Tachihara 4x5 and 75/4.5

[Matus Kalisky]

Hi, I would like to ask the owners of 4x5 Tachihara about their experience with 75mm lenses. I got recetly a nice copy of Grandagon 75/4.5 N and have some troubles using it. Firstly - the bellows gets way too much compressed when using on a flat board making any rise/fall movements impossible.

To solve this I got first an 3rd party recessed lensboard which did not work (the shutter did not fit it).

Finaly I got a used original Linhof 11mm recessed off-center lensboard. It arrived with a broken plunger (why on earth is that thing plastic!!! - shame on Linhof). But the probelm is not solved. Thanks to cca 7mm off center hole placement one looses immediately 7mm of rise movement. The camera allows for cca 1,5cm rise before the bellows start to get crunched. For some to me unknown reaseon the bellows allow more fall than rise.

OK - I thought I will mount the lens on the camera up-side-down to gain 14 mm of possible rise - but - it does not work because of the outer diameter of the recession barrel does not fit in the front standard this way.

So here I am with 2 recessed lensboards but with no sollution. I even got to think of changing the camera, but I just like too much it's simplicity and lightness and a different (or even second) camera is hard to justify financially. I do like using the Grandagon, but it is like 5 - 10 % of the shots.

Any advice will be appreciated.

[SamReeves]

I think 75mm is cutting it too short with the standard bellows. I can get a 90mm to work with the Tachi, but it doesn't have a lot of movement. I suppose you could look for a second monorail to use your 75mm?

[BradS]

get a Sinar F2 with a bag bellows....:)

[Maris Rusis]

I use a 65 f4 Nikkor on my Tachihara 45GF and the bellows are tightly compressed. Tilts still work but shifts don't....BUT there is a work-around.

The Tachihara is designed for Linhof style lensboards but it will accept a plain flat 96mm square one in either 1.5mm or 2mm aluminium plate. I cut the mounting hole for the 65mm lens as far as usably possible off-centre in the "up" direction. Since a square lensboard can be attached four ways I have a choice of movements: rise, fall, left shift, right shift; everything but "straight ahead" which no one uses anyway, do they?

[Brian Ellis]

One possibility might be to not try to use rise. Instead, aim the camera up and tilt the front and back until they're parallel with the subject and with each other. I briefly used a 75mm lens with a flat lens board on my first Tachihara and seem to recall that tilt was no problem.

[Matus Kalisky]

Second monorail. Hm. Let me see - I have Tachi 4x5, Rolleiflex T and DSLR from Minolta. If I get another camera I could cancel my wedding I guess :D That's not the option right now. Replacing the Tachi - I would have to find either a "better" (in terms of lens range) filed camera or some very light monorail. It is true that here in North Germany are not too many hills to hike, but I am not settled here and I do not want to change the camera every 3 years. Hmmm.

Are there any light weight (well, probably more than 3 pounds, but not 10) monorails that are relatively compact and have at least 300mm extension (better 400)? And bellow $1000.

- Maris -

That is an interesting Idea - I will check that out. I managed to make one lensboards already, I can manage one more. And even on a flat lensboards I get some small fall movements so it could work.

- Brian -

But then I have to fight the tillted plane of focus with very small f/stop I guess.

[Brian Ellis]

- . . . Brian - But then I have to fight the tillted plane of focus with very small f/stop I guess.

If you bring the front and rear standards parallel with each other your plane of focus isn't tilted, it's the same plane of focus you have every time with your Rollei and Minolta cameras.

[Alan Davenport]

I have a Tachi (well actually it's a Calumet Wood Field XM, but that's another name for Tachihara.) My widest lens is a 90mm, and I can already feel your pain trying to get movements from a 75mm.

If I were in your position, I'd consider trading to a Shen-Hao and getting a bag bellows. Unfortunately, the lack of interchangeable bellows is the only deficiency I've found in the Tachi...

[kev curry]

Hi Matus.
I use a Fujinon SWD 75mm/5.6 on a cheap recessed lens board (Chinese) approx17mm deep on my Tachi. I dont know how the lens differs from your Grandagon in terms of size but its in the same Copal 0 shutter. It was a real squeeze mounting the lens and a little fiddly adjusting the pin that fires the shutter but I got there in the end. When I say adjusting the pin I mean I had to bend it somewhat with pliers and shorten it a little to make it freely engage the shutter. I only use the lens on rare occasions and mostly in the landscape but Ive yet to find it a problem regards movements. The bellows are a little compressed at infinity but not such that it becomes a hindrance. The 'biggest problem' I encounter with the lens is having to set the aperture and preview lever if thats the right term with a 'little plastic tool' because the shutter is to deeply recessed for the fingers to fit in. I hope you can resolve your problem without resorting to selling the lovely little tachi.

kev

Ps I've just went and had a look at the lens and recalled the night that I mounted it in the recessed board...no pun intended. When I was fiddling with the thing, I accidentally broke the little knurled knob off of the aperture lever, as it happened, serendipity was at work that night because I gained another 2 or 3mm of room to maneuver. I've still got the little knurled knob that I'm sure could be re-attached if need be at a latter date. Thought it best to mention this to you.

Good luck
kev

[ljb0904]

I used an Osaka (same thing as Tachi) with the 75/f4.5 Grandagon-N lens. I have a recessed lens board that works. There's not a lot of room for movement, but I think I could squeeze 10mm of rise out of the combo. I can't remember where I got the lensboard. It was either Adorama (search for recessed lensboard, they have an adorama version) or badger graphic (http://www.badgergraphic.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=1083)

I've never had a problem with the combination.

[Matus Kalisky]

- Brain -

I went and tried the method you mentioned. It bring me cca 15mm of rise. Still - 7mm of these are cancelled by the non-symmetrical design of the recessed lensboard. As I mentioned before - the lensboard can not be mounted upside-down. So I just got thinking that having a recessed lensbord where the mounting hole is drilled 7mm off-center but in the other direction (upwards) could be a reasonable solution as I would end-up with more than 2cm of rise. As the camera allows for more than 2 cm of fall-movement I would be able to get centered position of the lens.

Still all the above is somewhat cumbersome solution and I will keep thinking aboutdifferent/second camera that would allow to use the Grandagon with full movements on flat lensborad.