Holding a Speed Graphic steady

[psychoanalyst]

Hello,

I had maybe a stupid/naive question.

I got in LF 2 months back and I have been playing around with a Speed Graphic.

My question is what is your technique for loading the film holder such that the camera position does not change?

I have a Pacemaker with a spring back and I find that the process of inserting the holder into the back inevitably leads to some camera shake and I am in a situation where I am not sure if the focus has shifted or not.

As you can imagine this is a class catch 22 situation because I will be stuck in an infinite loop trying to be absolutely sure that the subject is still in sharp focus.

I have compared my pictures, and as of now it is difficult for me tell if my "not so sharp" negatives are a result of focusing issues.

I would appreciate you sharing your techniques and general advice.

Many thanks.

Avi

[Jim Jones]

I find it too easy to rotate the camera while inserting the film holder, but if you lock the focus down after focusing, at least that shouldn't move. You can use the sports finder after framing and focusing, and again after inserting the film holder to see if the camera has moved. With a spring back I usually hold the camera steady while prying out the ground glass assembly. This makes inserting the film holder easier.

A careful analysis of unsharp images should show if the problem is a focus error or camera movement. A sturdy tripod is the large format photographer's best friend. If it is a focus error and you are using a rangefinder, it could be the rangefinder not accurately tracking focus. If you are focusing with the ground glass, it might be a problem with the position of the ground glass or with focusing technique. Occasionally film will buckle or sneak out of its grooves.

[Leigh]

Camera shake and focus shift are two different things. Shake refers to the image blur associate with movement while the shutter is open.

Focus shift will occur if the camera is moved forward/backward between the time it's focused and the time the exposure is made. The same error will occur if the subject moves.

Back when these were used for press photography, shooters tried to maximize depth of field by using the smallest possible aperture (largest f-number) for a given lighting situation. This minimizes the focus error problem, but can aggravate the camera shake problem.

Are you using a tripod? That's generally considered good practice for any LF work.

Does your camera have a rangefinder (side- or top-mounted)? If so, is it adjusted correctly for the lens in use?

- Leigh

[Michael Clark]

My speed graphic came with a 127mm lens, which has a pretty good depth of flied so I could use the scale on the bed to guess-ta-mate the distance with a large fstop or use the range finder and the wire sports finder. No need to use the ground glass to focus,its kind of fun too.
Mike

[Frank Petronio]

Does the ground glass image' focus match what the rangefinder tells you is in focus? The ground glass is most likely the accurate focus, rangefinders can go out of sync.

Then I'd compare your steady tripod shots to your handheld ones of the same static subject and see if it is handheld technique that is causing blurring.

[Michael Clark]

Frank, its not exacly the same as the ground glass, but if you are going to use it hand held like a 35mm camera with the 127mm lens it will get ya in the ball park.Hell put a hat on with a press pass and a flash gun and pretend your a reporter for the Daily Planet.

[Frank Petronio]

Micheal, I was speaking to the original question, not commenting your experiences (which jive with mine).

To the original question, I am wondering if his rangefinder might be wacky? (or worse, that the ground glass is mounted in the wrong position?) before seeing if he is shaking the camera as he is firing it.

Another thing contributing to shaking might be how you release the shutter - if the mechanism on the Speed is gummy it might be stiff, perhaps try it with a light touch or a cable release?

[Michael Clark]

Ok,now I get you .

[Leigh]

It's not unusual for both the rangefinder and the focus scale on the bed to be wrong due to the camera being set up originally for a lens different than the one currently mounted.

The ground glass focus is always correct unless the camera has been damaged.

- Leigh

[psychoanalyst]

folks...thanks a lot for your response.

I think I have done a pretty bad job of explaining my problem. I use all the normal precautions of holding the camera steady....tripod, cable release etc. I also almost always shoot with my Optar at f16 or lower (smaller apertures). In addition, my rangefiner sits in a small bag in my closet since I removed it from my graphic to reduce unnecessary bulk. So, I ONLY use the GG.

I was more interested in knowing your exact technique for loading the film holder AFTER you have achieved sharp visual focus. The issue I see is any camera movement due to the act of loading the holder will go undetected until after you have developed and scanned the negative (of course large movements can be caught using the wire frame finder). See the example below. This is clearly a result of camera movement due to film loading since all other parameters were kept constant and it is the exact same scene in both shots. My question is how do you avoid this issue? Avi