How to shoot wide open without shutter?

[dupont07]

Most of my lens are lens without shutter, normally when I shoot outdoor I shoot them with small aperture. I've tried to shoot wide open portrait with my B&L projector lens. I've used my hat to cover the lens, but it seems not fast enough.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6196/6129756760_bf3ccf4776_z.jpg

How can I shoot wide open without the shutter?

[johnielvis]

if the film is too fast for your hand, then you CAN'T....

SOLUTION--use slower film or use netural density filters so that you can use your hat/hand.

OR---shoot in the dark with a strobe as the shutter---cap off--pop flash (very toned down flash)---cap on.

aside from that, you NEED a shutter--no other way around it---or practice to make your hand faster.....

[dupont07]

Thank you Johnie, I used Foma Pan 100, it's the fastest film I can find.
I will try ND filter.

[Jim Michael]

Try making one of those guillotine shutters. Pretty simple mechanism and should help provide some consistency.

[jnantz]

you can also use your dark slides as a shutter
there was a thread here somewhere,
but i cant find it

[Richard Rankin]

ND and other filters are your friend. Find them, buy them, use them. The other alternative is to shoot indoors. I've done this for years in the evenings to get my times around 1/2 - 1 second and it works fine.

This, or its 4" sibling is the best thing ever:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/186726-REG/LEE_Filters_Gel_Snap_3x3_4x4_Filter.html

Richard

[jp]

I've got ND filters and two film speeds. Even some of the commercial shutters don't go fast enough to shoot wide open outdoors in bright weather.

A packard shutter would get you one speed and B or T.

For 4x5 use, I mostly use a speed graphic for it's focal plane shutter, and that gets me shutter speeds up to 1/1000. I think the fastest I've used so far is 1/680 or something like that.

I haven't owned one, but have used one; if the lenses aren't huge, a sinar shutter with a universal iris is quite handy.

[cdholden]

Let's not forget the Galli shutter:

http://www.apug.org/forums/forum44/22200-jim-galli-shutter-barrel-lenses-drum-roll-please.html

[cdholden]

ND and other filters are your friend. Find them, buy them, use them. The other alternative is to shoot indoors. I've done this for years in the evenings to get my times around 1/2 - 1 second and it works fine.

This, or its 4" sibling is the best thing ever:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/186726-REG/LEE_Filters_Gel_Snap_3x3_4x4_Filter.html

Richard

"Temporarily Out of Stock"
This has been the situation for quite some time now. I've been trying to get the filter holder for the glass filters, but those folks willing to sell them seem to want an appendage along with $$$.

[Richard Rankin]

Well, this is a great opportunity for a crafty LFer. The design of this thing is so simple that even *I* understand it which is beyond sad. I don't even understand why my car starts...

If someone can make a similar item for 3x3 and 4x4 filters, email me and maybe i'll loan you my Lee for reference.

Richard

[akfreak]

Here is the Galli Shutter in Action Must see it to believe, 1/250th of a second (http://www.youtube.com/user/eddiegunks1#p/u/28/ICLG3HCDlhk)!, ;) No shutter.

[dupont07]

you can also use your dark slides as a shutter
there was a thread here somewhere,
but i cant find it

I remember that I have read an article of Jim Gali (?) about using dark slides as a shutter. But I am afraid of light leak if doing like that.

[dupont07]

I do not understand in the #3 Step, move the dark slide in front of lens. Does it let lights leak into the film?


3) Move the "shutter" just in front of the lens so it doesn't touch.

[akfreak]

watch the video in the link above, you can see where he press the dark slide flat against the front of the lens while he put the dark slide back. No Light leaks or he would not be doing it like that

[Jimi]

If you use Fomapan 100, you could try downrating it and expose at iso 80 or 64 - that's what I have done in the past with a brass lenses that had no shutter.

[dupont07]

Thank you Jimi, I will try to shoot at 80.

[Lachlan 717]

Being fortunate enough to have a system with a Sinar shutter and an iris clamp, I've never needed to use a hat/cap/septum to expose.

However, it has always made me wonder how you use these without inducing vibration and/or shake. Is there a secret to avoiding these issues?

[rdenney]

You might try Efke 25, which will lengthen your shutter times by two stops (a factor of four) compared to the film you are using now. In bright sun, you'll still need something like 1/125 at f/5.6, which is still too fast. But then an 8x neutral density filter (3 stops) will provide an exposure of 1/15 at f/5.6. That's getting down into the possible range for a home-built shutter, or even for a Sinar Copal shutter (which has its fastest speed at 1/50).

Rick "thinking it will take a combination of steps" Denney

[dupont07]

I never try Efke 25 before. I will try to order from freestyle. Unfortunately, here the custom they open the box and count the sheets to see what they really are. :D

[dupont07]

Lachlan, I've got the answer from Jim Galli in the other thread. He said that "don't touch the lens".



However, it has always made me wonder how you use these without inducing vibration and/or shake. Is there a secret to avoiding these issues?

[Jay DeFehr]

If you use Fomapan 100, you could try downrating it and expose at iso 80 or 64 - that's what I have done in the past with a brass lenses that had no shutter.

Jimi, no offense, but this is pretty funny, given the context. Just what does it mean to assign an arbitrary exposure value when the shutter is improvised? Essentially, you're suggesting nothing more than he live with the overexposure, and pretend it's intentional. :D

[Jimi]

Jimi, no offense, but this is pretty funny /... / :D

Well, funny is as funny does, right?

I said nothing of the context in which I was giving this advice, sorry about that. I intentionally downrated the Foma film, to get longer exposure times, in order to be able to use a lens cap. I see now that the advice given was probably not a good one, as the OP wants to shoot wide open, which I did not.

Furthermore, as a bonus, I had better shadow detail. And I did expose it at EI 64, now that I think of it.

However, it's all arbitrary in the long run. :)

[Jay DeFehr]

Whatever works, Jimi. You made your exposures and you're happy with you're results; that's what matters.

[Michael E]

Of course you can overexpose intentionally and adjust development to make it work. Rating it down 1/3 or 2/3 of a stop just doesn't make much difference in bright sunlight. Buying slower film makes a lot more sense. Then you can add intentional overexposure, ND filters and the like.

Michael

[E. von Hoegh]

Here you go.:) ;) :D

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=80703

[gbogatko]

Kodak (and others) also have ND filter that will give you up to 8 stops more time. I've used their 7 stop ND when shooting with a Verito (wide open). Kodak's aren't cheap. I think I saw other vendors for less.