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Sean Galbraith
28-Sep-2010, 10:20
Hi all

I shoot with a humble Crown Graphic. I'm planning a shoot sometime in the near future where I'll be up significantly higher than my subject (a subway yard) with a 90mm lens. I'm thinking of shooting the camera upside down, so that I can change the front rise into a front fall... but I'll be using a tripod and it doesn't have a shoe mount on the top side. Any suggestions as to how I might accomplish this? Could a hole be drilled into the top of the camera frame and a tripod thread be inserted?

domaz
28-Sep-2010, 10:28
You can't reverse the center column either? At least your groundglass image will be right side up <sic>.

Fotoguy20d
28-Sep-2010, 10:30
You probably could but I personally wouldn't want to be drilling holes in my Crown (nothing humble about it). Maybe you could make an L shaped angle bracket with a tripod thread on the bottom and screw on the other arm and use the side mount. Or, a square frame with the camera mounted from the top bar upside down.

Dan

Sean Galbraith
28-Sep-2010, 11:25
You can't reverse the center column either? At least your groundglass image will be right side up <sic>.

ha!

I'm going to be shooting from an overpass nearby, and so having the camera hang below the tripod isn't an option. Plus, for some shots at other facilities, I might be up on a ladder with a superclamp.

IanG
28-Sep-2010, 11:45
I'd go find a tatty, dirt cheap, but functional old monorail for it's movements, I've one for sale but it weighs a ton (it's whole plate, half plate & 5x4), a De Vere - postage to Canada would be about 3 times what it's worth :D

Seriously I bought a mint Cambo for £100/$160 US about 5 years ago,there's plenty for less than that on the forums.

Failing that borrow one there's plenty of LF users in Toronto :)

Ian

Sean Galbraith
28-Sep-2010, 12:18
Getting a different camera means getting different lens plates and having all my lenses switched over. Plus, having a(nother) new camera show up at the front door = divorce. :-)

jp
28-Sep-2010, 12:21
In the film Manufactured Landscapes, Edward Burtynsky is shown using his linhof upside down.

If the crown has a side tripod mount, you could use a ball head or tiltall with the head tilted 90 degrees to get what you want.

Sean Galbraith
28-Sep-2010, 12:24
That's exactly what has inspired me to figure out how I could do it with mine.

Good thinking... I'll give that a try. It does have a side mount.

Michael Roberts
28-Sep-2010, 12:56
Sean, which 90mm lens? If you are using a press lens (Optar), be sure to check whether it vignettes with max front rise (or fall in your case). Mine does.

Sean Galbraith
28-Sep-2010, 12:58
Right now I have an Angulon that doesn't seem to vignette.

IanG
28-Sep-2010, 13:06
90mm f6.8 Angulon's vignette :D 90mm f5.6 or f8 Super Angulons have room for some movements.

Ian

Mark Woods
28-Sep-2010, 14:45
Hello Sean,

You appear to live in Toronto. I'd contact a motion picture grip rental house and ask them to recommend a rigging grip who could make this happen very quickly and safely. Toronto is a huge film center in Canada and has most, if not all, the tools necessary to rig cameras much heavier than yours. :-)

Frank Petronio
28-Sep-2010, 15:16
Get a $20 Bogen Super Clamp and mount that to your tripod, then clamp the camera to it.

lenser
28-Sep-2010, 16:09
Sean,

Doesn't the Crown Graphic have a drop bed feature to begin with? If so, any lens you use that will be out in front of the main camera body at your focusing range, will be able to be "dropped" lower than it's position if the bed were kept flat.

You might check that out with the lens(es) you plan to shoot before investing in all the engineering to turn the camera upside down. If you shoot vertically, the side shifts will work the same way to lower the lens position.

engl
28-Sep-2010, 17:38
I had a Crown Graphic and used the side tripod hole, and the tripod head at an 90 degree angle, to get the camera upside down. This one is shot using that configuration to get some front fall:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36164047@N06/5009113746/

Drop bed can also be used for fall, but it works best with longer lenses. My 125mm only dropped a few millimeters using drop bed for fall, so I had to invert.

Sean Galbraith
28-Sep-2010, 17:40
I LOVE your photos. Beautiful!

Thanks everyone

Tintype Bob
29-Sep-2010, 05:56
You can get a flat peice of steel from Home Depot then drill two holes, one at each end to fit a 1/4 X 20 screw. Then using a nut to fit the tripod thread attach the steel to the tripod, then attach the camera Up side down to the other end of the steel and use a 1/4 X 20 short bolt to hole it in place.

Neal Chaves
1-Oct-2010, 13:22
Drop the bed. Restore the lens to the vertical. You will have to push up the track a bit to find infinity and closer focus. From this position you can have rise or fall on the lens and no chance of catching the bed.

engl
1-Oct-2010, 15:40
Drop the bed. Restore the lens to the vertical. You will have to push up the track a bit to find infinity and closer focus. From this position you can have rise or fall on the lens and no chance of catching the bed.

That method unfortunately does not work with wide lenses, such as the 90mm the OP is using.

ic-racer
2-Oct-2010, 11:38
Side socket and shift? Thats how I do it on my Horseman.

Sirius Glass
2-Oct-2010, 12:09
If you need to drop the bed and the image on the ground glass is upside down, have you considered rotating you lens 180º? ROTFLMAO :D

Sorry, I could not resist. ... no actually I could resist but why stop now?

Steve