Wista VX or Linhof Master for 72mm to 240mm architecture.

[JimL]

As always, since I can't just rent a Linhoff Technika 2000 non-rangefinder (which is the model I'm partial to)
And I can't rent a late model Wista LX either, I need to base a lot of things that would be obvious in use on the perception of the posters here.
Unless someone wants to rent their baby.
The fluidity of the spring back is a factor, but I am only using Fidelity II plastic holders, no roll film backs.
I do like the fact that the Linhof has a tripod thread on the bottom of the body, instead of the bottom of the bed like Wista/Toyo. With my tendency for shorter lenses I would probably only use the bottom-of-body mount.

So my questions continue... I would be using the 72mm very infrequently, so let's just assume I want a system for a Nikkor 90mm f8. and that will be the lens I use most, probably on a flat lens board, but a recessed is always an option.

On these two Cameras Linhoff 2000 or Wista LX, would the front standard be running on the focusing track inside the body or would the front standard be at the back of the focusing track on the bed? With the Toyo CF, the front standard is about one inch away from the carbon fiber body when the 90mm (flat board) is focused at infinity. Plenty of room to get your fingers onto the front standard knobs... but there are two knobs for rise and two knobs for tilt and they run independently side to side so there is potential for parallelism problems. The maximum possible front rise from center/zero on the CF is 35mm normally but at 90mm (infinity) its limited to 20mm rise by the bellows contacting the CF body. (I'll add this to the Toyo CF thread too) [I just measured these]

And are the front standards center/zeroed at the bottom of their potential 50+ front rise so all front fall is in the form of drop-bed and front tilt-back?

You see where I'm going here... if the wide angle lens isn't on the front focus bed, then a 90mm or 72mm or 55mm wouldn't have any potential to do front fall.

Or am I all wet? I can only deduce so much from the specifications in the old 1999 B&H sourcebook, online manuals and enlarged Ebay photos, so any detail is helpful.

-Schaf

- On a Wista VX, you always use the track on the bed - the body track is fixed and only used for folding the camera. For short lenses, the bed extension slides back until it butts against the body track - that's as short as you can go and I've been able to focus a 55mm Apo-Grandagon on a recessed board (the bed does intrude into the image area with the 55 though).

- When using a centered-hole board, with the front standard at its lowest, the lens is centered on the ground glass, so the standared off-center Linhof board will give you a little fall.

- When I want to use fall, I have an Arca style tripod plate mounted on the side of the body, and I flip the body on its side and use the front standard shift (and swing if I need tilt). There was some kind of accessory block thing on the left side (looking from the front) which I removed, and under the leatherette there is a hole in the body casting which I used to mount the plate. I find this fast and easy and it works well with 90mm and 75mm lenses; with a 65mm I can only shift about 6-7mm as the knobs will hit some metal brackets on the body.

- I removed the standard round tripod mount from the bed and bolted on a 4" Arca style rail (this involved some disassembly and drilling through the bed). This allows me to shift the camera front to back for better balance with the lens I'm using.

- As to your question about a 90/8 Nikkor on a flat board on the Wista, the knobs are in front of the body box. I can get about 18mm rise with this (standard bellows). You could probably get more with the bag bellows.

[Daniel Casper Lohenstein]

Hello,

perhaps you need a simple and reliable Cambo?

Regards

[rdeloe]

- On a Wista VX, you always use the track on the bed - the body track is fixed and only used for folding the camera. For short lenses, the bed extension slides back until it butts against the body track - that's as short as you can go and I've been able to focus a 55mm Apo-Grandagon on a recessed board (the bed does intrude into the image area with the 55 though).

Apparently there's a short supplemental rail for even wider angle lenses. Is anyone familiar with this part? https://www.wista.co.jp/e_wista/e_sh...2/e_acces2.htm

Wide Angle Rail
Product No. 4553
An auxiliary extension rail which enables focusing of 47mm super wide angle lens by track focusing knob on wista 45 camera.

- When using a centered-hole board, with the front standard at its lowest, the lens is centered on the ground glass, so the standared off-center Linhof board will give you a little fall.

So presumably with the off-center Linhof boards on the Wista VX/SP/RF, if you actually want to use the centre of the image circle you're always going to set up with the needed amount of rise? (I could answer this myself in a week when my VX arrives... but in the meantime I'm curious!)

[schafphoto]

Their is no Wista LX.

Bob - no wonder I can't figur it out. ;-) I don't believe there is a Porsche or Ferrari LX either

[schafphoto]

Hello,

perhaps you need a simple and reliable Cambo?

Regards

Yes I have about 6 Cambos (wanna buy one?) and this year I shot 1614 sheets of 4x5 and 5x7 film, only about 150 sheets were exposed on my Toyo CF in exotic places like Guam and Idaho. I like to take my camera and lenses in carry-on luggage on the plane instead of checked luggage and the Cambo just takes up too much room, even disassembled. This makes a folding camera ideal if it has enough movement. For HABS/HAER work, the front rise and how it operates is a feature I'd like to get right for this purchase.

-Schaf

[Bob Salomon]

Yes I have about 6 Cambos (wanna buy one?) and this year I shot 1614 sheets of 4x5 and 5x7 film, only about 150 sheets were exposed on my Toyo CF in exotic places like Guam and Idaho. I like to take my camera and lenses in carry-on luggage on the plane instead of checked luggage and the Cambo just takes up too much room, even disassembled. This makes a folding camera ideal if it has enough movement. For HABS/HAER work, the front rise and how it operates is a feature I'd like to get right for this purchase.

