linhof technika 6x9

[yang]

i recently bought a linhof technika 6x9 kit with 3 lenses (53mm, 100mm, 180mm).

but when I mount the wide angle lense onto the body, I found out that if I try to do any correction at the back (with 4 knots), it is impossible to put an image into focuse.

anyone out there can solve this mystery for me???

thanks very very very much.

a puzzled beginner for linhof in amsterdam.

[David A. Goldfarb]

It's not really a mystery. The wide lens has a very short focal length, and if you extend the back in order to use the rear movements, it's the same as moving the lens forward, so you won't be able to focus with rear movements unless the subject is very close. This is just a physical limitation of the combination of camera and lens, unless you have some room to move the lens back a little more when you use rear movements (which I suspect you don't).

[yang]

thanks david...

this news is rather a shocking one for me...becasue I bought the camera for the following purpose: to take pictue for interior design; to fullfill this purpose I need very often a wide angle lense and the perspective correction.

Which means the camera I bought will not do a good job for me? does it?

Then do you by any chance know a good prtable camera (whcih I can put all the kit--body and lenses--into a backpack) with the perspertive correction function???

yours

yang

[David A. Goldfarb]

There are cameras designed for wideangle use like the Cambo Wide DS, Silvestri, Ebony wide versions, and many monorails that handle this task with a bag bellows, but many of the dedicated wide cameras don't really have swing or tilt--only rise/fall and shift.

Do you have room to use front rise or shift on your camera with this lens (I have a Tech V 4x5", so I'm not sure what the limits are on the 6x9 Technikas)? I suspect that if you can get rise or shift with your Technika, you will probably need to rack the focus forward, make adjustments, and refocus, because there isn't a lot of room for your fingers when the lens is that far back (and I don't have particularly large fingers). If you can, this may be all you really need for interiors. Most interiors have perpendicular surfaces, so you can't use swing or tilt anyway to control the plane of focus (which changes even when you apply rear swing/tilt to adjust the shape of objects in the frame), so the lack of rear movements on the Technika isn't really a disadvantage.

A common situation in interior photography where you might need rise or fall is in photographing a room with a high ceiling where for some practical reason you can't use a ladder to get a better vantage point or where you are photographing a large room from a mezzanine and need to adjust the composition.

A common situation where you would need shift would be when you want to be able to look straight down a corridor, but you don't want the corridor in the center of the frame, so you position the camera such that the lens looking down the corridor, but shift left or right to incorporate the adjacent space.

[yang]

dear daivd:

thanks for the help!.

I am an awful beginner, so I don't even know what is "swing or tilt" and "rise/fall and shift."

(I know I am terribly short of any knowledge on view camera, sorry about it.)

What I desperately want to do is this: when I tilt my camera lense looking upward or downward, I want the straight lines in the room looking straight.

Is it possible to achieve this with my technika (at the back it has 4 knots for me to adjust, in the front there is a 15 degree falling back and a knot that I can use to make the lense go up--but it's virtually impossible to use when I put a 53 mm lense on).??

If yes, how could I do that??

your student

yang

[Ernest Purdum]

For vertical lines to be straight, the film must be straight up and down. A gridded groundglass or a little level helps to get it right. Try to keep the camera level and use the adjustment that moves the lens up and down to get the view that you want. (This is rise and fall.) If that isn't enough, tilt the camera as little as possible and use the adjustments at the back to get the film back to straight up and down. (This is tilt.)



A 53mm lens is quite short, even on a 6X9. It is common to run into camera limitations when using one.



There are several books that could help you understand movements. Some are:

"View Camera Technique" by Stroebel. (This is very thorough but some complain that it is harder to use than the others.)



"A User's Guide to the View Camera" by Stone.



"The View Camera" by Shaman.



"Using the View Camera" by Simmons (a frequent contributor to this forum.)

[Ernest Purdum]

Apparently one must have a name starting with "S" if intending to write a book about view cameras.

[neil poulsen]

There are a few 6x9 view cameras out there, but they're all expensive.

What else do you want to do with this camera? Does it include landscape? Do you need a camera that's portable, or is this the only application for which you need a 6x9 view camera?

Versus a 6x9 camera, a more reasonably priced option is a 4x5 camera using a 6x9 back that fits onto the 4x5 camera.

[yang]

hey Neil:

thanks for the concerns.

I need a portable camera for mainly interior design photography. That's why I thought Linhof technika 6x9is a good option. But when I get the camera I realise there are some physical limitations...like the uncomfort of using a 53 mm wide angle lense, and the opacity of the ground class (really hard to see--compose and focuse an image).

Do you have any further suggestions? Or do you know how to better use this linhof camera (I am a total green hand to both view camera and my linhof technika baby)...

thanks

[Mark Windom]

Take a look at the Arca-Swiss 69. Even though the widest lens I use on mine is a 65, a 55 would be just fine with this camera giving you some movements to aid in perspective control. You might want to call Jeff at Badger Graphic to ask him more specifics re: this camera's wide angle capabilities.