Proposal for handheld LF cameras

[ic-racer]

I have always been facinated with hand held photography. There are certain physical constraints imposed upon cameras that (ie certain laws of physics) that work against the photographer, when it comes to designing large format hand-held equipment.

Practically, we can think of common B&W film being ISO 200 in general use (TMY, HP5 etc) and this is somewhat of a fixed number. There are some ISO 800 or 1000 films, but they are limited in availability in large format sizes. They are also more susceptibile to fog, etc.

The sun's intensity is relatively fixed, also. So, with a fixed intensity light source and a fixed film sensitivity, we can imagine 'bright daylight' hand held photography with shutter speed/f-stop combos like these:
1/2000 f5.6
1/1000 f8
1/500 f11
1/250 f16
1/125 f22
1/60 f32

This is 'bright sun' so, when the clouds come, things will only get worse.

Now we can look at these combinations as they apply to various film formats (assuming 'normal' lens):

Minox: Won't work, diffraction will be too great at these f-numbers, but we can go to a SLOWER film and be OK
16mm Spy/Still Cameras: Still too much diffraction for most cameras (1/500 speed max) but can go to SLOWER film
35mm: f11 to f8 will give excellent hand-holdability. f16 will have too much diffraction (for me) and f5.6 will allow too much abarasion at the corners.
6x6mm f11 at 1/500 and f16 at 1/250 are doable. For SLRs with floppy mirrors 1/500 just cuts it. My 2.8F TLR's shutter release really 'gives' and jerks a little, therefore requiring 1/500th.

6x9: 1/250 f16 and 1/124 f22 are pushing the limits of hand-holdability with 'normal' lens. Larger apertures can be used for 'special effects' like blurry edges and shallow DOF. But for standard 'pictoral' photography, these small apertures are needed.

4x5: Now we are getting into the problem area. 1/125 at f22 is really pushing the envelope. You can try 1/250 at the risk of some underexposure in the shadows. Or f11 at the risk of fuzzy corners. May be OK for portriats, but I suspect a lot of skill needed to reproduce 'tripod' results. Cutting the 'normal' focal length in half will cut the streaks from camera shake in half (like a faster shutter speed). So a 80 or 90 mm lens may be OK at 1/124. A 45mm at f22 1/125 will be like 1/500th in terms of camera shake. So, hand held 4x5s with WA lenses seem the way to go.

Therefore, certain Linhof Technicas and Littmans that don't take WA lenses seem to have limited hand hand-held use under the above described conditions.

5x7: 1/60 at f32. High risk for camera shake without going to WA lens at least 1/2 normal focal length.

8x10 1/30 at f64. Very high risk for camera shake unless the camera is very heavy or stabilized some way or super WA lens.

So, in summary, one can design any format of hand-held camera, however, will one be able to actually take a usable hand held picture?

[David A. Goldfarb]

Eh...I like Ole's response--"What's wrong with a Technika?" Sure there's a substantial difference between the 8 pound camera and a 4 pound camera, but if you use the 8 pound camera often enough, you get used to it. I have a somewhat weakened left wrist from a fracture a few years ago, but I still manage with it. Maybe it's from years of playing the trombone, which is supported with the left hand, in a similar position to the shooting position with the ergonomic grip on a Technika. A trombone is lighter than a Technika, but you can use both hands to support the Technika, and on a trombone the right hand has to be free to move the slide (unless you play left-handed, like Slide Hampton, in which case it's the other way around).

So that's my solution. You don't need a lighter camera. You need a trombone.

[Kuzano]

How about this:

http://www.bigcamera.com/articles/images/104.jpg

At www.bigcamera.com. 75MM Mamiya Sekor... Mamiya helicoid, covers 4X5

[Ole Tjugen]

...
5x7: 1/60 at f32. High risk for camera shake without going to WA lens at least 1/2 normal focal length.

8x10 1/30 at f64. Very high risk for camera shake unless the camera is very heavy or stabilized some way or super WA lens.

So, in summary, one can design any format of hand-held camera, however, will one be able to actually take a usable hand held picture?

You are making some assumptions here that are not necessarily true:

Why do you assume that 5x7" would be used at 1/60s f:32, and 8x10" at 1/30s f:64 ?

"Fuzzy corners" will only be a problem with lenses with tight coverage, meaning (mostly) wideangle lenses. A 210mm Xenar at f:16, 1/200s has sufficient sharpness over the whole 5x7" to be eminently useable. I have used a 300mm Xenar hand held at 1/50s and got sharp pictures - certainly sharp enough for contact prints, maybe a little too shaky for more than moderate enlargements. In that case the sheer weight of the 7kg camera and 1kg lens helped stabilise everything, and 1/50s was the fastest shutter time on the Compound 5 shutter.

LF cameras (well - most of them, at least) have no mirror slap to shake the camera, and the shutters (ditto) work radially. Both these factors contribute to making it possible to use longer shutter times with LF than the equivalent 35mm "rule of thumb". Add a little more weight ant it gets even more stable!

There was a ship photographer back in the dry-plate days who added an extra 7 kg (?) of weight to his camera to be able to shoot hand held from a small boat. I can't remember his name, but I do remember that he got very useable pictures!

[bartf]

In a perfect world I'd like either a modern 110B/900 that can fold with a 135mm f3.5 Xenotar OR a Technika with a Koni Omega style or Mamiya Universal style rangefinder.

But my modded 900 and Super Graphics are keeping me happy. Now just need to scrounge up enough for a Technika and cam..

[John Hoang]

I don't know if it is practical and/or cost effective to produce lens cones that can accept technika boards? This way, ones can use lenses interchangeably between many view cameras and point and shhot Fotoman's, for instance.

[ronald lamarsh]

Frankly I have setup my Tech III for just this purpose when I go on a long road trip to my favorite wheat fields. I have a 150mm Xenar scale focused at about 10 to 15 feet and close the lens to f22 and use my sports finder for the pull-over-and-shoot moments. I works quite well and the whole setup is about 4lbs a grafmatic helps also.

[Asher Kelman]

Frankly I have setup my Tech III for just this purpose when I go on a long road trip to my favorite wheat fields. I have a 150mm Xenar scale focused at about 10 to 15 feet and close the lens to f22 and use my sports finder for the pull-over-and-shoot moments. I works quite well and the whole setup is about 4lbs a grafmatic helps also.

Ronald,

Any pictures to be posted

Asher