Linhof Technika - How Practical is Hand Holding?

[William D. Lester]

I will be sending my Super Technika V in for service work to Blazes in Toronto shortly. That have advised that camming my modern lens is a $475.00 job. Does anyone actually use the camera hand held? I have always used it tripod mounted but since it is going to the service centre, it's on my mind to get this done as well while it's there. By the way, I still have the original 150 convertible Linhof lens that came with the camera and is already cammed. The problem with it is that the shutter runs erratically and I stopped using it years ago. I'm sure it could be serviced as well but then I would have to keep making choices about which lens to use. I'd like to hear what other users think.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Yes, I have several cammed lenses, and I use the camera handheld. It's also useful to have a cammed lens on a tripod for portrait subjects, so you can check focus with the rangefinder while you have a filmholder loaded and ready to shoot.

[Bill_1856]

Too heavy and unwieldy for me to hand hold.

[DrTang]

I took the raangefinder off mine - thats my comment on using it hanheld

[Bob Salomon]

I took the raangefinder off mine - thats my comment on using it hanheld

And how much weight did butchering the camera save?

[Darin Boville]

I found it too heavy for extended handheld. Then again, maybe once you build up your wrist strength...

--Darin

[jose angel]

I like to have my Technika ready for handheld work (working RF, external viewfinder, grip and cable), but to be sincere, I rarely use it this way (between one time and never, I`d say... :D)

It depends on your work... for handheld shooting I use a Mamiya 6 system, but if I were in the need of having 4x5" negatives instead of roll film (not likely), I`d certainly use the Technika, why not?
Maybe because I`m a sharpness freak, I use tripod for almost everything (the only exception with the cellular phone, simply because it`s a bit of a nonsense and... I don`t have the adapter!)(-yet-).

[Corran]

I've done it plenty with big and heavy 250/270mm lenses and I have perfectly sharp negatives to prove that it's possible. My wrist didn't like me till I figured out I could adjust the grip to a more comfortable position.

Is it easy? No, but so what. Way lighter is a converted Polaroid 900/110A/110B but with only one lens and limited close-up focusing (but a nice combined view/rangefinder on the 900 and 110B). If I am ONLY using a 135mm lens I grab the Polaroid but unfortunately I like a 150mm better for people (most common subject for handheld work) or longer. My 250mm Sonnar is killer heavy but I love it. There's always the other option of medium format, which is valid, but for me personally I really enjoy the results of 4x5, over MF.

Here's some examples of handheld work:
http://valdostafilm.blogspot.com/2013/10/anime-weekend-atlanta-2013-photos.html
http://valdostafilm.blogspot.com/2014/02/louisiana-leftovers.html

Are they all perfect? Nah, but with a bit of practice I get mostly keepers. The weight/bulk of course also helps to stabilize the camera. One more tip - rest the camera against your chest while focusing and shoot, it's pretty stable.

[DrTang]

And how much weight did butchering the camera save?

not much at all.. but it doesn't catch in my camera bag now..

I never ever used it.. then I had a chance to sell off the lens with matching cam.. so..off it came

I now have a slightly lighter camera w/o the finder bump.. making it smaller as well

don't worry -it's pretty beat up..I didn't kill any museum piece or anything

[coisasdavida]

Is it easy? No, but so what.

+1

[Kimberly Anderson]

+1

+1

[jose angel]

Re: Linhof Technika - How Practical is Hand Holding?
Originally Posted by coisasdavida

+1
+1
+1

[Delfi_r]

When I find a grip that fits on my Super Technika V 5X7 I'll try. 5.5 Kg will not be the obstacle to try. And sometimes the rangefinder is great for focusing even on a tripod.

[Jac@stafford.net]

I've done it plenty with big and heavy 250/270mm lenses and I have perfectly sharp negatives to prove that it's possible.

Of course it helps to use open apertures with flash-fill which accounts for the greater part of the exposure. I do the same when possible.

