Jan Brittenson
2-Oct-2007, 10:59
So got my 45PS today, and thought I'd describe it a bit for those of you who haven't seen or used one in person. I'll add a few photos tonight when I have more time.
The camera kit ships in a little aluminum case, perfect for storage and some limited travel like dropping it in a car trunk. The case has foam cutouts for the camera, cone, lens, viewfinder,and spirit level. These items are all included, plus a cable release that screws into either handle. The case isn't Pelican grade sturdy, but should be fine for light use and storage.
The camera feels nice and sturdy, the parts all fit together just as they should and the finish is nice. It's surprisingly light weight.
The back is interesting, instead of the usual springloaded mechanism there is a slot to insert the film holder and it comes with a GG insert. Behind the holder slot, on the body itself is a dark slide. So to use the GG, insert it and pull the slide. If you don't plan to use the GG (I don't), simply leave it behind and it's a little less to carry. It's possible that the darkslide might not be strictly necessary either, but that's just an untested guess.
There are two parts to using a lens. First there's a cone which simply sets a ballpark infinity distance. The second part is the focusing helix, which is focal length and shutter mount specific. When you order the camera kit you specify which lens you plan to use with the camera and they'll supply the proper cone and helix.
The viewfinder is designed to accept either an internal or external mask. Mine came with an external mask for the lens I specified, with a note that they didn't have the internal in stock; that I should email them and they'll send me an internal mask when available. Not sure if the internal is a mask or frameline.
Adding another lens consists of getting a cone, helix, and viewfinder mask. The external masks swap very easily. The viewfinder has a spirit level on top (not visible in the view) and two extra accessory shoes besides the viewfinder shoe. So it's easy to add an external spirit level (one is included in the camera kit), a PocketWizard, or any other common accessory. The lens mounts similar to any other lens board, not sure if the helix part is permanently attached to the cone or not, but the thing to do IMO is to simply order a set for the second lens. If the camera and I get along well I'm sure I'll get a second for a 150 in addition to the 75 I got as part of the kit. Oh, I should mention the lens cone attaches with four corner screws and swaps quickly and easily.
There is no instruction book included (none is needed, it's a dead simple device), and the ubiquitous camera strap is left out (who needs another one). A lock ring for the lens mount is included, just in case.
I hope to actually find time to use it the next few days... when I know more I'll report on how it works in the field. But it's so simple there's really not much to go wrong. I think.
The camera kit ships in a little aluminum case, perfect for storage and some limited travel like dropping it in a car trunk. The case has foam cutouts for the camera, cone, lens, viewfinder,and spirit level. These items are all included, plus a cable release that screws into either handle. The case isn't Pelican grade sturdy, but should be fine for light use and storage.
The camera feels nice and sturdy, the parts all fit together just as they should and the finish is nice. It's surprisingly light weight.
The back is interesting, instead of the usual springloaded mechanism there is a slot to insert the film holder and it comes with a GG insert. Behind the holder slot, on the body itself is a dark slide. So to use the GG, insert it and pull the slide. If you don't plan to use the GG (I don't), simply leave it behind and it's a little less to carry. It's possible that the darkslide might not be strictly necessary either, but that's just an untested guess.
There are two parts to using a lens. First there's a cone which simply sets a ballpark infinity distance. The second part is the focusing helix, which is focal length and shutter mount specific. When you order the camera kit you specify which lens you plan to use with the camera and they'll supply the proper cone and helix.
The viewfinder is designed to accept either an internal or external mask. Mine came with an external mask for the lens I specified, with a note that they didn't have the internal in stock; that I should email them and they'll send me an internal mask when available. Not sure if the internal is a mask or frameline.
Adding another lens consists of getting a cone, helix, and viewfinder mask. The external masks swap very easily. The viewfinder has a spirit level on top (not visible in the view) and two extra accessory shoes besides the viewfinder shoe. So it's easy to add an external spirit level (one is included in the camera kit), a PocketWizard, or any other common accessory. The lens mounts similar to any other lens board, not sure if the helix part is permanently attached to the cone or not, but the thing to do IMO is to simply order a set for the second lens. If the camera and I get along well I'm sure I'll get a second for a 150 in addition to the 75 I got as part of the kit. Oh, I should mention the lens cone attaches with four corner screws and swaps quickly and easily.
There is no instruction book included (none is needed, it's a dead simple device), and the ubiquitous camera strap is left out (who needs another one). A lock ring for the lens mount is included, just in case.
I hope to actually find time to use it the next few days... when I know more I'll report on how it works in the field. But it's so simple there's really not much to go wrong. I think.