Alternatives to Travelwide ? > Linhof Technica Handheld Realistic ?

[Alan Gales]

The problem is that since the camera is so close to one's body, the heart beat and respirations will blur the image. You need to get the camera away from the body like this for optimum results. In fact I have already dismantled the roof platform on my station wagon...
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I can just picture that camera flipping over causing the pole to spin in the fellows hands which in turn causes him to drop the whole thing in the street. Not a pretty picture.

[Dan Fromm]

The problem is that since the camera is so close to one's body, the heart beat and respirations will blur the image. You need to get the camera away from the body like this for optimum results. In fact I have already dismantled the roof platform on my station wagon...
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Good joke. I chose the focal lengths I did because with them tremor will generate exactly the same effect. Are people who shoot 35 mm that much steadier than the doddering old men -- apologies to readers who aren't doddering, old, or men -- who shoot 4x5?

[jbenedict]

Not if you are looking at current users.

OK. I'll admit it. You won the argument. Feel better?

[jbenedict]

Large format films are not fast enough for sharp hand-held 4x5 and larger unless one uses a flash. Stabilizing gyro is also an alternative. Just because one can build a camera does not mean it will be useful.

35mm users push the poo out of Tri-X. I've heard of people who regularly use it at 1600 ISO. One thing they like is the way the boulders look when pushed like that. 4x5 certainly can be pushed and still have usable, sharp images. Push it to 1600 and, on an overcast day, use 500th at f8 or f 11. With sheet film, you certainly can push or pull based on the shutter speed and aperture you want to use.

[Alan Gales]

Are people who shoot 35 mm that much steadier than the doddering old men -- apologies to readers who aren't doddering, old, or men -- who shoot 4x5?

I guess a lot depends upon the photographer too. With my bad back I can no longer shoot 35mm consistently handheld below 1/125 of a second. When I was young I could do 1/30. Medium format is no problem at 1/125. I bought a Crown Graphic to try it out but I only used it on a tripod. There was no way I could hold it steady.

[ic-racer]

Realistically everyone has their own limits. I have used my Horseman 4x5in FA handheld but I can't do it (ie results are poor without flash). My limit is 6x9cm Horseman in sunlight. Even then, with magnification or enlargement, I almost alway wish I had used a tripod; unless the photographs are of people. Of course this is the Large Format forum and frequently it is fun to try to make things work, in spite of confounding technical difficulties.

Depending on the chosen dependent and independent variables, one can show just about whatever they want when it comes to depth of field, but let us consider two cameras with the same angle of view, same film emulsion and the same depth of field. One is 35mm and the other is 4x5", shooting on an overcast day without a tripod.

35mm camera settings are 1/125 at f8
4x5 camera settings are 1/8 at f22

Certainly compromises can be had and deciding which compromises are made will be a challenge even in the hands of the experienced LF user. i had a lot of fun exploring handheld large format, but in the end I carry a tripod to make the images I want.

[Corran]

Your numbers are wrong, the equivalent exposure to 1/125 and f/8 is 1/15 and f/22. I'll assume you are already shooting 400 ISO for your example but if not, that would be a way to increase the shutter speed.

Ultimately it depends on what one is doing and how they want to accomplish it. But is it doable? Absolutely, with reasonable consideration for how much light you have. In the same way, I sometimes wish I had a tripod for certain 35mm shots with slow film and not much light.

FWIW, most times I've shot handheld 4x5 it was at wider f/stops. If I'm shooting landscapes and want f/32 I'll use a tripod of course, but action/people are fine with wider stops if you don't mind limited DOF.

[angusparker]

For handheld, Medium Format using C41 excels and with a good MF scanner achieves results that are comparable to 4x5 B&W scanned with the Epson V750. Optical enlargement / contact printing would be another matter - but in a digital workflow MF is the way to go for handheld.

The Fuji GF670 (with meter) using Ilford XP2 is an excellent option to consider. You can use traditional B&W filters too.

[Dan Fromm]

I just read this discussion from the top. Two things leap out.

The OP isn't complaining about its own TW shots, its asking about TW shots posted on the 'net.

Early posts made it clear that shooting handheld shouldn't be a problem with the TW but most of the posts in the discussion blame the alleged faults on unsteadiness.

No one has pointed out that focusing may also be a problem. Guess focus and a helical with a generic ramp, as opposed to a ramp calibrated for the lens in use unless the owner went to the trouble, are alternative explanations of sharpness problems, if any, with the TW.

Are there in fact sharpness problems with the TW? As long as the helical's axis is perpendicular to the film plane, the helical's front is parallel to the film plane, and the shutter is attached properly a TW should be able to capture all the image quality the lens can deliver.

In other words, until testing proves otherwise don't blame the gear, blame the user. In this discussion, blame the OP for making what seem to be unsupported assertions.

[AuditorOne]

Interestingly my TW90 seems to provide results that are very good, even handheld. It did take a couple of tries to get the focus properly adjusted before I began to get satisfactory results.

If I want really sharp results that can be easily enlarged to very large sizes I don't use the TW handheld...or the Crown Graphic handheld...or the Linhoff handheld...or the...

I think you get the idea. If sharp 4x5 photographs are your goal then you should certainly go find a monorail or field camera and bolt it to a tripod.