[Gudmundur Ingolfsson]

I have seen airials shot from a chopper on a ASA 100 chrome with a 5x7" Technika. Those were sharp. I have myself shot architectural photographs handheld with the Technika from an 8' ladder on Velvia 50 chrome with 150 mm lens but in bright sunlight. Those were pin sharp.

[Oren Grad]

I use mine handheld once in a great while, though as David points out, the RF is useful on a tripod as well. The only reason I bother with a Technika is to be able to take advantage of the rangefinder. Otherwise I'd go with a much lighter wooden camera or a compact field-monorail.

It is *heavy*, though - with all the trimmings (lens, grip, multifocus finder, holder inserted) it's up somewhere around 8 or 9 pounds. I picked up an old Linhof wire-frame finder and will be experimenting with that in place of the multifocus finder to save some weight.

EDIT: In fairness, the cost you were quoted for camming is quite a bit more than I paid some years back when I set up my kit. With a V or a Master, if you don't mind setting up infinity stops and installing the focusing scale yourself, you don't even need to send in the camera to have a lens cammed. I'd consider fixing the cammed 150 you already have, and trying that to see whether you want to be using the rangefinder and whether it's worth the money to you to cam additional lenses.

[Sal Santamaura]

I took the raangefinder off mine - thats my comment on using it hanheld


And how much weight did butchering the camera save?I don't know the answer in ounces, but it's the same number John Sexton saved when performing that surgery on his Master. I asked John who he trusted to do such work and he said "himself." Apparently the weight savings was worthwhile to him.

This was around 30 years ago. Since then John has moved to one of the newer Technikas (2000 and/or 3000), so I don't know whether he still has his modified Master.

[Bob Salomon]

I don't know the answer in ounces, but it's the same number John Sexton saved when performing that surgery on his Master. I asked John who he trusted to do such work and he said "himself." Apparently the weight savings was worthwhile to him.

This was around 30 years ago. Since then John has moved to one of the newer Technikas (2000 and/or 3000), so I don't know whether he still has his modified Master.
John traded his old Master to Glazers Photo in Seattle for the newer Technika 2000 camera.

[William D. Lester]

So would a cam for a 150mm lens be the same shape for any 150? I realize the stops may have to be moved but I'm thinking that once adjusted, the travel distance for focusing would be the same.

[Bob Salomon]

So would a cam for a 150mm lens be the same shape for any 150? I realize the stops may have to be moved but I'm thinking that once adjusted, the travel distance for focusing would be the same.

No, a cam has to be filed to the specific characteristics of the specific lens, by serial number. If you have a IV then it has to also be matched to the body.

[Drew Wiley]

My brother did some pretty remarkable industrial shots in a stamping mill with a handheld Technika equipped with a gyro, where a tripod would have been useless due
to all the floor vibration. But he did more garden-variety work like portraiture with one handheld rather often, with flash of course.

[anglophone1]

Monopod........

[Oren Grad]

So would a cam for a 150mm lens be the same shape for any 150? I realize the stops may have to be moved but I'm thinking that once adjusted, the travel distance for focusing would be the same.

Not necessarily. The problem is that the marked focal lengths are nominal; the actual focal length of lenses marked "150" can vary quite a bit across brands, product generations and design types. You'd have to test to see whether any particular lens + cam combination is sufficiently close for your intended uses.

[jcc]

My brother did some pretty remarkable industrial shots in a stamping mill with a handheld Technika equipped with a gyro, where a tripod would have been useless due
to all the floor vibration. But he did more garden-variety work like portraiture with one handheld rather often, with flash of course.

Since you're using strobes: Unless the ground vibration frequency is greater than the flash duration, the strobe should be able to freeze the motion--so you can probably use a tripod. Only thing is that the parts that don't get "lit" might have camera shake.

[hoffner]

Since you're using strobes: Unless the ground vibration frequency is greater than the flash duration, the strobe should be able to freeze the motion--so you can probably use a tripod. Only thing is that the parts that don't get "lit" might have camera shake.

