"Digital" View Camera

[Walt Calahan]

If we all take one step forward, then a side step to the right, fellowed by a backstep, then do the fore mentioned backwards, we'd all be doing the"Fox Trot."

And now we dance.

These upstarts using this new "film" instead of traditional wet plate. HA!

In two hundred years will it at all matter?

Digital is here to stay. No one is forced to use it. It's getting better everyday.

I hope film is here to stay, and companies put the R&D into making it better. I sure do love shooting LF regardless of which focal length I envision.

Now where did I put my director's chair? I need to sit down after reading all this. Grin.

[John Brownlow]

Changing lenses is never like taking a step backward or a step forward. It's like changing lenses.

When you move backwards or forwards (or up or down or left or right) you change all the spatial relationships but not the field of view. When you change lenses you change the field of view but NOT the spatial relationships in the frame.

[Frank Petronio]

I understand, it's Photo 101. But in the real world I don't have a Panavision zoom lens for our view cameras. I only have a handful of wide, normal, and long view camera lenses if that. Or at least most of us do. And the only point I am making is that most of us can gather a pretty good idea of what a our lenses will accomplish spatially "in our head" and use the camera itself for final composition.

That's me, in the background, squatting down and stretching tall, using my free organic cranial viewfinder... And get this - it comes in stereo!

[John Brownlow]

I agree, Frank. I do the same thing. I look for the magic spot and then think about the lens. Which is quite often fixed so... no thinking required.

[Frank Petronio]

I hear you John. I'm a one lens guy myself. By the way, you have a great website that others should check out here.

[julian_4860]

>>By the way, you have a great website that others should check out here.

or for more recent stuff checkout JBs flickr account for5x4 and 6x17/6x12 pano

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinkheadedbug/

[neil poulsen]

What's a "Director's Viewfinder"?

[Walt Calahan]

Neil

go here to see a director's viewfinder:

http://store.yahoo.com/cinemasupplies/marvdirview.html

A director's viewfinder is an optical device that allows a film director to preview a scene before the cinematographer set up the camera with a particular lense.

[Kirk Keyes]

"What's a "Director's Viewfinder"?"

Looks like it does the same thing as a Linhof Multifocus Viewfinder.

[Paul Kierstead]

I spent some time with MR on a workshop (go ahead, laugh, but it was an awesome trip down the Grand Canyon and I have no regrets). He has reiterated many times his philosophy of shooting fast; he likes to set-up, shoot and move on. Actually, on that trip he was using an Arcbody. I think he really does love movements, but I give him no more then a few months with this set up before he runs out of patience with the set-up time. I have to say, it is an interesting rig; maybe if I sell my house ....

Or, maybe he will suddenly enjoy the radical slow-down. The constraints should reflect in the results; it will be interesting to see.