Convenience in the Field

[Jim Bancroft]

Hi Kerry-

I use a variety of cameras in the field but always prefer to have my Arca Swiss F metric on my tripod when it's time to take a picture. I like to carry my camera with a lens mounted and ready to use quickly and have come up with a simple way to keep the Arca from flopping around on the rail:

I bought an extra compendium hood clamp which I mount on the rear frame.

When in transport I run the rod that holds the hood through the standard clamp and into the rear clamp and tighten both down. This ensures the camera is always in the zero state since the clamps will only line up when both standards are aligned.

This configuration is very rigid and I can pull the camera out of bag by the rod as if it was a handle. The hood also adds protection for the lens. I just loosen the rear clamp and free the rear standard and it's ready

Of coarse this will not work with any version of the camera not using identical front and rear frames.

jim

[Kirk Keyes]

I have to say the greatest single time saver for me is a Linhof Multifocus Finder - I got one with my Tech IV about 15 years ago. I find I can walk around and preview my composition many times faster than looking through the ground glass. And it's certainly better than looking directly with my eyes - I can see where the edges of the frame will fall without guessing. A cardboard viewer was mentioned above, but I find the ability to set the focus with the Linhof finder to be much quicker and more precise. No fussing with a string to guesstimate your focal length and you can use it with only one hand.

Also, Readyload/Quickload solution - saves time preparing for the shoot, prevents dust, helps back, and cuts down on time wasted spotting prints, which I find really hard to do in color.

Kirk

www.keyesphoto.com

[Steve Baggett]

Compensation for bellows extension. Stanley makes a small 3-ft (1-m) tape measure slightly smaller than a matchbox. Work out the exposure compensation for each lens (focal length) you have. (I wrote a small Perl program for this.) You then mark the back side (non-ruled side) of the tape measure using different colored permanent "sharpies". You can easily put the markings for 2 lenses on each tape measure (I keep 3 chained to each other in my back). They take up almost no room and are labeled, e.g. one for my 75 and 90, one for my 135 and 180, etc. Use one edge of the back side for one lens and the other edge for the other lens. Use blue for one focal length and red for the other, etc. and mark this at the start of the tape. Use a simple marking scheme in 1/3 stops like this: a vertical line is 1/3 stop and a circle is a whole stop. Your markings along the edge will run like | || o o| o|| oo, etc, for 1/3, 2/3, 1, 1 1/3, 1 2/3, 2, etc. Then when you are setting the aperture/shutter speed, pull out the appropriate tape measure and "measure" the lensboard to film distance using the back side of the tape and note the nearest 1/3 stop compensation to add to your measured value. Takes 3 seconds establish accurate bellows compensation.

[Jim Rice]

That is a really cool idea, Steve.

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

A lot more excellent tips. Keep 'em coming.

Jim,

As a fellow ARCA user, I appreciate your tip on the second compendium clamp on the rear frame. I may give that one a try.

Heres' another tripod related tip. I know several folks use the Gnass Gear Filmholder and Rapid Load File pouches to keep their film holders and Ready/Quickloads close at hand and up off the ground. For the past several years, I've been using a very simple tripod apron (for lack of a better term) for the same purpose. I bought this apron off eBay from a guy who was making and selling them there. Turned out he was local. So, I went over to his house and picked one up. I can't remember his name off the top of my head, and I don't know if he's still making and selling the tripod aprons. I'll see if I can look him up and find out if he's still in business.

In any case, the tripod apron I bought from him is still working great and I've come to rely on it as convenient place to temporarily store my Quick/Readyload holders and packets, as well as lenses, filters, etc. to keep them close at hand and up off the wet/dusty/muddy/sandy/snowy ground. The apron is simple, but well designed and well made. It is made from a black synthetic fabric that has stood up well to the elements. It has wide velcro straps attached securely at the corners and elastic around the top. I leave it attached when I fold up the tripod. So, it's always there when I need it. I don't remember the exact price I paid, but it was somewhere around $20. I've seen a similar apron made by Bogen, but it seemd to sag and hang down a lot more than the one I have.

It seems like no matter where I'm shooting, rain forest, desert, beach, mountains, the ground is always either wet and muddy, covered with snow, or loose sand and dust. Not exactly the ideal place to sit things down. I also often find myself in precarious location where I barely have enough room to set up a tripod. This often means I need to leave my pack somewhere out of arm's reach. The tipod apron let's me keep all my must have bits and pieces close at hand and alleviates the need to shuttle back and forth between the tripod and pack - something that wastes time and can get down right dangerous if I'm not careful. This simple apron is a great accesory. It was inexpensive and weighs almost nothing. I never leave home without it.