Theoretically yes, practically only rarely. Firsts you don't know the vibration frequency, secondly a lot depends on the focal length you use. The longer it is, the less it is immune against camera shake.

[Farside]

One of my old Linhofs, the immediate post-war Technika III (although it's really a pre-war body akin to Tech2) is the Press variant. Totally stripped as standard, with no RF, not much in the way of focusing aids and a simple focus scale for the original 135mm Schneider that would have been on it. It came to me with a Schneider 150mm mounted, which made it interesting. Anyway, it's a delight to use as a hand-held device, being a 9x12cm body, which does affect the overall weight, with lighter back, holders, etc.

[moto-uno]

I have a Busch Pressman D with a 150mm Ektar lens and a Kalart rangefinder (that I adjusted myself). I only use it handheld. My last 7 Provia 100F trannies are nice and sharp. So I'm thinking with any 400 film it's very doable. Although I must say that's a pretty steep price for a cam ,no? Regards,Peter

[doogie]

Hmm. I did have a few questions. Perhaps someone here could answer.

I just recently bought a Linhof Super Technika. It has one matched Cam set for the 150mm. But that is the only lens which came with a matched cam. My question is simply this. I can still utilize Bellows extension factors with the rest of the lenses to achieve accurate focus without the use of the Cams or Rangefinder can't I?

I'm hoping this is the case. I was tempted to go with a Wisner, but opted for this Linhof due to the amount of lenses that came with it. And quite the array of wonderful lenses might I add. :) :) When I get ready I think I may trade up to an 8x10 wooden field with reducing backs for 5x7, and 4x5. But that won't be for a while or at least until I start getting into Wet plate.

Thanks in advance for the help.

V/r,
Doogie

[Bob Salomon]

Not really. You need a cam cut to each lens, and, depending on which camera you have, maybe also to the body.

[doogie]

Sighs. I was slightly afraid that would be the answer. So the focus would be off a little without the use of the cams for the other lenses? Couldn't I just manually calculate bellows extension factors and focus off the ground glass?

[Corran]

If you have distance scales for both your cammed lens, as well as the other lens you want to use, you could get pretty close by just transposing the distance between the scales. Make sure you set up the second lens to the correct infinity and you would be good to go.

Yes, the "correct" and more accurate method is to have a cam cut.

[Richard Johnson]

If you can, check to see if the older 150mm lens works well with the cam that you have. Reconditioning that lens and shutters will cost far less than the cost of camming a new lens. And given that handholding will never be as stable as a solid tripod, you might find the older lens has a nice rendering for when you don't need absolute top-dog modern super-lens quality. Some of the older Symmars can be quite sharp and the single coated lenses can have a nice look, especially in B&W.

Think about what you would shoot handheld. If it is mostly in good light when you can keep shutter speeds high and apertures mid-range, then you're golden. It gets dicier at the extremes, also with longer focal lengths, so the wide to middle-normal focal lengths are probably the most practical to shoot with. Heck with a wide angle you could simply make a few hash marks on a piece of tape ahead of time while checking with a loupe on the ground glass, then go off with a 90 or 75 and estimate the distances - focus to your homemade focusing scale.

Chances are the older 150mm folds up nicely into the camera. If you can find an older wire frame finder, front and rear, it will also fold up, making a great compact brick-like package.

The Linhof RF is the most accurate of the 4x5 rangefinders I've found, and if you account for parallax when you are shooting close portraits, it will be accurate. However I find that if you shoot wide open and close, you need to account for that ~half-inch difference between the lens and rangefinder ~ and that is the tricky part!

[Alan Gales]

OK, you are thinking of shooting your Technika (or any 4x5 camera) hand held. How large are you going to print these hand held shots?

If you are talking about 8x10 or 11x14 wouldn't you be better off shooting medium format or digital?

If you are talking about 16x20 or larger wouldn't you be better off using a tripod?

Just something to think about.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Make sure you set up the second lens to the correct infinity and you would be good to go.

