Is there a simple and easy way to shoot vertical compositions with a budget wood field camera (Tachihara, Shen Hao)? Today I was dry-shooting in the field with a borrowed Linhof 4x5 monorail, and was surprised at how many compositions called for vertical format (I very rarely use it in 35mm landscape shooting). I am aware that more advanced field cameras have rotating backs - how about the cheapies?
The Tachihara has a rotateable back. I do not know about the Shen Hao. Most wood field cameras from modern vintage also offer this feature.
Marko- Most field cameras have backs which can be removed, rotated and replaced. No real need for a rotator like studiio cameras. My first view camera was as low-priced as they come, and that's how it worked.
The ShenHao back doesn't rotate but is very easy to snap off and reattach in a vertical orientation.
Guy
Quoting another user....
The ShenHao back doesn't rotate but is very easy to snap off and reattach in a vertical orientation. "
You have not lived until you try to take a camera that has T+S, and rotate it 90 degrees so that it has S+T. To say the least, it is confusing and t he operational controls are are all "wrong".
Now if you want some real pain, the this with a TLR camera and WLF. Now there is some serious non-ergonomics!
Frank,
The idea is to decide before you do anything else whether to use portrait or landscape format. You can do this with a simple cardboard viewing frame before you even set up your camera. I seldom change my mind about that after setting up the camera and viewing the image on the gg.
Frank, how does the orientation of the film format affect the camera controls? Are you suggesting rotating the entire camera?
Marko, there are basically three options for format orientation: a rotating back in which as the name suggests, the back rotates between orientations without being removed from the camera. A reversible back, in which the back is removed, reoriented and replaced, and finally a non reversible, or fixed back in which it is necessary to rotate the entire camera to change orientation. It is only in this last case that the camera controls are affected. I hope this helps.
You are working with 4x5. If you can't reorient the back then how hard is it to just frame the scene so that everything you want is included regardless of the orientation of the back? Even if you are contact printing, you can always overframe and then mask off what you don't want to include. But most field and most monorai; style cameras have rotatable backs and the ones that don't, you can overframe and print.
Marko,
I think by now you have the answer to the specific cameras you asked about. In general, every "budget wood field camera" I can think of (Shen Hao, Tachihara, Anba, Iston, Mark Image, Badger Brand, etc.) made in the last few decades has a re-positionable back that can be oriented either vertically or horizontally.
A couple of the ultralight monorails (Toho and Gowland) require removing the entire top half of the camera (back, bellows and front frame) and rotating 90 degrees when switching from horizontal to vertical. But even this is easily accomplished in the field. In the case of the Toho, it's involves two large knobs and takes less than 30 seconds.
Off the top of my head, the only non-banquet large format cameras I can think of that have horizontal-only backs are the 8x10 Phillips Explorer (not exactly budget priced), the Crown and Speed Graphics (while the bodies are made from leather covered mahogany, most people don't really consider them wooden field cameras - press camera is more accurate), and some older Horseman 2x3 and 4x5 metal drop bed technical cameras (970, 980, 985 and HF).
And yes, the 4x5 format does lend itself well to vertical compositions. In 4x5, I'd say my compositions are pretty evenly split between vertical and horizontal. When shooting "longer" formats (6x12 and 4x10), the distribution is much more heavily weighted towards horizontal compositions - which is why the cameras I primarily use for these formats have fixcd horizontal backs.
Kerry
Kerry Thalmann said...
"Off the top of my head, the only non-banquet large format cameras I can think of that have horizontal-only backs are the 8x10 Phillips Explorer (not exactly budget priced), the Crown and Speed Graphics (while the bodies are made from leather covered mahogany, most people don't really consider them wooden field cameras - press camera is more accurate)"
My Crown Graphic does not have a rotating back, but it DOES allow vertical format shooting with a second thread for mounting the entire camera in that orientation. This poses some tricky problems if I need much movement, but I can do vertical. I would assume that most of the Graphics have this feature. Just FYI...
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