Kerry

[Steve Baggett]

Another helpful piece of field equipment is the tiny "key-back" thingy I've attached my loupe to. Rather than have the loupe dangle down to my belly on a string around my neck, constantly swinging around when I bend over or stoop, I removed the string and attached it to one of those little things that people attach their ID cards or prox cards etc. to and attach it to my shirt near my pocket, colar, or a top button. These things have a little clip for purses, shirts etc. and will stay clipped to almost anything. It has a string on a spring that withdraws automatcially into the device. It keeps the loupe drawn up tight to my body but is plenty loose enough to just grab the loupe and extend easily it to the GG for focusing. When done, just let it drop and the loupe will be drawn right back to your chest out of the way. I do a lot of "focus checks" between shots after I've removed the dark cloth and begun making exposures. This little gizmo makes these frequent focus-checks a non-problem. It has a weak spring but is still strong enough to hold my Silvestri 6x. However, this "invention" doesn't scale up very well. I was so pleased with this thing for my loupe that I decided to do something similar with my light meter. However, my L608 is heavy and so I had to search around before I found a key-back holder with a strong enough spring to hold the meter on my belt. The one I found had a small chain about 3-ft long and a very strong spring. I thought I had found Nirvana and attached the thing to my belt about halfway between my side and my crotch and went out a shootin'. Can you guess what happened? After taking a spot measurement I just "let go" of the meter and the strong key-back spring sprang into action. I took a hard blow in a delicate area, with people watching, no less. I dropped this invention. Some things just don't scale up.

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

Steve,

Good tip on the retractable cord "key-backs". I've been using one of these with my badge at work for a couple years, but hadn't thought about using one with my loupe. I'll have to give it a try.

Kerry

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

Step-up Rings, Filters and Lens Caps - Years ago, I standardized around 67mm filters for my 4x5 lenses. At the time, it made sense as four of the five lenses I owned had 67mm front filter threads. The fifth took 52mm filters, so all I needed was a 52mm - 67mm step-up ring and I could use one set of 67mm glass filters with all my lenses.

Well, since that time, my lens collection has gotten a little more diverse - as has my collection of step-up rings (and even a step-down ring). I still use my original collection of 67mm filters for my "big" lenses, but also have a matching set of 52mm filters I carry with me when backpacking. Ratther than constantly fumble around with a bunch of loose step-up rings while working in the field, here's what I do...

For the set of small lenses I use when backpacking, I semi-permanently attach a ??mm - 52mm step-up ring to each lens with filter threads smaller than 52mm (where ?? is the size of the filter threads on the lens in question, be it 35.5mm, 40.5mm, 43mm or 49mm). I say semi-permanenty because these step-up rings are never removed. They stay on their dedicated lenses at all times, whether I'm using the lens or carrying it in my pack. This is similar, in principal, to leaving a cable release attached to every lens. It saves time, costs little and weighs almost nothing.

For lens caps in this scenario, I have standardized on Nikon 52mm snap-on lens caps. These are the caps that are used on Nikon's 35mm standard lenses. They are inexpensive and available at most decent camera stores. Obviously, other brands will work as well (I seem to recall similar caps from Pentax and Tamron). I ended up with the Nikon caps because I got a good deal at a local swap meet a few years back. A guy was selling them in the sealed factory packaging for $2.00 each. So, I bought 10 or 12 as a lifetime supply. Now, all my small lenses wear one of these caps, and I carry an unopened spare in case I lose a cap in the field. It's nice to know that the same spare cap will fit on any of my lenses (with the semi-permanent step-up ring in place).

So, between the semi-permanent step-up rings and snap-on caps, using filters in the field is is quick and hassle free. No hurrying around to find the right step-up ring and screw it on without cross-threading it as the light rapidly fades. Leaving the step-up rings in place has the added benefit that it reduces wear on the lens threads. The inexpensive, easily replaced step-up ring gets all the wear - not the lens threads.

