iphone as viewfinder for 4x5 PS

[blevblev]

Re: Isn't there a way to invert the image

Couldn't you do it using the rotation lock on the iPhone?

[Emmanuel BIGLER]

Thought of using an Iphone. Any thoughts?

Cologne (Germany) Photokina 2010, at the Alpa booth.

[Kodachrome25]

Glad I saw this thread!

I hesitantly paid the respectable sum of $19.95 for "Viewfinder Pro"......and love it!
I could see getting a wide attachment just from how helpful the app is in low light.

It's quickly becoming one of my favorite apps, especially when you have the shutter ready, holder in and suddenly second guess your composition. Inverting the image would indeed be handy...

[Nana Sousa Dias]

I made a "point-&-shoot" 4x5" camera with a Super Angulon 47 XL, fixed focus.

The viewfinder was a problem, because I needed something that could view 120º angle. The cheapest alternative was a Gaoersi viewfinder but, it was still expensive for me, so I bought a lens of those used on apartment doors (I don't know the name of this, in english). I found a PVC nut, that is used to join PVC garden irrigation tubes, I attached an accessory shoe male to it and "framed" the viewfinder with black tape, and voilá...e nice viewfinder for about 5 bucks.

[jb7]

Still love that camera- and that's a purposeful looking viewfinder-

However, $5 seems a bit much, iPhones are free these days...

My Plank uses a viewfinder like yours, but there's no harm in trying something new.
So I chopped up some aluminum and stuck it back together.

I've done a few tests, will write them up tomorrow-



Plank DV 3683 by joseph - jb7, on Flickr

[Jan Normandale]

I'm really interested in this. I was thinking about going for a Linhof VF but this is way more convenient and less costly.

[steve barry]

awesome. I stuck my droid on my cambo with some rubber bands....and just cant get it situated right. Plus it adds a crap load of weight for hand holding.

I think the main problem is having the phone in back of the camera with film holder inserted....the camera and lens cover the bottom 1/3 of the view. Even when I stick it way up high like the apla mount...I still get pretty massive blockage. I like how you have your situated...but can you see the back of the Iphone screen?

both of these cameras are beautiful btw.

[jb7]

Here's a picture of the mount, without the iPhone-



Plank jb7 DV 3703 by joseph - jb7, on Flickr





There's no problem seeing the phone from the rear...









... and there was an unexpected bonus when I found that I could see the focusing scale reflected in the black glass of the bezel. I might make some colour coded distance marks- Using this system, it might be possible to use this on the street, assuming that I can find some 400 asa film. It certainly makes it more useable than the optical viewfinder.

[jb7]

Of course, while the phone is on the camera it's pretty easy to make an exposure measurement-






And check for plumb...







You can even switch to the front facing camera and make a self portrait.
It's a little known fact that 100% of self portraits capture a Decisive Moment...

[jb7]

Then you can frame your picture-






For this one, I was more concerned with putting measurable detail around the edge than I was with composition. However, since this was going to be a wanton waste of a piece of T55, I roped in some reluctant models.

This was exposed in the newer model Polaroid Processor, it has a terrible problem with releasing the clip when you remove the film...

So, as you can see, the wide adapter I'm using isn't wide enough to image a 65mm on 4x5. However, it's close enough, and the missing space around the edge is indicated, so you can extrapolate.

Calibration is very important, I haven't completed that part of the operation, but have made a start. Viewfinder Pro provides an extremely comprehensive manual, and they make the point that supplementary lens manufacturers don't always provide exact data- and the ISO standard allows a tolerance of plus or minus 5% of the marked focal length for any lens. That includes the lens on your camera…

I've made the point earlier, adding extension for close focusing can be replicated in the app. If your camera is fixed focus, then that's not an issue, but focusing down to 1m on a 65mm adds about 6mm of extension. I've found that it's difficult to frame close shots using the optical viewfinder; the taking lens occupies a significant part of the bottom of the frame, and as the viewfinder doesn't tilt, there's a significant portion of the top of the frame that isn't imaged.





You can even use the phone to time the Polaroid processing...






It might even be useful for other cameras-