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venchka
15-Aug-2008, 11:37
I knew that if I ever touched a real filed camera I would buy it. Sure enough, last Saturday I bought one of Mr. Picker and Mr. Ritter's creations. A spakelly clean, made in Vermont, gold plated hardware Zone VI field camera, 4x5 model. My first two 4x5 cameras were Speed Graphics. I still have the second one. The Zone VI is my first "real" field camera.

For the last week I've been "practicing" with the camera at home. No real photographs yet. A few observations and questions...

Folding is easy enough. Not as quick as the Speed Graphic. Not unpleasant.
Unfolding is just about the same effort as folding.
Here's the rub...
I'm used to cameras having lenses and film planes locked parallel to each other. OK, so a view camera permits movements. I wanted that. I bought a field camera. However, the Zone VI camera doesn't have any way of starting from a square, plumb and parallel condition. The lensboard lacks detents to align with the front uprights. The detents on the rear standard aren't square with the bed. I have to get a level out and fiddle with everything to make the lens & film more or less parallel. Are all field cameras like this?

At the time of purcase, I had a choice between a Nikon Nikkor-W 180mm f/5.6 and a Caltar II-N 210mm f/5.6 lens. I've always had a soft spot for Nikkor optics so I bought the 180, Nikkor-W in a Copal #1 shutter. Checking the shutter on a friend's homemade shutter tester reveals that 1/125 = 1/100, 1/250 = 1/198 and 1/400 = 1/212. Is this within the tolerance of the shutter? Of course I have no way of knowing if the Copal #1 shutter with the Caltar lens was any better.

All in all, I'm glad to have a camera with all the proper movements. Heck, I have to use them before I can take a picture with zero movements. ;) I am wondering if a bit of grey gaffers tape will hide some of the sparkle. :eek: Did Mr. Picker make a camo model????????? :cool:

Ok, enough rambling. I'm going out in the morning with both 4x5 cameras. It should be interesting.

I forgot the picture of the camera.

Scott --
15-Aug-2008, 11:51
Ooh - aaah. Very nice. Congrats. :)

Scott, formerly from Beaumont

venchka
15-Aug-2008, 11:52
OK, I'm feeling better already.

Mark Sampson
15-Aug-2008, 11:56
Wayne,
I've used that exact setup since 1992. It's a fine camera;you'll get used to the front standard, with a little practice. My practice is to set up the bed level, and set the back up using the bubbles. Then set up the front by eye. (Although it's my current wish to have a field camera that starts out aligned.) The Nikkor-W 180 is a very sharp lens, and the shutter is within tolerances. (In 25+ years with large format, I've never used 1/400 except to see if it worked.) The mahogany and gold-plating just attracts onlookers; you'll get used to that too. Calumet did make, later, a lightweight version with black-anodized hardware, if you must have that look. In any case, have a great time with your new camera!

venchka
15-Aug-2008, 12:05
Thanks Mark! Now I'm really feeling better. Strong endorsements from happy users always means a lot to me.

lenser
15-Aug-2008, 12:07
Hi, Wayne.

I've got the twin sister to yours with which I shoot architecture all the time plus whatever else strikes me.

I have no trouble with the detents on mine being square. The rear ones are square with the bed and when the front standard is set in the upright position (and also square with the bed), the lens board becomes square when aligned with the uprights which sort of snaps into place.

The only time I am out of square is when I use a seriously wide angle lens which requires dropping the bed to avoid seeing the rails in the image. Then, I reset the back with the built-in level and tilt the front back toward the camera back to get the lens into focusing range, raise the lens into the right composition and visually reset the tilt of the lens board to match the angle of the rear standard. Once in awhile I will use an angle finder if I feel iffy about the perfect alignment, but usually do well with just eyeballing the front lens board tilt.

One hint: If you go with wide angle lenses shorter than a 90mm (and its best to have even with the 90), buy a bag bellows. It allows for much more flexibility in the movements and more compression between the lens and film planes.

After Calumet bought out Zone VI, they introduced a model with black anodized hardware. It toned down the glare factor but in my mind took away the glamor of the camera. Not really a big deal, but I like the 'historical' look with the gold plating, not the workman-like look of the black hardware.

Regarding the shutter speeds: Speeds will change over time due to lack of use, lubricants getting gummy, springs relaxing and other reasons. A good CLA (Clean, Lubricate, and Adjust) will give you back the optimum performance. I strongly recommend Carol Miller at www.flutotscamerarepair.com. She is extremely good and accurate and supplies a chart with the actual measured speeds once the CLA is done. Her prices are also extremely reasonable!

She often has a bit of a waiting list and may be a bit behind due to some recent health issues, but well worth the wait.

By the way, her links on her web site have an amazing amount of resources available for other services and information.

