to photography than technical considerations. Such as greed! So have appreciated the food for thought.