Movable Canon Digital Camera To 4x5 Large Format Adapter
Some members may find this interesting.
My 'ELF Sensor' began to make noises and lights began to blink when I saw this item.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0703572222
Non-chipped version:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Movable-Canon-Digit ... 0701385720
Nikon version:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Movable-Nikon-Digit ... 0701383475
Craig
Movable Canon Digital Camera To 4x5 Large Format Adapter
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Craig Gerard
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Movable Canon Digital Camera To 4x5 Large Format Adapter
To use a classic quote from 'Antz' - "I almost know exactly what I'm doing!"
These were around in the film era. They allow you to use your 4x5 camera lenses and swing tilt shift bellows to take pictures on 35mm film.
Polaroid had similar items for the MP3 and MP4 (which could not swing tilt and shift) so you could use 35mm instant film for slide duplicating.
I think I have one somewhere I picked up at a camera show for a couple of dollars that has a Kodak 828 film back on it. I think 828 film was the same format as 35mm only without the sprocket holes.
Polaroid had similar items for the MP3 and MP4 (which could not swing tilt and shift) so you could use 35mm instant film for slide duplicating.
I think I have one somewhere I picked up at a camera show for a couple of dollars that has a Kodak 828 film back on it. I think 828 film was the same format as 35mm only without the sprocket holes.
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Charles Krebs
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Yup, nothing new here really. I shot an Audubon article and "wrap-around" cover shot of migrating shorebirds back in the 80's (March 1984 issue) using this "technique". I made an adapter for my Contax RTS body and put it on a Toyo field 4x5 body. Shot with a 300/9 Nikkor M lens. Infinite DOF with no "stacking", computer or electronics. (Of course the birds were all in the same plane on a very flat tidal mud-flat area. So really not "infinite" DOF, I was simply able to position the plane of DOF I had across a flat subject). You needed a very sharp view camera lens to have this "work" on the 35mm format. The Nikon 300/9 M, was great, as were the Rodenstock 180mm Apo-Sironar-S and a 150mm Apo-Sironar-W.
It is quite effective for some outdoor subjects that are in an expansive, but relatively flat plane. Especially if you want to use a long lens to provide a "compressed" effect and make them look very dense. Fields of wild or cultivated flowers or farm products are good examples.
For close-ups the concept works as well, but the movements needed are of a relatively greater magnitude. Optics are a real consideration. With lensboard movements you need a lens that will give you a high quality, very large image circle that extends well beyond the format size. Not always that easy to do. Back standard movements offer interesting potential however, since you can get by with less lens "coverage".
It is quite effective for some outdoor subjects that are in an expansive, but relatively flat plane. Especially if you want to use a long lens to provide a "compressed" effect and make them look very dense. Fields of wild or cultivated flowers or farm products are good examples.
For close-ups the concept works as well, but the movements needed are of a relatively greater magnitude. Optics are a real consideration. With lensboard movements you need a lens that will give you a high quality, very large image circle that extends well beyond the format size. Not always that easy to do. Back standard movements offer interesting potential however, since you can get by with less lens "coverage".
When I built my first setup, I didn't realize how cheap an entry level 4X5 monorail could be. I'm sure I would have been money ahead by using a 4X5 as the base.
If your 4X5 has back movements, then a simple adaptor with no slide capability can be used. This should be much less expensive to manufacture and actually pretty easy to make in a home shop with a flat plate of aluminum and pieces from a set of extension tubes.
The biggest issue to solve is the large minimum flange focal distance. You could deface your camera by cutting off the empty pop-up flash holder (it's been done on Canons) to decrease the distance. You could also make extremely deep recessed lens boards to further decrease it. I don't think you would be able to get it short enough to use 35mm(format) lens at infinity and even medium format lens may be a stretch. m4/3rds cameras without the large overhang would be the best choice when compared to Canon or Nikon. The minimum bellows extension for Canon and Nikon would probably be in the 100mm range.
Once you move from 35mm lens to medium format or larger lens, the price goes up significantly for the same performance. If you restrict the usage to just macro, then it becomes simple again. Most of the lens commonly used in this forum (for 1X to 5X) have a large enough image circle to use shifts. 10X with microscope objects will probably not have a large enough image circle.
A smaller issue is the sensor plane of the camera is not in the same place as the normal film plane which means you can't use the ground glass for focusing and composure. Of course you can use the Live View or the OVF for this but this makes using the swings and tilts much more difficult. A workaround would be to machine an extender for the ground glass to put it at the same plane as the sensor.
If your 4X5 has back movements, then a simple adaptor with no slide capability can be used. This should be much less expensive to manufacture and actually pretty easy to make in a home shop with a flat plate of aluminum and pieces from a set of extension tubes.
The biggest issue to solve is the large minimum flange focal distance. You could deface your camera by cutting off the empty pop-up flash holder (it's been done on Canons) to decrease the distance. You could also make extremely deep recessed lens boards to further decrease it. I don't think you would be able to get it short enough to use 35mm(format) lens at infinity and even medium format lens may be a stretch. m4/3rds cameras without the large overhang would be the best choice when compared to Canon or Nikon. The minimum bellows extension for Canon and Nikon would probably be in the 100mm range.
Once you move from 35mm lens to medium format or larger lens, the price goes up significantly for the same performance. If you restrict the usage to just macro, then it becomes simple again. Most of the lens commonly used in this forum (for 1X to 5X) have a large enough image circle to use shifts. 10X with microscope objects will probably not have a large enough image circle.
A smaller issue is the sensor plane of the camera is not in the same place as the normal film plane which means you can't use the ground glass for focusing and composure. Of course you can use the Live View or the OVF for this but this makes using the swings and tilts much more difficult. A workaround would be to machine an extender for the ground glass to put it at the same plane as the sensor.
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enricosavazzi
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A large format camera is indeed a way to implement huge amounts of tilt and shift, and also to use remarkably long bellows. However, many of these cameras are too lightly built for precision work. Slight sagging and vibrations are often a problem.
I occasionally use a Sinar P for this purpose, which is probably one of the models with most precise mechanisms, but the nylon gears and slides simply cannot be as stiff and precise as the movements of a good microscope.
I occasionally use a Sinar P for this purpose, which is probably one of the models with most precise mechanisms, but the nylon gears and slides simply cannot be as stiff and precise as the movements of a good microscope.
--ES
Quite some time ago, I compared using shifts with focus stacking to rotating around the entrance pupil with focus stacking and found that the shifted images didn't always stack well, especially on deep stacks. Here's a diagram that I think shows why:
When rotating around the entrance pupil the stack will always look like the top image. The center of the sensor will remain on the same bit of the object and everything else will expand or contract equally. The stacking program only needs to resize the image to keep each bit of the object aligned (in a theoretically perfect world).
When the sensor is moved off the lens axis, all of the object is moving on the sensor so there is no single stable reference point. It's much more difficult for the stacking program to keep each frame in alignment.
I think the swings and tilts available on a 4x5 camera would be the biggest reason to use a DSLR adaptor.
When rotating around the entrance pupil the stack will always look like the top image. The center of the sensor will remain on the same bit of the object and everything else will expand or contract equally. The stacking program only needs to resize the image to keep each bit of the object aligned (in a theoretically perfect world).
When the sensor is moved off the lens axis, all of the object is moving on the sensor so there is no single stable reference point. It's much more difficult for the stacking program to keep each frame in alignment.
I think the swings and tilts available on a 4x5 camera would be the biggest reason to use a DSLR adaptor.
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Craig Gerard
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