That's a good point Sean.
That's a good point Sean.
This comment is somewhat drifted from the original question but if you're looking for an angle finder for both swing and tilt, any compass with clinometer does a decent job. I have a Suunto MC-G1 compass ($50-$60). Silva also makes similar ones. For accuracy, you might want to buy a Suunto Tandem. The cheapest I could find on-line is $160 at BEN MEADOWS COMPANY. But you need to look through the view finder to get ± 1/4° accuracy. So it's probably not practical and awkward to use this instrument on a camera. I think Bill uses an optical clinometer. Right?
I would say an angle finder as Sean says is as functional as Sinar angle finder on F cameras. A Sinar is not so compact compared to others for a field work. (I have seen a nice angle finder marked "Devil's level" in a View Camera Technique book.) The next practical would be an orienting compass with clinometer, which people carry in field anyway. The last might be an optical compass. If you have a plenty of time to shoot an object, this one is good. To me, a simple try and error with educated guess is the quickest in the field by sketching Scheimpflug and hinge lines in head or on a piece of paper if I get confused. I could easily miss the moment in field (especially when light is changing dramatically) if I'm looking at the angle finder, turning dials of the Rodenstock calculator or punching numbers in calculator.
Thanks everybody for your responses and suggestions.
I already use a large angle finder as an aid when copying artwork. It is a "#36 magnetic (the base has a magnet in it) Polycast Protractor" made by Empire. The base is about 4" long. it is easily readable in dim light and even has a sliding reference marker.
The previous suggestion about using a compass with a clinometer is interesting. This should work fine. I have such a compass (from Brunton), and the only problem is that the magnetic declination and clinometer use the same scale (as I remember, Silva and Suunto models were similar). What this means is that your always zeroing out the magnetic declination when you need to use the compass as a clinometer, and resetting the declination when you need the compass for navigation use (or using it to determine the orientation of a building). It's kind of a pain.
For the ultimate in tilt angle measurement, take a look at the Mitutoyo Digital Protractor model 950-316. For tilt measurements, it's accurate to +/- 0.1 degrees and for leveling your camera, it's accurate to +/- 0.05 degrees. The size is right as well: ~ 6" long x 2" high x 1 1/4" wide. I've only seen it in their catalog, and expect it is extremely expensive.
Scheimpflug would be amazed on how complicated his simple rule has evolved. Tito.
Larry, my Suunto compass adjusts the magnetic declination independent of the clinometer scale. So I do not have a problem you mentioned. Can't you read the angle from the bezel even for your compass?
When I was looking at compasses, I didn't find any which had magnetic declination independent of inclination. On the compasses I've seen, you could read inclination from the compass bezel, but not with great accuracy. I even looked at a fairly wide range of Suunto models. What I find interesting is that the most precise handheld compass/clinometer (like the Suunto Tandem) don't have any adjustment for magnetic declination. If you use programs like sunPATH this isn't a problem because they can be configured to factor out magnetic declination.
Correction for my first comment:
...Linhof DOF table does not include &Alpha (i.e. &Alpha = 0; optical axis and monorail are parallel) or bellows extension factor... IMO, the combination of Linhof DOF table and a list of Bellows extension factor for each of your lens is much quicker assuming you use &Alpha = 0 most of the time.
The Linhof table does have a list of extra stops for bellows extension, given a number G where "G = distance of diaphragm plane to the forward 1/3 of the subject" as quoted. In the Rodenstock, input magnification then you get extra stops for correction and effective aperture, displayed seperately. The Rodenstock DOF calculator is more accurate and easier to use than the Linhof table. In Ro, you can read the intermediate values of a stop, easily 1/6 stop whereas the Linhof table displays values in 1 stop increments. (It's the advantage of a dial calculator compared to a table with small set of numbers.) So a good combination would be Rodenstock DOF calculator and an aid to determine magnification (e.g. Calumet Exposure Calculator, Quick Disc, or using one of the methods described he re).
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