Using reading glasses to focus a 4x5 camera

April 16, 2018 Filippo Nenna

A 4x5 focusing screen is big, and an 8x10 one is even bigger, but they are often a bit dim and so critical focusing can be a pain. Many photographers use a loupe to magnify the ground glass, but good ones can be very expensive. I've used cheap ones, which work fine, but it is yet another item to keep track of and worry about scratching in your pocket between shots.

So what about strong reading glasses? I have no idea why they aren't more popular for this purpose, but I've found them to be a great solution. You can find them on Amazon and eBay for very little cost, and at strengths of 4 or even 6 diopters. I guess they are often overlooked because they are only found in lower strengths in the local drug stores.

Here's why I like using reading glasses for focusing:

They can be kept on your head when not in use. No need to fumble looking for a loupe in your pocket.
Super cheap so you don't have to worry about them and you can carry spares.
Compact and often come with a storage case.

There is a drawback, however. A traditional loupe is placed directly on the glass at a fixed distance, but glasses have the extra variable of eye-to-screen distance. I find that I have to focus on the etched lines on the ground glass first to know I am focusing on the correct plane.

Camera Kit: Large format 4x5

April 3, 2018 Filippo Nenna

Large format seems like an extinct branch of photography to the uninitiated, but the format never went away. Actually, it is finding a new wave of appreciation among film photographers. There are a few reasons for the resurgence - there is no digital equivalent sensor size, nor is there a digital camera body capable of tilts, shifts, swings, rises and falls (with the exception of some specialty lenses). Used equipment is found online in abundance, and some entrepreneurs are even making new cameras such as the Intrepid Camera Company, Stenopeika and others.

The jump to large format

As for major changes in your photography workflow, the jump from digital to film is the biggest. You need to find a lab or learn to develop film yourself and then either scan the negative or darkroom print your images. Most people will start with either 35mm cameras (because they are the most similar to consumer digital cameras) or medium format systems such as the Hasselblad 500 (because the cameras work in the same way as 35mm ones).

The jump from small to large format film is a little easier. With large format, a few things change. Firstly you no longer need to get emotionally attached to a single manufacturer. You can pair anyone's lenses with anyone's bodies and choose any film holders for the negative size you have chosen. For bodies, you can choose between studio monorail systems which are the cheapest way to get going down the rabbit hole, or fold-able field cameras that have more restricted movements, but can fit in a backpack.

There are also a few extra pieces of kit your smaller camera systems may not have needed - lens boards, sheet film holders, a focus loupe and a dark cloth. Tripods and cable releases are no longer optional - you are going to need them to get even basic shots.

What is it good for?

Taking one photograph really well. This process is the antithesis of 'spray and pray'. A lot of time is spent picking and tinkering with the composition. It takes so long to set the camera up that you don't want to waste that time on a mediocre image.
Tilts and shifts by design. And rises and falls, too. The cameras are made to move the lens around for perspective control and plane of focus manipulation.
MASSIVE negatives. They dwarf the grain even in 400 speed film.

What's the compromise?

Large format is not small. No way are these cameras going to fit in your pocket. Or small bag. Not even a medium bag. With a monorail camera, even a large bag is often insufficient. The compact Intrepid camera, on the other hand, easily fits in a backpack with a couple of lenses.
Forget about a quick snapshot. By the time the camera is set up, focused, shutter cocked and film holder inserted, a good deal of time will have passed. If you have a human subject, you have to keep their attention during setup and focusing or else there will be some long silences.
Lots of lens research required. You need to figure out which lenses cover your negative, and if you want extra coverage to accommodate small or large movements on the camera. Fast lenses allow for easier focusing via a bright image, but slower lenses are siginificantly smaller and lighter. You also need to make sure your body can cope with ultra-wide angles (75mm or less) or very long lenses (300mm or more) or if it needs special bellows or lens boards to cope with them. A great list of lens stats to get you going can be found at www.largeformatphotography.info.

What's in my camera bag?

Cameras: Intrepid 4x5 folding field camera
Lenses: Schnider 65mm f5.6, Schnider 90mm f5.6, Calumet 150mm f5.6, Rodenstock 210mm f5.6, Rodenstock 300mm f9
Accessories: Lens board for each lens, film holders (9), focusing cloth, cable release

Minor mods for the Intrepid 4x5 camera

August 21, 2017 Filippo Nenna

The Intrepid 4x5 camera is a modern marvel - a large format camera that costs less than some digital point-and-shoots, and weighs less than a Hasselblad 500, or even a digital SLR with a medium-sized lens. This means there is now a truly portable, hand-luggage friendly 4x5 camera. I got mine directly from the Intrepid guys on their website.

From what I've read, the first iteration of the camera had problems with fit and finish. This 2nd version is a definite improvement, but I've found a few issues that affect function. I'm in the US, and the issues aren't so bad I feel the need to return it back to the UK - so I put my woodworking and tinkerer skills to use and fixed the problems. Note: these quick fixes probably void the warranty, so make adjustments at your own risk if you are confident in your own abilities.

Refinements

My film holders always get stuck when pushing them into the camera. This is because of the sharp edges of the inside of the focus screen housing and the body of the camera. Maybe the wood bowed a little bit on my model. Careful use of sandpaper to soften/chamfer these edges allows the film holders to slide in without sticking. If you are skilled with hand tools, a very sharp chisel is much better to use because it creates shavings rather than dust, which is easier to clean out of the bellows. See where the catch points are in the image below.
The rotating back catches on the metal hinge for the rear standard. I used a small metal file to take the edge off the protruding hardware.
The front standard was difficult to lower because of some metal extrusions in the vertical rail. This might be an intentional feature to prevent the standard from dropping unexpectedly, but I filed it off with a metal file. My life is simpler now. Further, I think the detents in the rail are too high to be neutral anyway.
The focus locking knob moves the focusing mechanism when it is being tightened down. This could be a major flaw, but we can make lemonade from this lemon. I do my main focusing with the locking knob loose, and then i semi-tighten the locking knob and do a final focusing. This gives more resistance allowing finer focusing, and the lock can be left alone once focus is found.

Additions/removals

I removed the Graflock clips on the rear of the camera. It is a simple case of unscrewing the clips, but I replaced the screws in their holes for neatness. These clips are a great feature that allow the use of many accessories, but until I ever own such an accessory, I prefer to have as few protrusions as possible to prevent snagging when stowing the camera in a bag.
I added a capture clip quick release plate because I use a Capture Clip as a clamp on my tripod head. The tripod is a 3 Legged Thing, Albert.
I added a cold shoe for a wireless flash remote. You can trigger the remote from a large format lens' PC port with this adapter. There are more conventional cold shoes (like these) that have space for flash-foot pins, but they are way more bulky. Because of the Intrepid's weight-saving design, there are actually very few places to add a cold shoe, but I found a space underneath the camera at the rear. I drilled a hole though the base plywood slightly smaller than the screws that came with the cold shoe. I used the screw itself to create the thread in the hole and it holds firmly.
I haven't got around to the last addition yet, but it will have to be a new focus screen. The one I received had tide-marks on it - I presume it is from the grinding process. I thought they were dust marks at first, but they don't wipe off. They are not a big deal when composing but can be a slight distraction. A new screen, perhaps a shade brighter too, is on the shopping list.

This camera is the gateway drug for portable large format photography. It is easy to predict that, because of its price and its wooden frame, it will be the first large format (or any format) mod-camera for the mechanically minded. It should be easy to swap out parts, drill holes, glue on additions and experiment with different components using the stock body as a base.