Metal Field Cameras - Technika and Wista ??'s

[Ed Richards]

I have a Technika and I am not sure understand the problem:

> i've got the camera set and pointed upwards slightly on the tripod.

Why do you have pointed slightly upwards? Are you trying to expand the front rise? Are you tilting the lens so that it is level as well?

[Scott Rosenberg]

hi paul... in situations when i can't employ enough front rise, i find myself tilting the camera. for instance, recently i was shooting a church. i only wanted to photograph the steeple, which was rather tall. to take the shot, i had to point the camera upwards, and then tilt my rear standard forward to keep the steeple from looking like it was falling down on me.

ed... most of the time i tilt the lens to control DOF, so it is not always parallel to my subject.

are you guys implying that you always shoot with the camera perfectly level?

i guess i need to sit down and carefully consider how i'm setting up my camera... possibly that is causing me some issues.

can anyone confirm the longest usable lenses on a Wista SP and Linhof MT2000? also, is there anyway to expand the range... aside from using top-hat boards?

[Paul Butzi]

i only wanted to photograph the steeple, which was rather tall. to take the shot, i had to point the camera upwards, and then tilt my rear standard forward to keep the steeple from looking like it was falling down on me.

Gotcha. Um, what do I do... I guess the levels on the TK45s are on the rear in a way where they are fixed relative to the film plane. Can't help you there.

are you guys implying that you always shoot with the camera perfectly level?

Oh, no way. But it's rare for me to need more front rise than the TK45s provides. Most of the time when the camera isn't level (that is, the rail is not level) the camera is pointed at the ground or something else where convergence is not an issue.

[Scott Rosenberg]

thanks for the clarification, paul. if there was a way to get a level on the rear (the part that actually tilts) of the technika, i'd have a much easier time shooting with it and would find it to be a great camera to take backpacking. i think the wista sp might be closer to what i'm looking for, but having no chance to see or touch one, i'm hesitant to buy one, especially when i can find precious little information on them.

[Oren Grad]

Scott, here's a page from the English section of the Wista website:

www.wista.co.jp/e_wista/e_show/e_camera/e_camera.htm

If you scroll down, you'll see a picture showing what the metal Wista cameras look like with the bed down. (The picture shows the SP, but it looks as though the RF and VX are the same.) Unlike the way the Technika works, on the Wista the back tilts as a unit. So any level on the rear standard would stay fixed relative to the film plane.

Also, the metal Wistas are specified as having a maximum 300mm extension. There are extension bed and extension bellows accessories available, although I suspect they would be a pain to lug around and use.

HP Marketing distributes both Linhof and Wista in the US now, so Bob Salomon may also be able to help with comparison questions.

[Scott Rosenberg]

oren... thanks for the link. there's a lot of great info on that site!

[David A. Goldfarb]

Scott--

I know exactly the situation you're describing, and the solution I proposed above works--you run out of front rise, so you need some indirect rise. You tilt the camera up and relevel the front and rear standards to plumb. An angle finder lets you set a level perpendicular to the groundglass or at any angle to the groundglass. You set the angle finder to 90-degrees, put the flat surface on the groundglass, and look at the bubble level, and when it's level, the groundglass is plumb. You can do the same for the front standard by putting the flat surface of the angle finder across the filter threads of the lens if the lens is small, or anywhere on the lensboard or shutter that you've got a flat surface parallel to the lens plane.





The Suunto Tandem can be used in the same way, against the groundglass or across the lens threads.

[Ed Richards]

> are you guys implying that you always shoot with the camera perfectly level?

Unless it is impossible, if you care about convergence, level the camera. Manfrotto and Gitzo both make a great leveling device you put between the tripod column and the head. It has a level and a flat bowl that gives you about 30 degress of freedom. Takes 10 seconds to level and you do not need to mess with the tripod legs. At that point, zero the head and you are level. Even if you then tilt the camera, you should start level, just to make sure you are only tilting the direction you intend. Then the angle finder is a great tool to sort things out.

You could probably get a camera machinist to mount a hotshoe on the back so that you could slide in a 2-way hotshoe level when you needed it, but since you should not need to do this much with the Master, I would go with the level finder.

[Wayne]

I dont know what the longest lens you can use on a Wista SP is, but the longest I use on mine is a 305 mm. I love my Wista, but have never tried a Technica. The Wista folds up with my 135 mm in place, so when it opens its ready to go. I can be pretty rough on equipment, and though my Wista is a little dinged up it functions like brand new.

[Brian Ellis]

"Why not use front rise?"

"If you care about convergence level the camera."

Sometimes the building is too tall, and/or the space within which to set up the camera is too constricted, to be able to keep the camera level (i.e. to rely solely on front rise).

A plain angle finder or the more elaborate gadget David describes is very intriguing. Where did you buy your gadget David or where can you buy a plain angle finder, Home Depot maybe?