Setting the Super Technika with a new lens with cam, scale and infinity stops follows (to me) an non-intuitive procedure. It is done using Linhof's translucent target on a window at ~15 feet. I will dig out the old scanner and post the instructions next week, if anyone cares.

[Corran]

That'd be great, I'd love to see it. Personally, I've setup several lenses (with cams) and just set them at infinity, and checked close up for confirmation of critical focus. Even my 150mm f/2.8 Xenotar is dead-on with the RF...it's limitation is MY accuracy and amount of body movement while composing in the viewfinder, if anything! And that's with a cam from a Tech IV and put on a Master - supposedly doesn't work but mine is fine.

That said - he doesn't have cams for the other lenses. I'm saying he should get focus scales for the other lenses (or make them) and use it compared to the focus scale of the 150mm lens/cam he has. The rangefinder then will just tell him the distance to the target. Inelegant, but workable, I guess. Stopping down to f/16 would of course be advisable...

[analoguey]

Hmm. Interesting, I shoot my RB handheld (wlf) - and I prefer it that way. With flash (not potato masher) and flash triggers attached, it gets unwieldy a bit.

I'd imagine shooting 4x5 would be similar feeling?
What would the body position be when shooting handheld? ( I have a monorail so little chance of handheld shooting)

[doogie]

I generally tend to tripod everything I shoot. I'll conduct a few lens tests for focus at infinity with each of the lenses that do not have cams. It seems the prudent thing to do.

[Bob Salomon]

......That said - he doesn't have cams for the other lenses. I'm saying he should get focus scales for the other lenses (or make them) and use it compared to the focus scale of the 150mm lens/cam he has. The rangefinder then will just tell him the distance to the target. Inelegant, but workable, I guess. Stopping down to f/16 would of course be advisable...

Even if he had factory focusing scales, which are easily gotten from Nippon in NYC, won't help unless he also has infinity stops properly installed for his other lenses. Nippon also has infinity stops but they have to be properly installed for each lens.

[Bob Salomon]

Hmm. Interesting, I shoot my RB handheld (wlf) - and I prefer it that way. With flash (not potato masher) and flash triggers attached, it gets unwieldy a bit.

I'd imagine shooting 4x5 would be similar feeling?
What would the body position be when shooting handheld? ( I have a monorail so little chance of handheld shooting)

Just look at pictures of working press and sports photographers from the 30's, 40's and 50's.

[jbenedict]

Hmm. Interesting, I shoot my RB handheld (wlf) - and I prefer it that way. With flash (not potato masher) and flash triggers attached, it gets unwieldy a bit.

I'd imagine shooting 4x5 would be similar feeling?
What would the body position be when shooting handheld? ( I have a monorail so little chance of handheld shooting)

Consider the position your hands and arms are in with the RB. Your arms are straight and pointing near the floor. The camera is kind of cradled in your hands and there is very little physical strength needed to keep the camera still. When you put your face on the viewfinder, you form kind of a triangle which will help keep the camera steady. With a Technika/Graphic, you have to use strength to hold the camera up to your face and keep it still once it is there. Gravity is trying to pull the whole mess down while, with the RB, gravity is working for you.

I also shoot MF with the Hassy and the 'cradling' position is very similar to what I do with that camera and I can hold it pretty still. I have taken hand held shots which held up nicely up to at least 11x14 down to 1/15 sec. I also have done a fair amount of work with a Pentax 67 which is a rather brick-like camera and lens combo- especially when getting into things like the 300mm tele. I feel much less confident in being able to hand hold it slower than 1/60 sec.

