For exacmple, Arca Swiss cameras are one of the few designed to have the Arca Swiss Fresnel between the ground glass and the lens.
I've always felt that this arrangement gives a nicer visual experience.
For exacmple, Arca Swiss cameras are one of the few designed to have the Arca Swiss Fresnel between the ground glass and the lens.
I've always felt that this arrangement gives a nicer visual experience.
Here we go again! I have found fresnel all over the place, front, back, adjusted for both, and not. Removeable or not.
Not picking on Chamonix! Everybody is guilty!
Long old thread...
Chamonix camera 45N-1 focusing error
Tin Can
Why do you believe this?Originally Posted by Tin Can
What is your exact question?
I have 2 Horseman with fresnel front or back. The thread i linked has a vast discussion of what is what, years before i got here. You are in it.
I didn't see a definitive answer. My Sinar has a removable one on outside.
My Speed has it on the inside.
On my SC11 I just slap a book reading fresnel up and look at it, but focus without it.
I have 2 Cycle Camera Premo with GG ground side facing out.
What do you know believe?
and I can barely believe what I see with my old untrustworthy eyes
Working on a 11x11" point and shoot fixed focus box camera with 14" lens right now, perhaps it will be a solution for me...
or not
Tin Can
Why do you believe that all camera manufacturers make their cameras so that the film plane is not in register with the ground glass?
Chamonix blew it, that doesn't mean that other makers did too. Graflex in particular took pains to make sure that Pacemaker Graphics supplied without fresnels had GG and film plane in register and that Pacemaker Graphics supplied with fresnels had GG and film plane in register.
It isn't fair to blame manufacturers for idiot owners who installed aftermarket fresnels in the wrong place.
I don't believe I blamed anyone
I also have never moved a fresnel from factory position
I do try to figure out why things are made the way they are and if working, why
I have a lot of experience taking apart brand new expensive things, changing the parts, per factory orders without manuals. Very good at that. Paid well for decades. I was in Product Testing.
Not cameras, nor lenses, nor shutters. I try to use them as designed and assembled when I get the usually well used LF gear
So far so good, I do suspect a lot of used gear being sold...I made the guy who sold me my first LF camera, a Press camera, fix it. He paid a pro to do it. I talked to the pro in person. All good.
What I want to know is what is the 'theory' behind any machine, a camera is a machine
Peace
Tin Can
IMO, fresnel adders with the belief this "aids" viewing brightness and "aids" focusing ease is a Farce. There are specifics as to how a Fresnel helps and where it becomes a serious problem. If GG viewing is limited to a specific camera with a GG & Fresnel combo specifically designed together as a unit-system, it works for wide-normal to tele lenses. Once a really wide angle lens is applied to this combo system, expect double imaging between the Fresnel and GG due to the ray angles involved. Then we have the problem of the way a Fresnel lens works, which has much to do with the grooves used to make a Fresnel. These grooves become a focusing hinderance rather and aid.
IMO, skip the Fresnel and learn-adapt to using a plain very fine GG. This simplifies the entire viewing, GG to film holder distance, problem with wide angle lens viewing, groves in the Fresnel issues in many ways. At the beginning of learning how to use a VC, every possible viewing aid was tried from Sinar reflex viewer, Arca reflex viewer, all variations of Fresnel, brightest advertised GG-Fresnel combos and more. Each and every one of them had trade-off issues. After years and much $ wasted on these "viewing aids" it all went back to the plain Ground Glass and dark cloth. One more item to consider, brighter image on the GG does not make focusing easier, faster or "better".
Bernice
Good advice Bernice
I have made at least 5 GG, all ground by hand, very fine. I prefer them to my 50's Linhof which are rather coarse
I recently bought a 9X loupe made in USA, Edmund Scientific. Best loupe for me now. It's adjustable.
I also check 'T' on some holders and a few suspect cameras. My Deardorff SC11, 11X14 GG frame was way off when I got it. First and repeated advice here on forum was, "Don't worry about that." I didn't listen but sent the whole back to Richard Ritter to fix, install his bail back and make holders to match.
Then I checked his work. OK!
The two Horseman 8X10 GG frames are actually Cambo with Horseman OE GG and fresnel. Not happy yet. Next year!
Tin Can
When we were the a Rollei distributor I received a very irate phone call from a well known wedding photographer who was irate because he shot 2 weddings one weekend with his 6008 cameras and virtually every shot was out of focus. He was going to sue me, my company, our service center and the factory!
We made an appointment and he drove to our office in his brand new Jaguar with all of his cameras and 2 proof books of out of focus images.
After looking at the images I looked at his cameras and asked him “when was the last time he cleaned his focusing screen”?
He said the night before the first wedding. I then pointed out to him that the rangefinder/micro prism circle in the center of the screen had a raised circle on the top of the screen. But when he replaced the screens he put them back into the camera upside down!
He then very quietly repacked all of his equipment, said oh and asked if there was anything new for the system. Then left in his Jaguar.
Then there was Mary Ellen Mark who had a similar problem with her a Rolleis. We went to SoHo and looked at her cameras, left her with loaners and brought them to service who couldn’t find a problem. Her complaint was that they were sharp head on but soft when angled.
Service sent them to the factory in Germany and they sent them to Zeiss in Oberkochen and they discovered a third party focusing screen was improperly positioned in the camera!
Lastly there was Avedon’s assistant. He complained that when Avedon shot with his Rollei 3.5 F cameras the field of view was different then when he shot with the assistant’s Mamiya and that with the Rollei the images had flare on one side.
So back into the city to Avedon’s studio and the set was all white. White floor, white walls, white ceiling, white background. There was a pole holding multiple strobes on either side lighting the background and a huge soft box over the subject’s head. Sure enough, on one side, with the Rolleis there was flare. Not with the Mamiya. With both Avedon and the assistant watching I pointed out that one strobe head was pointing slightly back at the camera and adjusting it back towards the background eliminated the flare.
But the assistant still was irate that it showed on the Rollei but not on the Mamiya and Avedon should switch to Mamiya.
After pointing out to him that the 3.5 F had a 75mm lens and the Mamiya an 80mm lens Avedon thanked me and left. He stayed with Rollei!
Good story Bob and I believe every word of it!
Artists, can't live with them, can't live without them or their assistants...
Tin Can
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