47XL with Arca 6x9 - movements restricted?

[Sandy Sorlien]

Hi, after butting in on Mitchell's 80XL question I realized I'd better ask my ow n question. I recently bought a used Schneider 47XL for my Arca 6x9FC. It came w ith a recessed board which did not fit my camera, so I've been using it with the standard Arca board I had on my 80. I need to know which kind of board would be best for the 47 since it needs its own board. (Ever try switching boards out on the street? The person who invented that horrible little 4-piece wrench should be shot.) Jeff at Badger advised me to get a 7mm recessed board. (They were out of stock.) However, I just read an old post where someone refers to the standar d Arca board as "13mm recessed." Since I am not having trouble focusing at infi nity, I am not sure what the purpose of any more recess would be. Shouldn't I j ust get the same board I've been using?

And a related question: I have the universal leather bellows and it does not see m to be hindering my rise/fall/shift with this lens, however, the front and back standards hit each other when I try to use more than a tiny bit of tilt or swin g. It doesn't seem that a bag bellows would help with that, would it? Is it jus t a fact of life that you can't use much tilt or swing with a lens that short? (I did figure out I can get some tilt/swing effects using rise/shift and camera position.)

I find this lens very useful for streetscapes and want to maximize its potential . (I sound like a lens therapist!)

Thanks.

[Carl Weese]

Sandy,

The trouble with recessed boards, aside from getting your fingers in to set the lens, is that the nodal point of the lens is displaced from the nice tilt controls of the camera. I don't know the Arca, but one *good* reason to use the recessed board would be exactly to get the standards farther apart so they don't crash into each other as you describe when attempting a tilt or swing.---Car

[Glenn Kroeger]

Sandy:

Go with Jeff, with the 7mm. I use it on a 55mm Apo-Grandagon, and have no problems. By 15mm, the hassles of working controls and attaching a cable release really set in... at 7mm, you won't even notice that it is recessed.

[Micah Marty]

Hi Sandy,

This doesn't address your main question but rather a side comment you made. If you only use lenses with #0 and #1 shutters, use Toyo's handy little flat tool instead of a complex spanner wrench. The Toyo is only $12 and even makes a great key fob if you drill a hole in it.

www.bhphoto.com > Photo > Large Format > Gen'l Accessories > Tools > "Toyo lens mounting wrench" (click on "More info" to see a picture of it)

BUT, that said, it's been years since I've used a wrench of any kind on my lenses, and I'm often changing them a couple of times a week. In my experience hand-tight is tight enough, and when it comes time to unscrew them, finger pressure on the back ring while unscrewing the front half of the lens works just fine.

Good luck; hope your project is going well!

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[Glenn Kroeger]

Armin and Sandy:

Armin may have a point... I didn't realize the flange focal distance on the 47XL was that short... on the other hand, Jeff has pretty good track record with these things.

[Bob Salomon]

"This doesn't address your main question but rather a side comment you made. If you only use lenses with #0 and #1 shutters, use Toyo's handy little flat tool instead of a complex spanner wrench. "

And the Rodenstock version fits "0", "1" and "3" size shutters. There is no excuse for not fitting 3 as well as the smaller sizes.

[Ellis Vener]

If you are not having trouble focusing at infinity with the 47mm lens mounted on a flat board, I see no reason to get a recessed board unless your movements are restricted especially with regard to your remarks about swing and tilt. A bag bellows wouldn't help with that but arecessed board would of course make for more distance between the two standards at infinity & near infinity focus.

The standard Arca-Swiss board for the 4x5 cameras is a 13mm recessed board.