Now, I'm going to home in on the word "practical' in the subject line. I have never hand held a Technika of any sort- my III was denuded of the necessary mechanisms long before I acquired it. However, I have shot Crowns and Speeds both in 4x5 and 3.25x4.25. I sure wish the 3.25x4.25 had stayed popular. It is a nice camera to use handheld. For almost all purposes, 1/4 plate isn't that much smaller than 4x5. Before the demise of Polaroid, a quarter plate RB with a Polo back was kind of fun to take some shots of people to show off how an old camera works. But, once again, I digress... Remembering back to when Speeds were very common in the press world, not only could they use two-sheet holders and Grafmatics, they could use film pack- something I have never used. The packs went into a holder the size of a two-sheet holder and held 16 shots. So, when it was time to reload, it was a matter of pulling one pack holder out and shoving another one in. That could be done faster than changing a roll of film with either MF or 35mm. I would imagine a photog. would be aided by a jacket with REALLY big side pockets. And, if they only needed to take one shot of a subject, they could take one shot using a cut film holder. A lot of good work was done with Speeds and Crowns in the days they were popular.

I can see the desire to use a Technika hand held. With the big finder on the top and the sensual appearing hand grip on the left hand side of the camera, it is a pretty impressive piece of technology. But it is heavy. I once saw some Linhof literature on the Technika IV. The model in the picture (I can't imagine a working photog. doing this) had a fully dressed 5x7 Technika IV and, while wearing a suit jacket and dress shoes, climbing a spindly ladder to take pictures of some sort of industrial mechanisms from a high angle. Sure. OK. It would be oh so much easier to spend less money than fiddling with having cams made and adjusted by getting a Crown or Speed with a Xenar, Ektar or Optar attached. The Crown is especially light. With a Speed, a secondary use would be to use barrel lenses and process lenses with the Speed's focal plane shutter. (For those of you in the Seattle are who might remember him, Ed Olson of The Camera Show in Seattle at one point had a lot of Nikkor process lenses- from about 240 to 750mm. He had a custom Speed built which consisted of the back of the Speed with shutter and various length tubes which were used to provide 'bellows' length for the lenses because the Speed bellows didn't have near enough bellows for a 750mm lens. It was a fun box to play with). Changing the cams on the Pacemaker models is easy and cheap and the Kalarts are easily calibrated.

So, I guess what I'm getting at is that if you have a desire to shoot 4x5 handheld and mobile, a Crown or Speed (especially the Crown) would provide a more satisfactory experience then getting a Technika set up for handheld. You could save money by getting a Crown/Speed with a spring back because a Graflok back is not necessary to shoot 4x5. So in the end, cheaper, too!

Jeff

[djdister]

When I had a 4x5 Speed Graphic I did handheld shots maybe 10% of the time, but 90% of the time on a tripod. It was nice for the occasional grab shot, but not all the time. If you look at the press photographers back in the old days who handheld their 4x5 Speed Graphics, you will also note that often they were using flash bulbs which would tend to counteract for a bit of unsteadiness. If you have to handhold, certainly it's a bit easier with shorter focal length lenses too.

[Jac@stafford.net]

I can see the desire to use a Technika hand held. With the big finder on the top and the sensual appearing hand grip on the left hand side of the camera,...

Linhof also had an anatomical right-hand grip. I think I still have one.

[Corran]

Even if he had factory focusing scales, which are easily gotten from Nippon in NYC, won't help unless he also has infinity stops properly installed for his other lenses. Nippon also has infinity stops but they have to be properly installed for each lens.

It's very simple to do. Infinity stops on eBay can be found for $30-40 a pair. Or he could just mark the focus rail with a pen.

I am of the opinion that buying anything from Nippon is not "easily gotten."

[jbenedict]

John traded his old Master to Glazers Photo in Seattle for the newer Technika 2000 camera.

Yes! I saw that at Glazer's. I thought it might improve my overall photographic ability by buying it but some other wide-eyed doofus beat me to it...

[analoguey]

Thank you for that explanation, Jeff - I understand what you mean - I suppose focusing should be similar to any RB or hassy.
I doubt I'll be using a 4x5 handheld, I prefer 120 or 35mm for that. :-)
My question on the 4x5 handheld wasn't as much about about strength to use it or the possibility but about the convenience in actual usage - using movements, for example - wouldnt that be rather unwieldy?
(someone mentioned architectural photography, for example)
With the pack film that you refer to, I suppose it might be as easy as with an RB, but what otherwise -with regular holders?

