Tachihara 4x5 Rail Markings

[geyes30]

Hi guys,

I have a Tachihara 4x5, and I've been puzzling over the rail markings for a while now. They start from 12 (closest to the lens) and goes all the way to 0 (at the end the rail). The markings are approximately 1 cm apart. Since the markings appear to have been glued on, is it possible that they have been installed in the wrong orientation? What I mean is, shouldn't the numbers go from 0 to 12, as the bellows extension increases? Hope someone can shed some light on this matter. I would post some photos, but I don't have an easy way to transfer them from my phone to my computer. Thanks!

Cyrus

[drew.saunders]

I just dug out my old Tachi, and it has 0 at the front and 12 nearest the rear standard. Since you have to flip the two little brass conical things to push the front standard back for wide angle lenses, the numbers let you know how far back from the base point you're moving the standard. For my 120mm and 80mm lenses, I just marked the best points with a sharpie.

Drew

[geyes30]

Hi Drew,

Thanks for your reply. I just realized that what I wrote didn't make much sense because of a typo. What I meant to say was that the 0 was near the front standard, and the 12 is near the rear standard (I was thinking ground glass when I typed my original post, but somehow ended up typing "closest to the lens" instead. So that's the same as yours.

Cyrus