Good Luck.

Tim

Clyde Rogers
15-Aug-2008, 12:47
That camera sure is a beauty!



I'm used to cameras having lenses and film planes locked parallel to each other. OK, so a view camera permits movements. I wanted that. I bought a field camera. However, the Zone VI camera doesn't have any way of starting from a square, plumb and parallel condition. The lensboard lacks detents to align with the front uprights. The detents on the rear standard aren't square with the bed. I have to get a level out and fiddle with everything to make the lens & film more or less parallel. Are all field cameras like this?

I haven't used this camera, so my comments are general. Field cameras use different methods to get squared up, and the nicest of them square up pretty well. Detents on the arms that hold up the front and rear standards should make them parallel (square with the bed is ideal, but a bit off makes little difference in practical use). On some cameras this can be adjusted. Here again, if it is close enough to parallel, you may never know it from the results.

Alignment of the front frame with the uprights can be mechanical, or by visual check or touch (use your fingertips to feel that the front frame is aligned with the front standard uprights). I've used each type, and they all worked.

How close is close enough? Depends on your lenses. Shorter lenses need things to be more parallel. Frankly, I'd be surprised if this turned out to be an issue for you with this camera. Unless it seems way off, I'd set it up once using the detents, and parallel it using my level and only the front standard center tilt. Then I'd feel the edge of the front standard meeting the upright, and make a mental note (like "align straight with edge" or "little wider gap on top" or "little wider gap on bottom"). Then I'd set up that way, and likely seldom (if ever) use the level again.



Checking the shutter on a friend's homemade shutter tester reveals that 1/125 = 1/100, 1/250 = 1/198 and 1/400 = 1/212. Is this within the tolerance of the shutter? Of course I have no way of knowing if the Copal #1 shutter with the Caltar lens was any better.


Standard service tolerance is between a sixth and a third of a stop, but in fact, your shutter may be much more accurate than these numbers indicate. These shutters time the duration they are completely open, discounting the open/close time (those big blades take a millisecond or so to open or close). Your 1/400 speed is around 2.5 milliseconds. If the tester is pretty sensitive, you could be measuring time from when the shutter just begins to open, adding another 2 milliseconds, giving you a speed reading of 1/222 second for an extremely accurate shutter.

If that has already been figured in, then you might need a CLA on the shutter. If it hasn't (maybe even if it has...), go enjoy your camera. You'll know pretty soon from the results if your shutter (and your parallelism) is off by too much. I expect you'll be really pleased with the results from this camera and lens just as they are!

Later,

Clyde

venchka
15-Aug-2008, 13:21
That camera sure is a beauty!



... go enjoy your camera. You'll know pretty soon from the results if your shutter (and your parallelism) is off by too much. I expect you'll be really pleased with the results from this camera and lens just as they are!

Later,

Clyde

I plan to do just that.

Once again, all the good hints, help and encouragement are what I like about this and the other Forums I participate in. Thanks!

One more thing I forgot in the original post:

Zone VI bellows extension. I've seen several numbers thrown around. Last night I measured my camera. From film plane to front of lens board is exactly 17 13/16". That's the real number.

Walter Calahan
15-Aug-2008, 13:23
Congratulations. Great lens. Beautiful camera.

Now go out and make pictures!

venchka
15-Aug-2008, 13:25
I am. I am! I shall! Tomorrow morning. I loaded all my holders last night. 30 sheets of HP5+. I'm ready!

Wilcoxson, David L
15-Aug-2008, 18:29
Congratulations on your new camera! It looks sweet. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy mine! Cheers.

ic-racer
16-Aug-2008, 04:50
I have to get a level out and fiddle with everything to make the lens & film more or less parallel. Are all field cameras like this?.

Fantastic camera!

Not sure about the wood 4x5s out there but the metal ones, like my Horseman FA, have adjustable detents for zeroing the camera. I used my enlarger's laser alignment tool to zero the detents when I got the camera.

J_Tardiff
16-Aug-2008, 05:35
That's a beaut Wayne --- say, didn't you get your Speed relatively recently ;) ?

I love the field cameras, actually down south at the moment hoping to get to take my Chamonix out for a serious workout if this rain stays away...

And I've been very happy with my Nikkor lenses, my 300M is one of my favorites.

Have fun,

JT

venchka
18-Aug-2008, 05:46
Aye! The Speed Graphic started me down the slippery slope. It didn't take long to go from Speed Graphic to Zone VI. I took both cameras out to play yesterday. I developed the negatives last night. 4x5 negatives are habit forming. HP5+ in Xtol 1+3 for 15 minutes in a Jobo 3010. I have no idea what the actual photographs will look like, but the negatives certainly look nice.

Thanks for all the help!

pyro
18-Aug-2008, 21:25
Very nice Zone VI!

