Which 4x5 Wista woodfields have front axis tilt?

[8x10 Masterview]

I thought they only had base tilts but found this on e-Bay: http://cgi.ebay.com/Wista-Field-Cherry-Wood-Horseman-6x7-roll-film-holder_W0QQitemZ110473233187QQcmdZViewItemQQptZFilm_Cameras?hash=item19b8b7c323

[Bob Salomon]

All current Wista wood field cameras, cherry, rosewood, quince and Ebony, the same front tilt arrangement.

[8x10 Masterview]

I'm still uncertain if the Wista woodfields have front axis or base tilts.

[Alex Tymków]

Hi, I have just checked my Wista DX and it only has base tilts. The pictures on your link show, I think, a camera that has been customised. The other way of showing that could be that they have just pulled the standards apart. All the literature I have also says base tilts only. Hope this helps, Alex

[8x10 Masterview]

Thank you Alex. That's what I thought but after seeing this Wista on e-Bay it got me to wondering.

[Bob Salomon]

The offer on e-bay only shows base tilts on the front and rear standard.

[8x10 Masterview]

Bob, Please take a look at the enlarged image and compare the third, fourth and fifth images from the bottom of the thumbnail selection. Alex picked up on what I was seeing and I think he has it pegged that it was modified.

[Bob Salomon]

Bob, Please take a look at the enlarged image and compare the third, fourth and fifth images from the bottom of the thumbnail selection. Alex picked up on what I was seeing and I think he has it pegged that it was modified.

The 3rd and 4th show front base tilt and the 5th shows the roll film back inserted under the GG. But since it is a Horseman back the GG is not protected with the plate that Wista puts on their roll backs for use with these cameras. So that Hoseman back may have scratched the inside surface of the gg where the gg rests on it.

[8x10 Masterview]

Now I'm really confused. :confused:

[Alex Tymków]

Hi Bob, My Wista doesn't do what the ebay Wista is doing - I tried. Base tilts are usually considered to be the pivot point where the standard joins the baseboard aren't they? Rather than the base of the lensboard holder. Alex

[Graham Patterson]

Bothered me, so I pulled mine out. The rise/fall on the front should have a guide and the lock in the slot, so it slides but doesn't rotate. The illustrated camera appears to have either had the fixed guide removed, or the rails spread to pull it out. These cameras have plenty of base tilt. I suppose someone may have wanted axis tilt that badly, but centering it can't be as easy.

For the record, mine has front and rear base tilt, front swing, front rise, rear swing, rear shift and a spring back. No front shift or rear rise. That's probably why a picture of a woodfield cited on APUG recently showed the camera turned on its side. You turn the rise/fall into front shift that way.

[sidmac]

I've never been able to put a Horseman back on mine. Have I been missing something the last 20 years?

[Chuck Pere]

Looks like the front standard just isn't in the slot. You could tilt the standard front or back with the base tilt, then with the lensboard piece not in the proper slot move it up or down to the place you want and then you can tilt the board on axis. Rise and fall and tilt are no longer independently controlled so you would need to be careful not to change one when adjusting the other.

[Mark Tweed]

Chuck is correct, the front standard has two small tabs, which in these ebay photos, are not locked into the vertical track of the front armature which in turn, is allowing the central pivoted movements illustrated. You do have to have the front support arms racked slightly back to allow these movement. Using the camera this way works well with small or medium sized lenses. A large heavy 90mm or a 300mm plasmat might be a bit much for this type of use in that the rotation of the front standard AND the height adjustment are being secured with only tightness of the two adjustment knobs. So yes, Wista's (and many other field cameras of the same design) offer both base and central axis tilt movements on the front standard.

About the use of the Horseman back, my Wista (and perhaps most others, I can't say for certain) has an extremely large amount of flex in the back springs, so yes it can easily accommodate the thickness of a roll-film back. Bob's concern about scratching the ground glass or fresnel is real. But simply placing a small patch of 1/8" or 1/4" closed cell foam with double-stick tape to the outside back of the roll-film holder would create a soft cushion for the glass or fresnel to rest against. Please note that the roll-film back must be of the type that has the full 4X5 mounting plate.

I hope this is helpful.


Mark