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View Full Version : Lens board tilt on a Eastman 2D



Robert Vigurs
30-Apr-2010, 19:08
I purchased an Eastman View Camera No. 2D today, 8x10. I paid $158. I enjoy my 4x5,and can enlarge negatives, or portions thereof with my old trustworthy 45 mcrx. I am looking in to alternative printing processes and having a larger negative size will aid that. I have found that with landscape photography, it is very helpful to have some front tilt. Otherwise I have some image distortion with rear tilt only. I really feel it would be hard to do without front tilt This 8x10 has a rise/fall knob, in the center of the lens board, rather than at the bottom. This is partly why I purchased it. I want to modify this camera to have front tilt. Looks to be an easy job. Am I correct here? Has any one done this? Although somewhat reticent to modify such a pure example of an early camera, I really feel I will need this movement for what I have in mind. I thank you in advance for any pointers here. Robert

EdWorkman
30-Apr-2010, 19:16
Whycha' try the back tilt.
I shot the local feedmill with 183 Protar V i got from eddie gunks and was worried about running out of rise. To get plenty and get rid of the street foreground I tilted the base and tilted the back , er, back to vertical. I concluded I could do what I want to do without hacking my front standard [ which I too was considering].
Now that I reflect on that, I wonder if the fuji 250 coulda' worked the same way. Without any tilting it vignetted . The Protar V just ran out of rack, not IC.

dsphotog
30-Apr-2010, 19:20
If Ed's traditional method isn't enough tilt for you, and you want to keep the camera original.....
It might be possible to make a special lensboard with a tilting panel in the center.

GSX4
30-Apr-2010, 19:26
I'll take a picture of mine. I bought a beater 2D with good bellows, then found other parts to make one good one. The parts camera had a modified front standard to add in swing, tilt and rise! I now have a 2d with extension rail, sliding tripod mount and all the movements I'd ever need. After re-fitting, and tightening/glueing stripped screw holes, the camera is quite rigid now and ready for more years of service! I hope to try it out tomorrow for the first time of it's second life.

Robert Vigurs
30-Apr-2010, 19:58
Andrew, I'd love to see a pic of the front standard modifications, if digital you could email them to me at robertvigurs@gmail.com. And yes Ed, I was thinking that I could make Mr Scheimpflug happy by tilting the whole works in the direction I need. A lens board only tilt is also an option. Ed, I'm in Santa Cruz. Are you also in this area?

Robert Vigurs
30-Apr-2010, 21:44
The reason I asked if you lived close by Ed, is that I seem to remember a post you had about a non working 4990. I have two. I'd sell one to you for $160 if you still need one. Works great. You can come by and try it out. I hope I did not break any rules here. Robert

Brian Ellis
1-May-2010, 07:59
Richard Ritter modified my 2D to add front tilt. He did an excellent job. The cost was $250 about six years ago. I thought it was well-worth the cost to have someone who really knew what they were doing do the work and to get the fit and finish right. But then I have no wood-working skills at all so doing it myself wasn't an option.

Possibly I'm misunderstanding Ed's message but what he describes doesn't sound like the equivalent of front tilt. Front tilt alters the plane of focus. Aiming the camera up and tilting the back to bring it parallel with the subject doesn't change the plane of focus, it changes the area included in the photograph and eliminates converging verticals, i.e. as Ed says, he extended front rise.

BetterSense
1-May-2010, 08:58
I just sold an 8x10 2D camera, and it have front tilt. Is there more than one model of 2D?

Brian Ellis
1-May-2010, 13:10
I just sold an 8x10 2D camera, and it have front tilt. Is there more than one model of 2D?

Maybe you sold the one I had modified by Richard Ritter. : - ) I'm not aware of a 2D that came from the factory with front tilt but that doesn't mean there wasn't one.

Robert Vigurs
1-May-2010, 14:13
I'm thinking there is more than one front standard design. The 2D I bought has a single knob centered on the right for rise and fall. Another 2D, still up for sale on evil bay, has two knobs for loosening /tightening, at the bottom of the lensboard.

EdWorkman
1-May-2010, 15:35
Robert
I got the 4990 to work, and thanks for your kind offer. I never did get all the parts, but it scans nicely. I even hacked the 35mm filmstrip holder from the 2450 and made it work for 120- 2+x9 inch panoramics from my home made conversion of Kodak 1A, now sporting a 203 raptar.
I'm down at the other end of the Salinas river Valley.
And Brian, I agree with your statement, the lens tilts BACk when I tilt UP, so tilting the camera down to get mr Scheimphlug happy could cause the field of view to be restricted. I had no depth of field worries at the-unmarked-stop beyond f45.
But I didn't want anyone to NOT try the 2D first- I was pleasantly surprised at the "work around" results.
I second the motion to show us 2Ds with front movements , please, cuz I think I have most of my current projects leaning if not whipped.
:>)

BetterSense
1-May-2010, 17:11
http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n78/daravon/IMG_5242.jpg

Is that not a 2D? It has front tilt, swing, and shift, and rise.

GSX4
2-May-2010, 10:21
Here's my Kodak 2D with front shift, tilt AND swing.

EdWorkman
2-May-2010, 13:08
Thanks for the photos- very interesting approahes to solving the problem. I wonder if first one - linked to photobucket-still catch the upfolded rail?. From the photo it looks as if the front standard may have been lifted by that neat wood mechanism below it.
And Andrew- how's the bent metal strip for rigidity? It sure solves the problem of getting a rigid corner that wood presents
Thanks to you all

GSX4
2-May-2010, 14:05
It seems to be quite sturdy and does not move at all. It all seems to lock up quite well once the knobs are tightened up.

Michael Jones
3-May-2010, 08:29
I could be wrong, but the photobucket 2D has a rear standard’s tilt mechanism grafted onto the front standard; pretty clever, but not original. The other 2D has the front end from a Burke & James added (I’d recognize that aluminum anywhere…), also not original.

15 years ago I had front swing and tilt added to my Korona by Patrick Alt. It was simple and looked original. I noticed there is a front swing mechanism/assembly on ePay from a Deardorff that could be added to any camera as an option. Good luck.

Mike

lecarp
3-May-2010, 08:44
There was an accessory once available for the 2D to add front tilt. It mounted like a lens board and used a small bellows and struts connected to a new lens mounting panel. It looked similar to a compendium lens hood.

EdWorkman
3-May-2010, 09:08
eddie gunks has a Whole Plate 2D up for sale- it has front tilt, no swing or shift that I can see. The tilt is accomplished in a manner similar to the 2D back tilt- see the for sale section for the link to pictures.

BradS
3-May-2010, 09:30
http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n78/daravon/IMG_5242.jpg

Is that not a 2D? It has front tilt, swing, and shift, and rise.

The front tilt mechanism on that camera is very much NOT original. It is quite obviously somebody's handiwork.

GSX4
3-May-2010, 10:12
Not sure why there are comments on whether the tilt movements are standard or not? All of these are workarounds and homegrown attempts to add what what was lacking in the first place!!

Michael Jones
3-May-2010, 18:19
Andrew:

Because of this comment by the thread originator:

"I'm thinking there is more than one front standard design."

There isn't. Not critical, just reality of a 2D.

Mike