On 4X5 wooden field camera what function would you like to have?

front rise/fall,
rear rise,
front base tilt, center tilt
rear base tilt, axis tilt
front / rear shift (Is front shift really necessary?)
front swing,
rear swing
rear focusing
How about front geared rise?
I think if there is axis rear tilt which you can move the axis anywhere in the frame, that might be helpful at least for beginers.

Yes, all of the above, and weighing in at around 2 pounds. ;)

For me, front and rear base tilts and swings, along with front rise, are sufficient for a folding field camera. Shift is nice (both front and rear), but is more of a studio function, as are geared movements, IMHO.

Swing and tilt on the front and rear are basic requirements. All other movements can be created with these movements. Additional movements are nice but not a requirement.

Shift ability, either with direct shift or by using front and rear swings. can be very useful in the field, especially if you are photographing buildings.

steve simmons
www.viewcamera.com

front rise/fall,
front center tilt
rear base tilt
front swing,
rear swing

As a landscape photographer, this is what I would like as a minimum.

front shift would be an "extra" that would be nice having, but can live without.

Vaughn

A 5fps motor drive?

Seriously, though. I use front shift enough that I would like that. As Steve pointed out, you can fake that with front and rear swing. But a shift is so much easier.

A metal body would be nice.

Start with a monorail design, which lets you do all movements, with gears. Let it have lots of extension, and let it also be used with very short lenses. Let everything be interchangeable.

Now, make it possible to set up the camera, and knock it down, in only a few seconds. Let all the parts stay together. Let the camera be very light, and let it be very small when it is folded up.

In other words, if you can make an Arca Swiss camera that offers extreme bellows extension, all geared movements, folds down very small, and sets up in immediately - and which is much lighter - then I will be very interested.

Oh - I didn't see DannL's reference to the Burk and James Commercial View. If that camera accepted additional rails, and was light as a feather, and had geared movements, that would be darned close.

What is the difference between front shift and rear shift? front shift left 5mm should yield the identical result as rear shift right 5mm. Unlike front base tilt forward 10 degree will not have the same effect as rear base tilt backwards 10 degree.

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Originally Posted by Michael Graves

A 5fps motor drive?

Seriously, though. I use front shift enough that I would like that. As Steve pointed out, you can fake that with front and rear swing. But a shift is so much easier.

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Front and rear shift movements are identical in results, so it is a matter of convenience to have both. If the range of movement is small, you might occasionally run into a situation where you would use both.

Front shift is probably easier to implement and adds less weight on a folding field camera.

The rear standard is heavier and larger than the front standard, so the shift mechanism also has to be larger and heavier to facilitate rear shift without making the camera back unstable. Rear shift also makes the whole package larger, while you can add front shift and still fit the front standard inside a smaller camera body.

Now working against this principle, I generally prefer rear focus to front focus, particularly for close-up and macro work.

So if there is an interest in keeping the camera compact and light, I'd say full movements on the front and maybe rear tilt and swing, which would also let you get some indirect rise/fall/shift when you need more than the front standard allows.

Asymmetric rear tilts and swings? Yeah I like that, if the camera has scales on the front and rear standards so you can transfer the movements from back to front like a Sinar. Floating asymmetric rear tilts and swings? Yeah even better, if it doesn't make the camera too heavy and bulky.