Handheld 5X7 thoughts

[Randy]

I recall that Clyde Butcher and some friends made hand held 5x7 cameras set for landscapes using hyperfocal distance. They looked like duct tape and scrap wood but the images were worthy of the format. Might be worth a search.

For the type of picture taking I want to be able to do, I don't think using hyper-focal will work. I would like to have the option of shooting rather close (1 meter) at wide apertures, like f/6.8, f/8. If I was just going to shoot landscapes, it would all be very easy

[DrTang]

For the type of picture taking I want to be able to do, I don't think using hyper-focal will work. I would like to have the option of shooting rather close (1 meter) at wide apertures, like f/6.8, f/8. If I was just going to shoot landscapes, it would all be very easy

I'd go find a DoF chart for the lens at those distances..chances are it will be wafer thin

also..think about carting all those film holders around

another thing is camera shake - even a teeny bit of shake will be magnified just by the shear size of the film being used

don't get me wrong..I LOVE the whole handheld concept..having tried to build an 8x10 and a 5x7 at one point..the idea of walking around with basically a giant Brownie is pretty sweet...but it got just too much for me deal with....

my concept was a 5x7 or 8x10 walking around camera for street portraits - to get around camera shake I was experimenting with flash and slightly wide angle lenses - the whole set up just got too heavy to be practical for me...
I still am kicking around the idea..but somehow cobbled to a cart or wheeled device(modified jogging stroller???) so I won't have to carry the batteries and flash heads and holders on person

[Randy]

I'd go find a DoF chart for the lens at those distances..chances are it will be wafer thin

I am sure at 1 meter it will be thin. Would have to close down some.

also..think about carting all those film holders around

Well, I have often carried a camera bag with a few lenses and a few bodies, when shooting 35mm or medium format. I am thinking more like a bag with 6-8 film holders max, and a meter - that's about it.

another thing is camera shake - even a teeny bit of shake will be magnified just by the shear size of the film being used

Yes, I would be limited to bright scenes. I could carry a mono-pod to help with slower shutter speeds...I guess.
My shutter goes to 1/400th. I would most likely (unless I win the lottery sometime soon) be shooting cut down X-ray film that I rate at ISO 200, so I should be able to keep my shutter speed around 1/250 - 1/400 for most of my shooting...I hope.

[photobymike]

Fotoman makes a 8x10 hand held...The real problem with larger hand held formats for me is the larger lenses needed. I suppose you could use a 65 or 75 if clipping the corners was ok.. I now have a Fotoman 4x5 with a 75mm. I found that i need to use 400 film to get the aperture needed for some depth of field. I am not that good at guessing distance, and the depth of field DOF takes care of my bad guess work..... Longer lenses would require a little more precision with the focus and the scale. Well for the you kiddies that have a strong back Fotoman made or still makes an 8x10 carry.... if bigger is better....

Randy ..i remember that quote ..it is a good one.... that show was sooo depressing.... murder and mayhem

[rfesk]

I have a nice DIY 5X7 that uses the ebay advertised helical. It won't get to 1 meter but could be made to with a little effort. My 5X7 uses the helical mounted on the lensboard so a spacer could be used between the lensboard and body to get the closer distances in focus if desired. My lens is a 135 Ektar wide field (equivalent to a 28mm lens on a 35mm camera.)

But trying to shoot hand held at f/6.3 at 1 meter would be very difficult because of the shallow depth of field. How about .09 meters?

[Oren Grad]

The movement of the lens, from infinity to 1 meter is only about 20mm, so it seems to me that a helical focus mechanizm would be ideal. Perhaps an alternative to the "sliding box" method that Vaughn mentioned above would be two sections of PVC, one sliding inside the other...? I can get a helical focus mechanism on ebay for about $109 shipped. It looks like it is about the right size but I don't know if the travel is enough (20mm), and not being familiar with them, I can't tell if, when turning the focus ring, the lens will rotate as it travels.

Randy - FWIW, the travel of the short-throw Fotoman helical is 8mm and the long-throw one is 18mm. From the looks of it I suspect that the travel of the helical on eBay is more like the short-throw Fotoman, but who knows - why not try asking the seller?

[Randy]

Randy - FWIW, the travel of the short-throw Fotoman helical is 8mm and the long-throw one is 18mm. From the looks of it I suspect that the travel of the helical on eBay is more like the short-throw Fotoman, but who knows - why not try asking the seller?

Oren, I just heard back from the seller - 9mm travel, which is about 1/2 of what I would like to have. I have not seen the long-throw version you mention. If I could get 18mm I would be happy. I wonder what the throw is on the helical on the new Travelwide camera?

[Oren Grad]

Oren, I just heard back from the seller - 9mm travel, which is about 1/2 of what I would like to have. I have not seen the long-throw version you mention. If I could get 18mm I would be happy.

Look under "accessories" (well, strictly speaking they say "accesories") on the Fotoman.cc website. But I think their price is going to be more like $200-300, which probably isn't what you have in mind. I think it might be worth reconsidering this particular requirement, though. At very close focus and wider apertures it's going to be extremely difficult to get the focus right hand-held. OTOH, if you're willing to put the camera on a tripod you can stop way down and get effective coverage closer than the minimum close focus setting.

[Roger Hesketh]

Burke and James made a fixed focus 5x7 camera utilizing a 108mm Wollensak EWA f12.5 lens. You could find one of those cameras or build a similar camera utilsing that lens.Which is just a box with a 5x7 back of it.

[cgrab]

If you want to focus from infinity to 1 meter, it will be difficult to find a helical focus mount, except for extreme wide-angles. There is a formula to calculate the necessary extension from infinity (zero position) to 1 meter (extension), which goes like this:

square of focal length divided by onethousand is the extension in millimeters necessary to go from infinity to 1 meter.

Thus for 75mm: 75²/1000=5,625; but for 300mm: 300²/1000=90. A 300 mm portrait lens would require a helical with a driving out 90mm to focus both to infinity and 1 meter, even a 210mm would require 44,1 mm. Maybeyou can find something suitable at a hardware store (plastic drain pipe connectors?)

Good luck and please show what you came up with
Christoph