Wanderlust 4X5 Travelwide

[wojszyca]

Some shots from December, all on cheap Shanghai GP3 (HC-110 1+63); Some more on Flickr.
Ruda Śląska, Poland. by Wojtek Mszyca, on Flickr
Morning photo adventures. by Wojtek Mszyca, on Flickr
Ruda Śląska, Poland. by Wojtek Mszyca, on Flickr
Some more on Flickr.

[Chauncey Walden]

Here are some (bad) digital pics of 11x14 prints from Texas and New Mexico from a Travelwide with a 65mm Super Angulon. White Sands was taken just after sunset, the silos were taken on a totally overcast day, and the inside of the chapel of the Presidio la Bahia was 1 second handheld (I know, but just had to try it.)

[Chauncey Walden]

One more try:

[andrearicci]

Dear, all
I remember quite vividly the impression of sharpness I had of those demo pictures shot by the founders of wanderlust in that green garden
All the pictures I have seen here, so far, with the exception of one or two (yours wojszyca for example) look a tad soft - some really soft.
None has that LF tack sharp sort of look. I don't wish to be disrespectful and I apologise in advance if my comment hurts some members but I sincerely expected more. Is the lens factor ? Is the scanning factor ? More pictures are needed I guess, where else in the forum are they located ?

[Chauncey Walden]

Andre or Andrea, it's like this. All the lenses given to be used on these cameras are capable of producing tack sharp images. No LF camera used handheld as these cameras were intended to be used will produce images as sharp as those made from a tripod. The 90mm cameras stand a better chance of producing a sharper image since they can be focused at a distance that includes the primary subject whereas the 65mm cameras are prefocused at some arbitrary distance. In the case of mine, I tried to prefocus at a distance that would give me the best possible use of the hyperfocal range at f/22. This works out to something like 17 feet. Since I'm shooting at f/22 and still want to keep the shutter speed up to a reasonable point, I had to use 400 speed film. The film I had on hand was HP5+ so grain becomes a factor in image sharpness. So if I wanted to consistently produce a tack sharp image I would be using the 90 on a tripod and focusing on the (well a better one) ground glass. In that case, I might as well be using my Linhof which defeats the whole idea of the Travelwide. Now, we have a negative to work with. What you can see here from a small jpeg can be mightily influenced by how the negative is scanned and post processing, especially manipulating contrast and sharpening. You need to see the real thing in person not a little jpeg online to have a real clue.

[Tim Meisburger]

The typical Angulon lens is soft wide open, while hand-holding 4x5 requires some shutter speed. The tendency will be too open up (and not use filters) to gain shutter speed and that may result in some lack of sharpness. I guess moving forward the TW will find its métier in candid portraits and street scenes, well lit by the sun or a flash, much as one would expect from a Speed Graphic or similar press camera. I will use mine (if it ever arrives) like a speed graphic to shoot political campaigns and demonstrations, and for short business trips with a small tripod for landscape and architecture, using a ground glass for focus.

Well, while I was writing this Chauncey provided a better response from experience. I also forgot to mention zone focus.

[andrearicci]

Thanks for your reply. Very informative. The real issue here - I am aware that I am pushing the argument - Linhof vs Travelwide.
The questions is this I reckon: can we have today a real LF look without spending the 15k, 30k (you add the currency you know best) for a digital medium format ? Can we still use - sort of - "rapidly" any of the existing LF analogue solutions?
See this example : http://petapixel.com/2013/02/08/davi...2012-olympics/
[I note BTW and IMHO that the Sony A7RII is not a solution as it does not deliver that LF/MF look we all like so much]

Looking at these results - I would very much like to be checked by new, sharper images - I am still under the impression that a trained LF practitioner can still go around with a Shen Hao or a Linhof and take "very different pictures" even in true reportage context. The ratio between [LF] IQ and portability does not seem to be there

Maybe we need more images with the 90mm !

This is an open invitation to be contradicted
Warm regards and happy, healthy new year to all of you and your loved ones.
Andrea

Andre or Andrea, it's like this. All the lenses given to be used on these cameras are capable of producing tack sharp images. No LF camera used handheld as these cameras were intended to be used will produce images as sharp as those made from a tripod. The 90mm cameras stand a better chance of producing a sharper image since they can be focused at a distance that includes the primary subject whereas the 65mm cameras are prefocused at some arbitrary distance. In the case of mine, I tried to prefocus at a distance that would give me the best possible use of the hyperfocal range at f/22. This works out to something like 17 feet. Since I'm shooting at f/22 and still want to keep the shutter speed up to a reasonable point, I had to use 400 speed film. The film I had on hand was HP5+ so grain becomes a factor in image sharpness. So if I wanted to consistently produce a tack sharp image I would be using the 90 on a tripod and focusing on the (well a better one) ground glass. In that case, I might as well be using my Linhof which defeats the whole idea of the Travelwide. Now, we have a negative to work with. What you can see here from a small jpeg can be mightily influenced by how the negative is scanned and post processing, especially manipulating contrast and sharpening. You need to see the real thing in person not a little jpeg online to have a real clue.

[blue4130]

If you are wanting to get shots like David Burnett's from a travelwide, it just isn't going to happen. What you are seeing isn't necessarily LF signature, but more specifically Aero Ektar and judicial use of tilt/shift. Both things that are opposite the ethos of the travelwide (light and portable).

At least that is my take on it.

Thanks for your reply. Very informative. The real issue here - I am aware that I am pushing the argument - Linhof vs Travelwide.
The questions is this I reckon: can we have today a real LF look without spending the 15k, 30k (you add the currency you know best) for a digital medium format ? Can we still use - sort of - "rapidly" any of the existing LF analogue solutions?
See this example : http://petapixel.com/2013/02/08/davi...2012-olympics/
[I note BTW and IMHO that the Sony A7RII is not a solution as it does not deliver that LF/MF look we all like so much]

Looking at these results - I would very much like to be checked by new, sharper images - I am still under the impression that a trained LF practitioner can still go around with a Shen Hao or a Linhof and take "very different pictures" even in true reportage context. The ratio between [LF] IQ and portability does not seem to be there

Maybe we need more images with the 90mm !

This is an open invitation to be contradicted
Warm regards and happy, healthy new year to all of you and your loved ones.
Andrea

[wojszyca]

Hello!

[...] with the exception of one or two (yours wojszyca for example) look a tad soft - some really soft. [...] ?

I think I understand whay you mean. I am satisfied with the sharpness I get, later when I will be back home I will post a crop from a bigger scan. It took some effort for me to calibrate the sharpness to infinity in the first place, but after I got it right, I am satiffied. I DO NOT expect to get sharpness like from medium format Mamiya lenses or even modern LF lenses from this tiny old Angulon though.
I am sure scanning is the issue too - I just use a simple flatbed Epson, and I suppose that photos of artists and professionals published online are often drum scans, usually resized for the web to small size, so obviously look super sharp. Even film/developer matters - my Provia shots are way sharper compared to the cheap Shanghai GP3 scanned in the same way.

I am really curious to compare my results with the Fujinon 90mm that I have, waiting for another Kickstarter camera to arrive - the Intrepid Camera. That is more "normal" LF camera and the lens should be sharper as well.

[VTHokiEE]

There are some great shots in this thread, I'm really wishing I had backed the Kickstarter now. I might have to pick one up.