For my bigger lenses, I still use 67mm filters. In this case, I actually use a 72mm - 67mm step-down ring on my 210mm APO Symmar. GASP! Won't that cause vignetting???? In theory, yes. However, when shooting 4x5 landscapes, I never come close to using the full 305mm image circle of this lens. So, if the step-down ring costs me a millimeter or two (or ten) of coverage, I'll never know. Like the step-up rings above, this 72mm - 67mm step-down ring is left on this lens at all times.

Rather than put a ??mm - 67mm step-up ring on all my smaller lenses. I either just use them with my 52m filters, or if I wish to use them with a 67mm filter, I just carry a single 52mm - 67mm step-up ring in my bag. Since all my smaller lenses are already standardized to 52mm, this is the ONLY loose step-up ring I carry. No chance of grabbing the wrong size step-up ring when the light is changing.

For many years, I used to carry my filters in a filter wallet, but after several years of use, I noticed it started to leave a residue on the filters that required cleaning at ever-increasing frequency. I think the plastic may have been deteriorating as it aged and was exposed to UV, to the point where it was out-gassing and leaving a film on the filters. I really liked the convenience and organization this filter wallet provided. It held all my filters, and 52mm - 67mm step-up ring. I always knew which filter was in which pocket without looking (as each had its own dedicated spot), and I could hang it on my tripod for easy access to all of my filters at once. Can anyone recommend a brand of filter wallet that doesn't leave a film on their filters? I'd like to get one for my 52mm filters and one for my 67mm filters. They only need to hold four each (although I'd prefer the 67mm size hold at least 5 so I have a place for the 52mm - 67mm set-up ring). Or possibly a single wallet that would hold four 52mm filters, four 67mm filters and one 52mm - 67mm step-up ring. Any suggestions?

Kerry

[Jean-Louis Llech]

Kerry, this topic is a very great idea !

I agree with you, Gitzo is Gitzo...
I use also a carbon fiber tripod, and appreciate the light weight and the rigidity of the Gitzo G1329 MkII, and also the flexibility and adaptability of the G1570M magnesium "rationnelle" low profile head.
I first used a Manfrotto 075B (Bogen code 3236). It is also very solid, but IMO too heavy, and more difficult to adjust. It is now on a dolly in the studio, as the lighter Gitzo 1329 has the same use in the field... with less drawbacks.
The Gitzo Carbon Fiber tripod is very light to carry, but I have no problems using a Master Technika on it. Easy to open and to unfold. The three section legs are great also.
About the head, I like the G1570M because it has a larger platform and two 3/8 fixing screws. I use 2 Linhof Quickfix II release plates, one on the rear of the platform (and on the camera's housing), the other on the front of the platform (and on the camera's dropbed).
With two fixations, I have no vibrations even when a tele. It is very rapid to connect and secure the camera on the head, and then rock-solid.
When using wide angle lenses, if I have to drop the bed, I place the rear release plate on the front Quickfix. Nothing to screw or unscrew.
Another important advantage : the center of gravity of this head is very low.
I've been using a G1575M offset ball head. Here I agree with Kerry Thalmann : "trying to level the camera, or adjust one axis without disturbing the others" is for me a real pain, and a drawback.
With a three way head, I just have to use the three adjustments, one after the other. I also tried an Arca B1, and, it is much more difficult to adjust it finely, due to the imbalance caused by the weight of the camera and lens.

I know Manfrotto sells geared heads for heavy LF cameras :
- the Deluxe Geared Head 400 with a max load of 9.9Kg(Bogen 3263)
- the Pro Geared Head 405 with a max load of 7.4Kg.
- the third one, Junior 410, is probably too light to support a LF camera.
Their geared system seems very useful, (maybe not in the field), but I am afraid about their weight : 2.6 and 2.4kg.
Who has used one and could tell me if their utility is worth such a weight ?

A last question for Kerry :
You wrote "For large format work, I greatly prefer models without center columns."
How do you put the camera's level in height ? By screwing and unscrewing the legs joints ? It seems tedious, no ?

Last, Kerry, don't you think this topic would deserve a synthesis on the LF site ?
Regards.

[David Mark]

Jean-Louis,

I use the Bogen/Manfrotto 410 geared head for my large format camera without any problems. However, my camera, a Canham DLC, weighs less than 5 pounds. The 410 might not work as well with a heavier monorail.

The 410 head itself weighs about 3 pounds.

I second your idea that it would be a good thing if the most useful information from this thread could be pulled together and made available as a short article on the LF site.