Quote Originally Posted by rdeloe View Post
It's not so much an addiction Doremus as trying to avoid compromising unless I have to....
While base tilts are a bit more fiddly than axis tilts, there's really no compromise as far as the final image is concerned. Really, as far as placing the image plane goes, the only thing that matters is the spacial orientation of the planes of the film and front standard. How you arrive at that is immaterial. If you need to deal with base tilts in order to use a particular lens on your Wista without going to a lot of trouble and expense modifying the camera, I'd consider that a no-brainer...

FWIW, I think that base tilts can be inherently more accurate than axis (or even asymmetrical) tilts. With base tilts you can pick focus points very far apart, at opposites sides on the ground glass, thus giving you a better chance of precisely positioning the movement that with axis tilts, with which you need to, by definition, choose one focus point on the center axis. Not doing so ends up involving a process of reiteration to get both focus points in sharp focus, which makes it, in practice, just the same as using a base tilt. Asymmetrical tilts and swings are more accurate than axis tilts/swings for the same reason.

I use lightweight field cameras and have to deal with base tilts all the time; it's my trade-off (compromise, if you will) for minimizing weight. I find that, when I'm in practice, I can apply a movement using the base tilt just about as fast as I can with axis tilts. For me, adding weight and bulk to my kit would be an unacceptable compromise

And, please take my admonition in my previous post as intended; with a smile and a touch of sarcasm. Upon re-reading, I can see how it could come off as a bit harsh or dismissive; not my intention as all.

Best,

Doremus