I had one of these (the non-gold plated model that preceeded this one) for years. It is one of the best wood fields ever made...really pretty, very sturdy and well-made, high quality wood and hardware, extremely rigid, reasonably light and compact, very capable design with lots of movements and great extension for longer lenses and close up work for a wood field. I never had any problems with mine and it served me well in every kind of situation and weather condition.

I started out with Schneider 210mm (Symmar S) and a 90mm (SA f/8) lenses...Fred Picker always recommended this two lens combination. He also suggested a 305 G-Claron a few years later, which I bought, and it worked great with this camera.

I assume yours has the bail back lever. I had one added to mine later and it was a great feature. The bag bellows would be a very good idea if you want to use 90mm and shorter lenses. Using wide angle lenses (shorter/wider than 90mm) with this design can be a bit tedious. You have to angle or drop the bed, raise and rotate the lens panel and make sure you don't include the extended bed rails in your image. Using a WA lens with the Zone VI requires a bit more adjustment than other cameras, but, after you get the hang of setting it up, it becomes pretty easy.

If I recall, I didn't have any real problem setting up the camera "square". The bubble levels on the rear standard and ground glass back allow the user to "square up" the film plane easily. I would usually eye-ball the front standard. A small, pocket bubble level (about 6" in length) comes in very handy to verify your set up.

The Zone VI gold-plated cameras are really flashy and they will attract a lot of attention whenever you set up in any busy area. So be prepared to answer a lot of questions from bystanders, the most common one will be "that looks like an old camera...is it an antique?"

Good luck with your new camera.

venchka
19-Aug-2008, 05:31
Very nice Zone VI!

... So be prepared to answer a lot of questions from bystanders, the most common one will be "that looks like an old camera...is it an antique?"

Good luck with your new camera.

Formualting a reply, "No, but I am." :D :cool:

venchka
3-Nov-2008, 16:57
...

At the time of purcase, I had a choice between a Nikon Nikkor-W 180mm f/5.6 and a Caltar II-N 210mm f/5.6 lens. I've always had a soft spot for Nikkor optics so I bought the 180, Nikkor-W in a Copal #1 shutter. Checking the shutter on a friend's homemade shutter tester reveals that 1/125 = 1/100, 1/250 = 1/198 and 1/400 = 1/212. Is this within the tolerance of the shutter?



I sent the Copal 1 shutter along with an old Kodak Supermatic (X) shutter to Carol Miller for some of her TLC. Here's what she said about the Copal 1 shutter:


I checked your copal and I can't believe it......It's the very 1st Copal I have every checked that ALL the speeds are within tolerance. 1/400 and 1/250 are normally slow but not yours!! :-)

Sometimes you get lucky. :)

Gem Singer
3-Nov-2008, 18:33
Wayne,

Sounds like your friend's homemade shutter speed tester isn't very accurate.

Think of the time (and money) you could have saved if you would have trusted the Copal 1 shutter in the beginning.

For what it's worth, I have never found an all black Copal shutter to operate at unacceptable speeds. That includes Copal 0, 1, and 3. Some of the older silver ring Copals, slowed down when they weren't used for a while. The lube dried up. Shutter speeds would usually improve after they were cocked and fired off a few times.

Vaughn
3-Nov-2008, 18:39
Wayne, I have been using my 8x10 Zone VI since 1985...I have not babied it. All sorts of weather, temperate rain forests to deserts (high and low), lowlands to above the timberline in the Trinity Alps and the Sierras, spinning the camera on the tripod head, and other indignities. Snow, sand, sea spray and a set of triplet boys. Must not be a gold-plated one as there is some tarnishing on the metal. But still going strong (though I never trust the baffle between the camera and the back -- it will leak light if the two are not perfectly aligned.)

Hope you are having as much fun with yours as I am with mine!

Vaughn

Jim Fitzgerald
3-Nov-2008, 18:51
Wayne, My first LF camera was this exact one and I love it. Like Vaughn said I don't baby mine either and it cleans up real nice.
I used this camera as my model for the 11x14 I built.

Good luck it is a great camera. Have fun with it.

Jim

ElrodCod
4-Nov-2008, 05:41
I started out with Schneider 210mm (Symmar S) and a 90mm (SA f/8) lenses...Fred Picker always recommended this two lens combination. He also suggested a 305 G-Claron a few years later, which I bought, and it worked great with this camera.


210mm and 120mm was his recommended combination.

venchka
4-Nov-2008, 06:40
Eugene,

I didn't distrust the Copal shutter. All of my negatives to date through that shutter looked fine. I was sending another shutter to Carol Miller anyway, so I asked her to check out the Copal. As it turns out, you sold me a "good un." Thanks!

Vaughn & Jim: I am having fun. Lots of fun!