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My new old Tachihara 4x5 wood field
Well, I parted with the Busch 'D'. While it had many things going for it
(simple rotating back, tilt/shift, sturdy) it was just too heavy to carry around. I don't do a lot of that, but when I do the weight is a challenge. This used one has chrome hardware. The brass would have been nicer, this will do and does look good. Got it from Vogan in Omaha via eBay. The Tachihara is certainly not the workhorse that the old Busch was. I'll always have to remember to be careful because it's wood, not metal. The advantage is a longer bellows and bigger throat for a wider variety of lenses. Right now I have a Fujinon W 125/5.6 and a Schneider Symmar 150/5.6, neither of which is a problem for either body. But the Busch would never tolerate much beyond 180mm. A 210mm lens really pushes it. So my Tachy new body wins in both bellows draw and lens availability. Lens boards are easy to build for it. A lot easier than for the Busch. I use hobby plywood. It's stiff and easy to paint. And readily available. Where does it lose out? I can't close it up with either lens still in place! That's really my only frustration with it. And while opening/closing procedure is a pain, it was expected. Just One Question: Is there a replacement bottm for it that would give me that extra 1/3" or so to allow a lens to be in place when collapsed? Collin |
#2
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My new old Tachihara 4x5 wood field
And while opening/closing
procedure is a pain, it was expected. Opening and closing the Tachihara is pretty simple, it uses the same basic system followed by many other manufacturers of wood field cameras including Deardorff and Ebony. I say it's simple, not to imply that there's something wrong with you if you think it's a pain but because your statement makes me wonder whether you're doing it correctly. Just open the back and put it in the vertical position, with the front stadnard laying flat in the base grasp the two knobs that control front rise and fall, use them to pull the front standard upright to its vertical position, use the same knobs to raise the front all the way up as far as it will go then drop it down into the center position, tighten the rise and fall knobs and the tilt knobs and you're ready to go (this is from memory since I no longer have a Tachihara, if I'm wrong someone will correct me I'm sure). It takes maybe 15 seconds maximum. If this is what you're doing already then my apologies for telling you something you already know. If that's the case it might just be a matter of getting used to the camera. I don't know of a way to lreduce the depth of the base board. Perhaps someone here who is more mechanically inclined than I am can tell you how to do it. FWIW, I've owned cameras that allowed some of my lenses to be left on the camera but I stopped doing that because it seemed like half the time I needed whichever lens wasn't already on the camera so I was just creating more work for myself. But I know many people do like to do that and if it's really important you might investigate smaller lenses. Since yours are both F5.6 I'd guess there are smaller versions in the same focal lengths but with slightly smaller maximum apertures that might fit if all you're lacking is a third of an inch. You can use normal lenses as long as 300mm if you're willing to give up a few feet of close focus and telephotos as long as 400mm. I tested a 65mm lens and it could be used though with limited if any movements. That's a pretty nice range of lenses to be able to use with one bellows. Congratulations on your purchase, the Tachihara is a very nice camera. I've owned several more expensive cameras since I owned mine but I don't take any better photographs with them than I did with the Tachihara. "Collin Brendemuehl" wrote in message om... Well, I parted with the Busch 'D'. While it had many things going for it (simple rotating back, tilt/shift, sturdy) it was just too heavy to carry around. I don't do a lot of that, but when I do the weight is a challenge. This used one has chrome hardware. The brass would have been nicer, this will do and does look good. Got it from Vogan in Omaha via eBay. The Tachihara is certainly not the workhorse that the old Busch was. I'll always have to remember to be careful because it's wood, not metal. The advantage is a longer bellows and bigger throat for a wider variety of lenses. Right now I have a Fujinon W 125/5.6 and a Schneider Symmar 150/5.6, neither of which is a problem for either body. But the Busch would never tolerate much beyond 180mm. A 210mm lens really pushes it. So my Tachy new body wins in both bellows draw and lens availability. Lens boards are easy to build for it. A lot easier than for the Busch. I use hobby plywood. It's stiff and easy to paint. And readily available. Where does it lose out? I can't close it up with either lens still in place! That's really my only frustration with it. And while opening/closing procedure is a pain, it was expected. Just One Question: Is there a replacement bottm for it that would give me that extra 1/3" or so to allow a lens to be in place when collapsed? Collin |
#3
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My new old Tachihara 4x5 wood field
"Collin Brendemuehl" wrote in message
om... Well, I parted with the Busch 'D'. While it had many things going for it (simple rotating back, tilt/shift, sturdy) it was just too heavy to carry around. I don't do a lot of that, but when I do the weight is a challenge. This used one has chrome hardware. The brass would have been nicer, this will do and does look good. Got it from Vogan in Omaha via eBay. The Tachihara is certainly not the workhorse that the old Busch was. I'll always have to remember to be careful because it's wood, not metal. The advantage is a longer bellows and bigger throat for a wider variety of lenses. Right now I have a Fujinon W 125/5.6 and a Schneider Symmar 150/5.6, neither of which is a problem for either body. But the Busch would never tolerate much beyond 180mm. A 210mm lens really pushes it. So my Tachy new body wins in both bellows draw and lens availability. Lens boards are easy to build for it. A lot easier than for the Busch. I use hobby plywood. It's stiff and easy to paint. And readily available. Where does it lose out? I can't close it up with either lens still in place! That's really my only frustration with it. And while opening/closing procedure is a pain, it was expected. Just One Question: Is there a replacement bottm for it that would give me that extra 1/3" or so to allow a lens to be in place when collapsed? Collin Collin, I don't know of any replacment bottom for the Tachihara. It would be nice to be able to fold it with larger lenses in place but the bottom also holds the metal tripod mount plate so I think a modification might not be trivial. Mine does fold with a 150mm 6.3 Geronar in place but a standard 150mm 5.6 ala Rodenstock Sironar N won't fit. BTW a simple mod you can do if you are adventurous is to clip the two little tabs at the bottom of the front standard that slide in the grooves of the front supports. Snipping them and the filing them smooth allows you to have axis tilt on the front. I did that about a year ago on mine and think it is one of the best things I've done. I also just built an extension back that provides an additional 4" of extension so using a 360mm lens should now be possible (as soon as I find one I can afford!) albeit with the loss of rear movements while the extension is mounted. Sherman http://www.dunnamphoto.com |
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