-Schaf

Too bad you weren’t able to talk to Jack Boucher, much of his work was on a Technika 57.

On the V and later Technika 45 Cameras with a 90 you drop the bed, release the top flap locks on the Masters, drop the bed and, if you want rise, pump the rise lever on the left front of the front standard.
Remove the cam first before dropping the bed, replace it after dropping it.

You can download the instructions on the Linhof web site under the service tab.

The Technika bellows allows for any lens from extreme wide up to use full movements, permitted by the camera, without the need for a w/a bellows.

[schafphoto]

Too bad you weren’t able to talk to Jack Boucher, much of his work was on a Technika 57.

Bob- Indeed, Boucher and Jet Lowe are two of my heroes, along with Julius, Ezra, Marvin, and Bernt und Hilla. I know Jet and keep in contact on Facebook. I wish I could have met Boucher, but he lives on in the stories that the staff at Heritage Documentation Programs tell (more like cautionary tales), whenever they aren't furloughed.

This morning I read the Technika 2000 instruction manual (http://linhof.com/wp-content/uploads...sic_2000_e.pdf) . It appears that it may just be easier to mount 2 tripod quick release plates on the bottom of the body and on the side of the body and if I need front fall then just flip the camera sideways, drop the shift 40mm (plus the option of pointing the body downward, + swinging the rear standard out 30º and get another 10+mm). I guess this is just personal preference.

Side-flip operation just seems more intuitive than upside down operation... removing the top shoe, mounting the camera upside down, and then crouching down and fiddling with the lens under the "roof" of the bed, although it would be nice to have the image right side up in the ground glass ;-)

Removing the top shoe isn't something I'm going to do between frames on a suspension bridge somewhere, so it's a pre-planned commitment. Besides I have the Linhof multi focus optical finder now and my Cambo doesn't have a shoe big enough for it. (and I would also use the top shoe for my Flare Dinkum).

-Schaf

[Bob Salomon]

Bob- Indeed, Boucher and Jet Lowe are two of my heroes, along with Julius, Ezra, Marvin, and Bernt und Hilla. I know Jet and keep in contact on Facebook. I wish I could have met Boucher, but he lives on in the stories that the staff at Heritage Documentation Programs tell (more like cautionary tales), whenever they aren't furloughed.

This morning I read the Technika 2000 instruction manual (http://linhof.com/wp-content/uploads...sic_2000_e.pdf) . It appears that it may just be easier to mount 2 tripod quick release plates on the bottom of the body and on the side of the body and if I need front fall then just flip the camera sideways, drop the shift 40mm (plus the option of pointing the body downward, + swinging the rear standard out 30º and get another 10+mm). I guess this is just personal preference.

Side-flip operation just seems more intuitive than upside down operation... removing the top shoe, mounting the camera upside down, and then crouching down and fiddling with the lens under the "roof" of the bed, although it would be nice to have the image right side up in the ground glass ;-)

Removing the top shoe isn't something I'm going to do between frames on a suspension bridge somewhere, so it's a pre-planned commitment. Besides I have the Linhof multi focus optical finder now and my Cambo doesn't have a shoe big enough for it. (and I would also use the top shoe for my Flare Dinkum).

-Schaf

There are a couple of books about HABS that detail Jack’s equipment and how he used them Jet should know the names, they were always around Jack’s office. You might find them useful. Although he did use the 57.
John Sexton uses the 2000 and you might look at some of his stuff. Especially his power plant stuff.

[JimL]

Apparently there's a short supplemental rail for even wider angle lenses. Is anyone familiar with this part? https://www.wista.co.jp/e_wista/e_sh...2/e_acces2.htm

Wide Angle Rail
Product No. 4553
An auxiliary extension rail which enables focusing of 47mm super wide angle lens by track focusing knob on wista 45 camera.




So presumably with the off-center Linhof boards on the Wista VX/SP/RF, if you actually want to use the centre of the image circle you're always going to set up with the needed amount of rise? (I could answer this myself in a week when my VX arrives... but in the meantime I'm curious!)

Yes, although most of the time I don't think about it as it's the image composition that's dictating rise/fall/neutral. With a lens of restricted image circle or a situation where you need maximum rise, it would be more of a concern...

[Daniel Casper Lohenstein]

Yes I have about 6 Cambos (wanna buy one?) and this year I shot 1614 sheets of 4x5 and 5x7 film, only about 150 sheets were exposed on my Toyo CF in exotic places like Guam and Idaho. I like to take my camera and lenses in carry-on luggage on the plane instead of checked luggage and the Cambo just takes up too much room, even disassembled. This makes a folding camera ideal if it has enough movement. For HABS/HAER work, the front rise and how it operates is a feature I'd like to get right for this purchase.

-Schaf

The main aspect of the Cambo SC2 portability issue are - in my opinion - the huge collets that connect the standards to the giant optical bench with its huge holder.

I always wondered whether one could saw those collets off and connect the standards to a macro slider like the incredibly stabile Manfrotto 454 macro slider (180mm extension) ...

This could be quite compact and lightweight and suitable to wideangle and standard lenses.

Another possibility, even more lightweight and more compact (the China solution): connect the vertical bars of the standards to an Arca Swiss rail and mount these rails with a rotatable panorama clamp on an Arca Swiss style macro slider ... It would be quite easy to extend the camera by mounting a longer rail between the standards. You could mount the camera directly on an Arca Swiss style tripod head.