Luminous Landscape Forum

Equipment & Techniques => Medium Format / Film / Digital Backs – and Large Sensor Photography => Topic started by: amsp on April 04, 2008, 06:17:37 pm

Title: tilt/shift with 645 bellows?
Post by: amsp on April 04, 2008, 06:17:37 pm
I was just wondering if anybody is using a bellows for their 645 as a tilt/shift solution. Is it possible? What are the limitations compared to a view-camera? I mainly need a tilt solution for increased DoF when shooting still-life.

Cheers
Title: tilt/shift with 645 bellows?
Post by: Morgan_Moore on April 05, 2008, 03:54:16 am
Quote
I was just wondering if anybody is using a bellows for their 645 as a tilt/shift solution. Is it possible? What are the limitations compared to a view-camera? I mainly need a tilt solution for increased DoF when shooting still-life.

Cheers
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As soon as you put anything between the lense and the camera it is only going to focus at very macro distances

take a lense off your camera and see where you can focus if you give the bellows say 2cm space

If your products are small enough it could be fine

I think horseman made a VCC 'view camera converter' - take up is not good to my knowledge - the product you are probably thinking of

Could be useful in a studio environment I suppose or if you research your lenses well enoungh

S
Title: tilt/shift with 645 bellows?
Post by: amsp on April 05, 2008, 06:56:23 am
Quote
As soon as you put anything between the lense and the camera it is only going to focus at very macro distances

take a lense off your camera and see where you can focus if you give the bellows say 2cm space

If your products are small enough it could be fine

I think horseman made a VCC 'view camera converter' - take up is not good to my knowledge - the product you are probably thinking of

Could be useful in a studio environment I suppose or if you research your lenses well enoungh

S
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=187185\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Ah, I see. So how is large format different, is it the design of the lenses?
Title: tilt/shift with 645 bellows?
Post by: Pham Minh Son on April 05, 2008, 08:53:31 am
I have customized the PC auto bellows for both the Contax 645 and Mamiya 645 cameras to do just this type of works. The lens I mounted on can even focus beyond infinity with image circle that is as large as 4x5.

-Son
Title: tilt/shift with 645 bellows?
Post by: amsp on April 05, 2008, 09:52:43 am
Quote
I have customized the PC auto bellows for both the Contax 645 and Mamiya 645 cameras to do just this type of works. The lens I mounted on can even focus beyond infinity with image circle that is as large as 4x5.

-Son
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=187208\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Sounds interesting, could you please elaborate?
Title: tilt/shift with 645 bellows?
Post by: shutay on April 06, 2008, 10:58:01 am
Quote
Ah, I see. So how is large format different, is it the design of the lenses?
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In strict terms, not that much difference, but the main differences are:

* In SLR, the distance from lens mount to film/sensor plane is fixed by the depth of the body. The consequence of this is that all the lenses must be able to focus at infinity across this fixed gap. SLR lenses are designed to do this, and must be precisely matched to each SLR model, which is why you cannot easily mix lenses from different makes, even if the mount was the same.
* Large format lenses are designed differently, such that the lens to sensor distance of a 24mm lens is 24mm, and that distance for a 200mm lens is well... 200mm for infinity focus. So if you used an SLR body on something like the Horseman VCC, if you need infinity focus, you are limited only to lenses that have an inherent lens to sensor plane distance that is the same as or longer than the depth of the SLR body in question, as well as any additional gap that is introduced by the belows mechanism. So this is the reason why if you used lenses shorter than approx 90mm, you will not be able to achieve infinity focus in many of such arrangements. As always, "your mileage may vary" depending on the exact mix of SLR body, lens and bellows used.