Scott Kathe
18-Mar-2007, 10:43
You might want to skip the first paragraph unless you like horror stories.
This morning I composed and exposed a couple of sheets of FP4+ with my Shen-Hao 4x5 and Nikkor-W 150mm lens in a Nikon lens board. I wasn't too far from my house and after I got home I thought I should got back and try for a bit more depth of field. I had the capped lens on the camera mounted to my tripod with a film holder in my pocket and light meter around my neck. I trudged through the snow on our driveway, down the road a bit and into the school grounds. I set up the camera to get some more depth of field to insure that the entire snow covered crabapple would be in focus. I stood to the side of my camera and reached to the front to remove the lens cap and there was a GAPING HOLE! The lens and lens board had fallen out somewhere!!!! I quickly traced my steps back to the the house afraid that I would see the lens on the snow covered road just as a car drove over it or a plow tossed it aside. To make matters worse my wife would be driving up that same road and back up the driveway at any time. Of course as I was running back to the house the first time the film holder went flying out of my pocket and into the snow-at least it stuck up a bit and I could find it. The lens wasn't in the road and wasn't in our driveway-but who knows our driveway and the school grounds were covered with 3" of snow-it could have been anywhere. I traced my steps back and forth twice, no luck and thankfully no cars or plows. I was in a panic but tried to remain calm. I hoped the lens would be near the camera. Two swipes through the snow at the base of the tripod and there it was covered with snow. It was a nice powdery snow and I could blow most of it off. The front lens cap was still on but the rear element was covered with snow. The lens seems to be fine. I used to REALLY like the Nikon lens board, with the offset hole I can reverse the lens and store it in the camera. Now I DO NOT TRUST IT!!!! and I was thinking about buying more of the darn things!
Last week I made a lens board from 3/16" birch plywood for a 203mm Ektar that I won on eBay and since returned, faulty shutter. The home made lens board cost me $3 for the wood and I can make two more. That lens board fits nice and tight in the camera, I guess I'll be making two more today with the leftover wood. Anyone know of better lens boards for the Shen-Hao?
Scott
This morning I composed and exposed a couple of sheets of FP4+ with my Shen-Hao 4x5 and Nikkor-W 150mm lens in a Nikon lens board. I wasn't too far from my house and after I got home I thought I should got back and try for a bit more depth of field. I had the capped lens on the camera mounted to my tripod with a film holder in my pocket and light meter around my neck. I trudged through the snow on our driveway, down the road a bit and into the school grounds. I set up the camera to get some more depth of field to insure that the entire snow covered crabapple would be in focus. I stood to the side of my camera and reached to the front to remove the lens cap and there was a GAPING HOLE! The lens and lens board had fallen out somewhere!!!! I quickly traced my steps back to the the house afraid that I would see the lens on the snow covered road just as a car drove over it or a plow tossed it aside. To make matters worse my wife would be driving up that same road and back up the driveway at any time. Of course as I was running back to the house the first time the film holder went flying out of my pocket and into the snow-at least it stuck up a bit and I could find it. The lens wasn't in the road and wasn't in our driveway-but who knows our driveway and the school grounds were covered with 3" of snow-it could have been anywhere. I traced my steps back and forth twice, no luck and thankfully no cars or plows. I was in a panic but tried to remain calm. I hoped the lens would be near the camera. Two swipes through the snow at the base of the tripod and there it was covered with snow. It was a nice powdery snow and I could blow most of it off. The front lens cap was still on but the rear element was covered with snow. The lens seems to be fine. I used to REALLY like the Nikon lens board, with the offset hole I can reverse the lens and store it in the camera. Now I DO NOT TRUST IT!!!! and I was thinking about buying more of the darn things!
Last week I made a lens board from 3/16" birch plywood for a 203mm Ektar that I won on eBay and since returned, faulty shutter. The home made lens board cost me $3 for the wood and I can make two more. That lens board fits nice and tight in the camera, I guess I'll be making two more today with the leftover wood. Anyone know of better lens boards for the Shen-Hao?
Scott