How Many Hands does it take...

So you're under this focusing hood that
covers the upper half of your body.

You need one hand to hold a loupe up to
the ground glass, right?

And the other may need to go to either side
of the camera to adjust and then lock down
the controls, right?

So how do you manage that? What's the trick?


rafe b.
http://www.terrapinphoto.com

And the other may need to go to either side
of the camera to adjust and then lock down
the controls, right?
So how do you manage that? What's the trick?

Surely you've seen depictions of various multi-armed Hindu diety? Those folks
go back to the real early days of large format imaging.
The extra arms let you simultaneously swing, tilt, focus, and compose. Plus
the extra arms really speed up the loading of film holders.

...pt ;-)

-------------------------------
Business/Communications start at http://www.PhilipTobias.com.
Grow your business using my technical and marketing communications -
Effective writing, graphic design, multimedia, photos, and Web sites.

I find it helps to get a loupe that you can
either wear around your neck on a chain or
put in your shirt pocket temporarily.

I also consider focus in two stages.
rough focus and later- critical focus.
Rough focus doesn't need a loupe.

Also don't get in too big a hurry.

Raphael Bustin wrote:

So you're under this focusing hood that
covers the upper half of your body.

You need one hand to hold a loupe up to
the ground glass, right?

And the other may need to go to either side
of the camera to adjust and then lock down
the controls, right?

So how do you manage that? What's the trick?


rafe b.
http://www.terrapinphoto.com

Left hand holds loupe while right hand does the final
fine adjustments to focus. Then I pinch the focusing
knob between right thumb and forefinger, so that I
can feel the camera bed with the fingertips, drop the
loupe (yes, it's on a cord around my neck) and use
my left hand to lock the focus. Movements are
already locked, of course. After locking the focus,
I grab the loupe and double check the focus.



Raphael Bustin apparently said:



So you're under this focusing hood that
covers the upper half of your body.

You need one hand to hold a loupe up to
the ground glass, right?

And the other may need to go to either side
of the camera to adjust and then lock down
the controls, right?

So how do you manage that? What's the trick?


rafe b.
http://www.terrapinphoto.com

Raphael Bustin wrote:

So you're under this focusing hood that covers the upper half of your
body.

You need one hand to hold a loupe up to the ground glass, right?

Not at first: first you just focus by eyeball.

And the other may need to go to either side of the camera to adjust
and then lock down the controls, right?

I guess it depends on the camera. With a Wisner TF, each lock is on the
opposite side of the camera from the control.

The focusing knobs are on the right side (viewed from the back).
The rear axis tilt is on the left. So you can diddle the tilt with one
hand and the focus with the other.
The base tilts you can do with either hand.
Similarly the rise and fall and shifts.

So how do you manage that? What's the trick?

First, place the camera where it must be for the perspective you want.
Second: select the lens focal length to be the longest you can get that
includes the subject you want to photograph.
Third: focus by calibrated eyeball. This should be pretty close to what
you will ultimately need.
Fourth: diddle the adjustments to fine-tune the image: plane of focus, etc.
Fifth: decide on aperture for the depth of field you want.
Sixth: focus with loupe: probably do not even need dark cloth for that
if the base of your focuser is black, except on bright days.
Seventh: meter scene and calculate required exposure time for film and
luminance you have taking into consideration the aperture you have selected.
Eighth: close shutter and set aperture. Check shutter speed. Cock
shutter. Insert film. Remove dark slide.
Nineth: expose film. Replace dark slide with black side out.

rafe b. http://www.terrapinphoto.com



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Raphael Bustin wrote:

So you're under this focusing hood that
covers the upper half of your body.

You need one hand to hold a loupe up to
the ground glass, right?

And the other may need to go to either side
of the camera to adjust and then lock down
the controls, right?

So how do you manage that? What's the trick?

As several people have pointed out, you can get the focus pretty close
without a loupe, at least if you can get your eye close enough to the
gg. For people past a certain age, that may be difficult. Bifocals
are usually designed so the closest reading distance is about 15 inches,
which is too far. I had some glasses made with +5 diopter correction
for close viewing. That gets me within 7 inches of the gg. I wish I
had insisted on +6 diopters. (Most people will have trouble with
convergence with that strong a lens, but one eye doctor told me that a
myope like me could probably handle it.)

Also, I use the focus spread method to focus---as described at
www.largeformatphotography.info. As a result, often I can skip having
to fine focus with a loupe.



rafe b.
http://www.terrapinphoto.com

On 2/3/2004 5:41 PM Raphael Bustin spake thus:


So you're under this focusing hood that
covers the upper half of your body.

You need one hand to hold a loupe up to
the ground glass, right?

Suggestion: I recently took my watch in to be fixed, and watched the repair
guy as he worked. He wore a loupe on a simple metal spring band around his
head. Seemed to work very well, and he could flip the loupe into place or out
of the way very easily. I've got to get me one of those.


--
It's fun to demonize the neo-cons and rejoice in their discomfiture, but
don't make the mistake of thinking US foreign policy was set by Norman
Podhoretz or William Kristol. They're the clowns capering about in front of
the donkey and the elephant. The donkey says the UN should clean up after
them, and the elephant now says the donkey may have a point. Somebody has
come out with a dustpan and broom.

- Alexander Cockburn, _CounterPunch_
(http://www.counterpunch.org), 9/17/03

You need one hand to hold a loupe up to
the ground glass, right?

And the other may need to go to either side
of the camera to adjust and then lock down
the controls, right?

So how do you manage that? What's the trick?

Use a camera with one handed focussing located at the rear centre right
under the GG - Phillips Compact II - very convenient

Raphael Bustin wrote in message . ..
So you're under this focusing hood that
covers the upper half of your body.

You need one hand to hold a loupe up to
the ground glass, right?

And the other may need to go to either side
of the camera to adjust and then lock down
the controls, right?

So how do you manage that? What's the trick?


I don't use the lock down lever, should I? It seems to
me that the rack and pinion gear of the focusing knob is quite
steady, and that locking it down is unecessary.

What i find annoying is the fact that i must hold my
breath if i don't wanna fog everything up!


Slick

On 2/4/2004 10:33 PM Dr. Slick spake thus:

Raphael Bustin wrote in message
. ..

So you're under this focusing hood that
covers the upper half of your body.

You need one hand to hold a loupe up to
the ground glass, right?

And the other may need to go to either side
of the camera to adjust and then lock down
the controls, right?

So how do you manage that? What's the trick?

I don't use the lock down lever, should I? It seems to
me that the rack and pinion gear of the focusing knob is quite
steady, and that locking it down is unecessary.

On the Crown Graphic, you ought to use the lock-down lever; otherwise, it's
possible to move the front standard if you adjust the shutter speed or
aperture, or even cock the shutter. Practice paranoid photography.

What i find annoying is the fact that i must hold my
breath if i don't wanna fog everything up!

When I'm using my Canon A-1 to set up macro shots, the bottom of the back of
the camera actually gets *wet*. I have to mop it off.


--
It's fun to demonize the neo-cons and rejoice in their discomfiture, but
don't make the mistake of thinking US foreign policy was set by Norman
Podhoretz or William Kristol. They're the clowns capering about in front of
the donkey and the elephant. The donkey says the UN should clean up after
them, and the elephant now says the donkey may have a point. Somebody has
come out with a dustpan and broom.

- Alexander Cockburn, _CounterPunch_
(http://www.counterpunch.org), 9/17/03