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Thread: New Autofocus 4x5"

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Nov 2015
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    New Autofocus 4x5"

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    https://www.instagram.com/conflict.cameras/

    I designed an autofocus interchangeable lens 4x5" camera.

    Currently its in a prototype phase, first functional prototype is ready.

    Its designed to be the ideal handheld 4x5", with extremely high accuracy laser based focusing system. Accuracy is in the range of 1-2mm.

    So you can shoot wide open if you like. It can handle heavy fast lenses.

    You can also calibrate framlines as you like, and for the format you are using. For example, its possible to have perfectly accurate and parallax corrected framelines for 6x12.

    You can calibrate easily as many lenses as you like into it.

    Lens range is 65-150mm. It has a focus pull of 62mm, so it enables close focus to about 50cm on 150mm. And on wide angle lenses you get to 10-20cm.

    At zero position, it has a film to lenstandard distance of 90mm.

    The back is designed mainly for Grafmatic/Kinematic multishot holders, but also takes regular double sided holders, polaroid holders & roll film holders.

    It has a integrated semispot light meter, its able to calculate bellows extensions etc. automatically.

    Also has accelerometer & gyro, so digital horizontal lines are available.

    It will also be able to calculate depth of field, so you can adjust that based on a visual indicator in the finder.

    It has a WIFI interface, and updatable firmware for additional functionalities.

    The finder uses high quality coated glass optics.

    I designed this based on my 20 years of LF shooting experience, and its designed to be my ideal camera.

    Its as compact as it can, the frame is not much larger than the cassette dicates. Its fast, solid, accurate and capable of focusing close.

    It will be available for sale when its fully ready. If you are interested in it, best way to keep up with it is through instagram. I will also release some other projects related to LF photography.

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Sep 2010
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    831

    Re: New Autofocus 4x5"

    I have had a lot of experience photographing people in all situations with hand-held press and view cameras and I have also used FujiFilm digital cameras since the early 2000s. Graflex actually advertised the Kalart rangefinder as "automatic focusing" in the 1940s and 50s. With today's digital cameras, auto focusing means much more than rangefinding. We have face detection, eye detection, smile detection, identification and numerous other features, some these I have found very useful and advantageous. There are many reasons I might choose to use a hand-held press camera rather than a digital camera, but I don't feel that automatic rangefinding would be much of a benefit over a cam-coupled, split image rangefinder with rangelight or even be much faster.

  3. #3
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Dec 2011
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    22,384

    Re: New Autofocus 4x5"

    I posted years ago my Laser FocuSpot

    Works great but not for people or critters

    Trees and bridges survive the cosmic blast

  4. #4
    ic-racer's Avatar
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    Feb 2007
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    Re: New Autofocus 4x5"

    Looks interesting. I have been using autofocus 6x6cm format for a little over a year now and would not want to go back to manual focus.
    I use two AF 6x6cm cameras, Rollei 6008AF and Rollei Hy6.

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Dec 2014
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    Iowa City, Iowa
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    1,697

    Re: New Autofocus 4x5"

    That's pretty cool. Be interested in seeing a teaser youtube video.

  6. #6

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    Sep 2014
    Location
    Montreal, Canada
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    1,993

    Re: New Autofocus 4x5"

    Cool. I’d love to have autofocus on my view camera.

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Newbury, Vermont
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    2,260

    Re: New Autofocus 4x5"

    Focus accuracy of 1-2mm would be fantastic if existing LF film holder/transport systems could reliably support this. Hmmm...possibly develop some kind of real-time (IR?) film position sensor which would instantaneously adjust the focus mechanism to accommodate environmentally caused deviations (expansion/contraction/swelling/sagging/"popping" of film) of actual film plane - at least at the exact position of actual focus measurement (as films can swell/contract/sag unevenly) to ensure that at least this area would be truly in focus every time...even at max. (wide open) apertures? Perhaps via a selected (or selectable) area focus lock mechanism - like...place the circle on the face, eyes, or wherever, hold down the shutter button halfway, re-compose (if necessary) and then trip the shutter completely - and the focus compensation mechanism would continually adjust for said (film position) deviations until that very instant?

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Sep 1998
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    Loganville , GA
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    14,409

    Re: New Autofocus 4x5"

    Back in the 90s a rich guy in Germany patented a modular AF view camera system that took backs from 23 to 11x14. Electronics were mostly within the rail system. They exhibited at Photokina one year but never produced anything other then a prototype and a couple of beautiful brochures. But the backer also owned a salmon farm in Sweden or Norway and featured all you could eat smoked salmon, if they knew you at their booth.
    A friend of mine who had been export manager of both Rollei and later LInhof was hired to be export manager for this new camera system.
    I hope this new design has a better future then this older camera had.

  9. #9

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    May 2015
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    SooooCal/LA USA
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    2,802

    Re: New Autofocus 4x5"

    How will it's "brain" deal with a little tilt/swing???

    Or selective focus point???

    Steve K

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Posts
    34

    Re: New Autofocus 4x5"

    How can you use a little tilt/swing with a viewfinder and handheld?

    No shifts, no tilts, no real reason for LF.
    If you want to go fast and light, so go small.

    If a AF should follow moving objets low moving mass is required.
    LF lenses in a shutter are not on the light side.

    What will be the use of AF in LF?

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