After shot do you look back at ground glass focus?

[david_senesac]

In the field taking landscape images, I have a habit of looking back

under the dark cloth at the ground glass focus after taking a shot.

That is because even after taking all the care to get everything set

up correctly, experience is that the field camera I use can

occassionly change focus. After putting in all the effort and

time to get some shots, I hate to later get back film that is out of

focus. Happens infrequently these days but I accept such will never

go away. Putting in the film loader or Quickloads, setting the lens

aperture and shutter, or even wind may cause vibrations with the

physical setup. Also creep is possible if one of the many knobs was

not adequately tight. And often sitting on top of a good scene , one

may often have adjusted the camera quite some time before actually

exposing the film so I become suspicious as that time gets longer

whether it is all still well even if nothing has been touched. Thus

after depressing the shutter release, I carefully open the lens back

up, remove the film/holder, then look at the scene one last time in

order to be certain at least lack of subject focus won't be a

factor. And ritualistically I do enjoy looking at the composed

image of fine scenery that one last time.

[John Crowe]

You have twice as much patience as I have. It is effort enough to go through the first half but to go back through it again and possibly face doing it over? My out though is that I try to expose one transparency and one negative for every shot, and I do check focus each time. This by the way is one thing that drove me to 4x5. In twenty years I could never drive myself to buy a second 35mm body and I had to do medium format on a budget which meant a TLR and again I found I'd rather buy another lens than another body. Why both, you ask? I love seeing the trans but much easier still to print from neg. Take care!

[tim obrien]

And if you find it out of focus? What says it wasn't you pulling the film holder from the camera that caused it.

 

I suspect if you neede the shot, any amount of duplication can be justified. If I am shooting a +- exposure sequence, yes I check the focus between shots.

 

tim in san jose

[beepy]

What camera are you using that slips focus? I've heard some cameras do so - I ended up

buying an Arca Swiss because it was reputed to lock down and stay down...

<p>

That said, I did shift something the other day during a series of shots - failed to lock the

center post on the tripod - camera was all set up:-) Yep, may pause occassionally during

multiple shots to verify framing (as I said, the focus and knobs on camera were all

tightened...)

[peter_dendrinos1]

I cannot say I double check. I have not noticed a problem however, so I have not felt the need. There is nothing worse than getting the shot, and then discovering I forgot to lock something down. The other day I had set up on the side of a steep hill. In the middle of the exposures, the front tripod leg settled into the dirt just a touch, shook me good, as I could see the entire rig going down the hill. So I reseated the legs, recomposed, and re-shot the thing.

 

Pete

[tim_curry]

I do check after the shot now, especially if it is important. I had one shift last year, due to the film holder, so I try to check each time now, just to be sure.

[edward_kimball]

Yes, I check after the shot. I am paranoid that way

[michael gordon httpwww]

Absolutely! I don't bracket exposure or composition, so the one exposure I make has to be perfect. After I make the exposure, I double check <I>everything</I>: focus, shutter speed/aperture, etc. Doing so has paid off a couple of times, expecially when I'm working quickly and errors of haste are more likely.

[pmk]

Chimping with a LF!! Cool!

 

Y'know, I never even thought about that before. Sigh, now I am gonna be all paranoid.

[david_senesac]

Beepy, I didn't mean to imply my camera (itsa Wisner Expedition) tends to slip focus as any other well designed typical field camera if knobs are correctly tightened down, but rather that as we all know with the mechanical complexity of the controls and the process, there is certainly potentially a number of things that I fear can go wrong. Expecially in the heat of the battle out in the field. Peter brought up a related issue of possible tripod movement of frame. Yeah considering all the soft dirt and sketchy uneven rocks often setup on that is part of the same healthy (for me at least haha) paranoia. And since my orientation is wide, the bag bellows is usually on which I keep my eye on for keeping out of the light path. Thus will sometimes need to pull it out a bit without expecting the lens position to change.

 

Hi Tim, see your in SJ, I'm nearby in Campbell.

[brian_ellis3]

Unless you made the photograph with the aperture wide open, which almost no large format photographer does, what's the point of checking it with the aperture wide open?