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Thread: New to LF - First shot - Focusing

  1. #1

    New to LF - First shot - Focusing

    Good evening

    Got my 4x5 camera last week after a complete cla , new GG and fresnal.

    Shot a couple of images but feel i am not focusing correctly.

    My main point of focus is the number on the building (check image attached)

    It was shoot at f32 on a 210

    The number is sharp but the parking meter looks blurry.

    What am I doing wrong?? Should I be tilting the lens to grab the meter also?

    Any and all suggestions appreciated.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Test_Shoot.jpg  

  2. #2
    Foamer
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    Re: New to LF - First shot - Focusing

    What are you using to focus with?


    Kent in SD
    In contento ed allegria
    Notte e di vogliam passar!

  3. #3

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    Re: New to LF - First shot - Focusing

    Close up scan image of the building numbers, the parking meter possible, top edge of the building, LH and RH edges of the building?

    Bernice

  4. #4

    Re: New to LF - First shot - Focusing

    Quote Originally Posted by Two23 View Post
    What are you using to focus with?


    Kent in SD
    Loupe

  5. #5

    Re: New to LF - First shot - Focusing

    Quote Originally Posted by Bernice Loui View Post
    Close up scan image of the building numbers, the parking meter possible, top edge of the building, LH and RH edges of the building?

    Bernice
    Top window looks a tiny bit softer than numbers but its technically behind the numbers un terms of range.

    I feel I wasnt flat to the building. Like it tapers slightly.

    Could this cause it? Even at f32?

  6. #6

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    Re: New to LF - First shot - Focusing

    Stopping down to some small f-stop does not assure object will be in apparent focus.

    If the entire image is in focus center-all four edges and corners with the lens at full aperture (modern f5.6 Plasmat), the areas that are in focus on the ground glass using a loupe should be in focus. Stopping down is not a focus cure-all.

    If this was correct, check the following:

    ~Camera movements on both front and rear standards set to zero? This is why the, is the image in focus center-edges-corners. Slight off zero on the camera can cause out of focus areas in the image.

    ~Lens to lens board mounting flat to the front standard of the camera?


    ~Does the GG have a fresnel brighter aid? If yes, is the fresnel in the proper position as designed for this camera?

    ~GG distance to the film on film holder distance identical?

    Both issues above can cause perpetual outa focus issues. newly CLA might not be assurance all is well.

    Check these items first.


    Bernice





    Quote Originally Posted by Christianganko View Post
    Top window looks a tiny bit softer than numbers but its technically behind the numbers un terms of range.

    I feel I wasnt flat to the building. Like it tapers slightly.

    Could this cause it? Even at f32?

  7. #7

    Re: New to LF - First shot - Focusing

    Yes it has a new gg and fresnal. Installed by tech

    Was done by Austin at Laflex. All he does is linhof so I can't imagine he installed wrong.

    I guess maybe I should also be asking, besides physical issues is there a better way to insure focus through out? Hyper focal maybe?

    New to this so learning as I go along

    Thank you again

  8. #8
    ic-racer's Avatar
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    Re: New to LF - First shot - Focusing

    If you want both the building and the meter in focus, you set your focusing standard at the geometric half-way point between those two focal points. The geometric distance on the focus standard between those two focal points is used to calculate your minimum aperture to provide a print in which both objects might appear in focus in a print. The main page here has the equations and cheat-sheets.

  9. #9

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    Re: New to LF - First shot - Focusing

    If you are just getting started and want to check the accuracy of your focus, don't stop down to f/32. Shoot near wide open, like f/8 to ensure the focus in the shot is what you focused on. And like Bernice said, ensure the front and rear standards are zeroed and parallel to each other, and in an architectural shot, parallel to the front plane of the building. Make sure the camera is level for architecture shots.

  10. #10

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    Re: New to LF - First shot - Focusing

    Christianganko, the comments above include some useful suggestions, but let's see if we can narrow down the problem. The image indicates that the vertical height in the framing is greater than 30 feet. According to the calculator here (which you may wish to bookmark),

    https://tinyurl.com/c4tfkkv7

    you were, with a 210mm lens, at least 50 feet from the building. Focused at 50 ft, at f/32, your depth-of-field would have gone from 23 ft to infinity. That parking meter is certainly not 25 feet closer than the building.

    This may suggest, I think, that meter's part of the film was not flat to the holder; however, I can't see the details of you image well enough to see it the entire corner there is soft. If not, you'll have to follow through some of the other suggestions, perhaps starting with using a large aperture to photograph a flat subject, such as a well-textured building wall (e.g., brick in angled sunlight) to which you have carefully squared the camera.
    Philip Ulanowsky

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