[Bob Salomon]

It's very simple to do. Infinity stops on eBay can be found for $30-40 a pair. Or he could just mark the focus rail with a pen.

I am of the opinion that buying anything from Nippon is not "easily gotten."

Since Bob Watkins is the authorized camming person in the USA you can also get hem from him at Precision.

[Bob Salomon]

Linhof also had an anatomical right-hand grip. I think I still have one.

Still has one. Mounts to the clip on the rangefinder.

[Bob Salomon]

Thank you for that explanation, Jeff - I understand what you mean - I suppose focusing should be similar to any RB or hassy.
I doubt I'll be using a 4x5 handheld, I prefer 120 or 35mm for that. :-)
My question on the 4x5 handheld wasn't as much about about strength to use it or the possibility but about the convenience in actual usage - using movements, for example - wouldnt that be rather unwieldy?
(someone mentioned architectural photography, for example)
With the pack film that you refer to, I suppose it might be as easy as with an RB, but what otherwise -with regular holders?

You can't handhold when doing movements. Only when everything is zeroed does hand holding work.

[jbenedict]

My question on the 4x5 handheld wasn't as much about about strength to use it or the possibility but about the convenience in actual usage - using movements, for example - wouldn't that be rather unwieldy?
(someone mentioned architectural photography, for example)
You need to look at the ground glass to see the effects of any movements so I think that writes off trying to handhold. If that's what you see yourself doing, the Technika on a tripod with a dark hood is clearly superior.

Re: pack vs. two side holders. The famous shots of the demise of the zeppelin _Hindenburg_ landing and bursting into flames at Lakehurst, N.J in 1937 was shot with a Speed and traditional holders. The photog. was very experienced and his adrenaline was certainly up in that situation. Speed was only a part of the convenience of the film pack. Bulk was a big factor, too. A pack holder is the same size as a two sheet holder and holds 16 shots. That would take 8 two sheet holders. Traditional holders need to be changed in the dark. Pack film can be changed in subdued daylight. If you have ever used Poloroid pack film, it works the same way although you can't get a finished picture in a minute. That said, the famous WeeGee (Arthur Fellig) of New York crime scene fame was known to have a trunk full of holders and organized them in different boxes according to place and subject. As an aside, since one shot could be processed and printed at a time, it could be pretty fast. In one of Adams' books, he described his role in teaching field photographers for the Army during WWII. He did it in San Francisco where he lived and one of his drills was to have the trainees run out of the building, take a picture of a moving car that Adams saw before sending them out, running back in the building, developing the shot and making a print. The fastest with an acceptable, usable print was the winner. It could be a contact print because that size works well in the newspaper. They used alcohol as the last treatment for the negative because it dried out quicker to make it dry enough to make a good print. That kind of skill might be needed in the Army. Newspapers used 4x5 and 5x7 SLRs at one time but stopped the practice because the photog. couldn't easily see what was going on in the environment. A Speed can have a wire finder which makes it easier to see what is going on outside of the picture frame. A user of a SLR was head down into the finder. The end was predicated by the death of an NY Times photog. who was using a monster of a 5x7 SLR to cover a car race and was hit by one of the racers. The papers also used SLRs for special situations like covering horse races where they used a long lens (30"+) to make photos. The question of photog. safety was moot because the 30"+ lens put them pretty far from the action.

Jeff "more useless knowledge than most anyone" Benedict

[Jac@stafford.net]

To make a photo at such a low shutter duration, then as a rule of thumb and presuming you have a heartbeat (which we assume you have) and are using a shutter speed lower than 1/25, then we must consider that your body defies all metrics of involuntary movement. Your chance I'm making a still photo is 30% at best and 5% in real life. You are not a tripod.

[bruce cahn]

I held my Master Technika down to 1/4 second with very good results most of the time. You hold the left side of the camera by the accessory grip, the right side with your right hand on the front corner. The same hand is used to trip the shutter. If possible, use a tripod. If you are old and shakey, use a tripod.