Chamonix 5x4 focusing wheel

[GoodOldNorm]

Would it be possible to mark graduations on the focusing wheel to show the length of bellows draw. As in focus Far note position of focus wheel to 12 o'clock, focus Near, note rotation of focus wheel, then set focus wheel half way? Eliminating the use of tape measures, mm scales on the camera rack etc. If one turn of the focus wheel gave you 8mm of focusing, half a turn for 4mm etc. Has anyone done This?

[Kevin Crisp]

I measured the near and far limits of the bellow at each position on the base. I put P Touch labels indicating the choices on the back of the ground glass protector. That helped in picking the right initial position during set up. But now that I've typed that I see I've missed your point entirely.

So...I think I see why you'd ask this. But I think it would be better to look at the scene, pick something that is appropriate, in between near and far and focus on that then stop down. Because as the scene includes things which are further away, it will take less and less turning of the wheel to retract inward for focus on distance objects. It won't be linear, so "half way" on the wheel will not equal half way into the scene.

[mpirie]

What about using a rubber grommet or tap washer on the shaft between the focussing knob and baseboard?

You could cut the rubber from the centre outwards to allow you to place the grommet on the shaft and use super glue to close the ends.

Then, you'd have a way to mark the start point and count rotations until the end point that could be reset when needed.

Mike