Search:

Solved : had a workshop reduce the strange custom Cambo ring by a mm and a half, now fitting in the Luland circular board and the clamping works as for any other board/lens/ring.
Anybody else with a...

more images :
210735210736210737

And the Luland thing - fantastic space-saver.
210738

Hello,

To bridge the gap between my 210mm and 360/500mm lenses, I recently bought a Fuji 300mm, my first lens with a Copal 3.
But it seems I have a gotten myself an oddball : it came on a Cambo...

My own :

75 / 4,5 #661 065
90 / 4,5 #686 062 ("S" sign)

135 / 5,6 #800 004 ("S" sign)
150 / 5,6 #801 827 ("S" sign)
180 / 5,6 #800...

As a sidenote, any wide-angle lens up to about 100mm is going to produce a very pronounced hotspot on the ground-glass ; illumination will become even across the entire 4x5" above 120mm.
For the...

Hello Kumar,

Ah - that is in line with the response I got a few days ago from MAC in the US : "Toyo products and part for repair are becoming very scarce."
So I guess photography has somewhat...

I'm in the process of wondering about that very subject myself... although I have it already : the Norma :)

Perfect for field work : lightweight, very sturdy, accepts any lens, easy to use, ample...

Hello lads - long time no see !

A lot has changed since my first post here... more later on.
In the meantime, you can see the results of four years' work on my renewed website : axeldahl.com

...

Ok, after a real-life test at the Fondation, it is obvious the crux was my old Norma rear standard.

I don't know why nor do I have a clue as to what could have happened to it during the 6 months...

Sevo,

I tried both my back assemblies together (ie. spring-back + frame) but didn't swap spring-backs separately.

The repairman told me he couldn't really check much because both assemblies...

Further chatting with the repairman lead to one possible answer which actually makes sense to me.
Here goes :

1) This wandering focus point problem cannot be pinned on lenses - seven crazy lenses...

Well... the Sinar repair shop here in Paris couldn't find anything wrong my Norma !
This really escapes me (and everybody else :) so I won't bother trying anyhting else with it.

I'm renting an F2...

Sevo,

Tight and straight everywhere, no wobbly ground glass or frame.
After each shot is done, I reattach the gg and check with my eyes and two loupes : everything is like it was before putting...

Ah, well, tests #5 received and the results are so inconclusive that this borders on madness.

Big files uploaded : zoom inside the squares.

4x5 with the 90mm : all is almost fine
4x5 with the...

Struan,

I suppose my "main" Norma back (the one shown above) also was part of an "expert" kit because it came bundled in a big Sinar with 5x7" and 8x10" backs and all sorts of accessories (not at...

Sevo,

The only rollfilm holder I used with the Norma is the old Calumet C2 - in focus.
What I mostly used this Norma with were and still are my three dozen 4x5" chassis - in focus.


... that...

Well, weirdness continues :
I show the LF shop owner both my Norma backs and right off the bat he points one out and says "That is not right."

One very american acronym is creeping up in my head,...

Test done with other people focusing for me and nothing here : I focus exactly where they do, no difference.

So there must "something" between GG and Norma back(s) ; will go tomorrow morning to...

Sevo,

I have friends coming over this afternoon : will ask both of them to focus for me (with the "bare" no-fresnel back) and then will check with my own eyes. Will repeat several times with 55mm,...

Doremus,

Just tried (again) now with a 300, a tiny little delicate thing far away to focus on and swap backs : absolute same.
On the main back I see the added fresnel concentric circles, of...

I've added three more images of the back that I actually use :
split up
viewing side
lens side
This a full-factory back : never changed anything.

The other is the same, except it has no...

@ Bob
The three fresnels and GGs I have are all standard Sinar parts : nothing DiY or custom.

The back with "built-in" fresnel is standard Sinar (never opened or touched by anyone) and the one...

Thank you all again !
(I seriously hope it is NOT my eyes)

The main Norma back... let me take a photo, it'll be easier.

96912

The fresnel rests unattached on the bottom of the Norma frame...

... then I guess a visit to an optician will have to be scheduled for tomorrow :(

@ Tobias Key
Ah - I work alone now but the last time I did have an assistant was last june ; he did the fine focus which I naturally checked and it was as if I had done it myself : crystal sharp.
...

@ Sevo
Just tested on my main Norma back with the 150mm and toying with the loupe's top piece don't change nothing either : same sharpness to my eyes (and that old 1963 Symmar is a killer, too).
...

Thanks for suggestions all !

I must add that the Norma hasn't changed a bit since doing the Nouvel and Perrault images last year : same old Norma back I've been using since... 1990. Very tired...

While doing tests to check on basic functions and film planeity of a DaYi rollfilm back (which I had to return : not plane at all, random view-spacing), I've been experiencing a very strange problem...

Test made.

2x3" : indeed no signs of fall-off at all with (moderate) or without V shifts !

4x5" : sans shifts, there is some but it remains perfectly manageable in post-production ; with...

Bonjour Emmanuel !

I have read the Rodenstock pdf but graphs do not speak much to me - never was good at math :(

I'll have my tests developed tomorrow ; with the 55mm, I made a straight shot...

Dan,

Will see the french forum.
I reluctantly go "down" to 6x9cm but I have to. Reluctantly.

Most architects ask me to cover the building in everything ; expenses-wise, I can do it in 6x9cm...

Leonard,
My Norma has the fresnel inside but as I have no time to make tests and adjust focal planes (shooting starts in two weeks and will extend throughout summer), I guess I'll have to buy a...

ah - that's what I thought.
Yes, I only use C41 now.

Yes, it is an approximation... shorthand if you like :)
About 5,7cm x 8,25cm ? The closer to 8,xx and not 9, the happier I'd be.

Why the test on E6 and not C41 ?

Thanks George - if I could avoid that one bit of expense, it would be great !

No more Ektachromes here (I think there's only one lab left in Paris processing E6), only Portra 400 (4x5" or 6x9cm).

2x3 is... inches ? (sorry for being European ;-)

With the 55mm, I will be using shifts, generally up - architecture demands it.

Fall-off like this I have no problems with (I even like it) but...

Thank you Bob.

I'll only be using the 55mm for 6x9cm ; on 4x5", the 75mm is large enough for my taste.
Will be doing tests tomorrow on 4x5", then cropped to 6x9cm with a cache and will see if...

Thank you Keith !
This is obviously not for me so I'll try to rapidly find a tech in Paris :)

Thank you Steven - done !
I didn't realize there was a "random question" to answer in the search function so I was winding up with a cryptic message...

As posted here... one question regarding my new Sinaron 55/4,5 MC (green stripe, Copal 0 shutter) :

I bought it to recover some wide-angle possibilities with 6x9cm shots. I don't mind a little...