Hinge and tilt angle

[martti_lappalainen]

Hi,

I wonder if there are equations to calculate the hinge and tilt

angles for a simultaneous tilt and swing. I refer to Harold M.

Merklinger´s theories on the subject.

Thank You,

Martti

[ellis_vener_photography]

The proper place for Merklinger's theories and equations is the

trash can. He manages to make confusing some very straight

forward determinations. <P>

[jorge_gasteazoro]

Hey Ellis, I guess like me you did not understand a darn thing he was

talking about..lol. Well I don't mean not understand, but after I

went through his book, If I was to do all those calculation it would

take me 2 hours to focus my camera.....lol.

[michael_mahoney1]

Well said Ellis ! Months before I ordered my LF camera I thought to

find what I could about LF focusing techniques, and came across the

usual suspects - Adams� � The Camera�, Strobels� � View Camera

Technique�, and of course the ever-confusing Mr. Merklinger. I

actually deferred my purchase because of his writings. He has some

QuickTime movies on his web site which are useful, but his writings

would either frustrate you or put you to sleep depending on your

mathematical education.

After reading every thread on this forum related to focusing, I

remember most a little ditty someone posted �.. � focus on the far,

tilt for the near, then focus and tilt �till all is clear �. For

modest architectural and most landscape applications, those sixteen

words will serve you better than Merklingers� tomes.

[dave_schneider]

Merklinger's calculations can confuse the heck out of anyone. If you

are looking for a practical tool to use I recommend Bob Wheeler's

Vade Mecum software package. The tilt and focus and do it again

method still gets used for most of my photos. Having Vade Mecum in

the pocket does help when frustration takes over. A few quick

calculations and you sometimes realize you are trying to get things

in a plane of focus that simply can't be done. Vade Mecum has four

methods to calculate tilt and a host of other useful tools.

[jorge_gasteazoro]

Hey Dave woulnd't have been great if he had put the manual in word

instead of PDF?

Any way, Dave is correct this little program does all the

calculations very easy.

[ken_burns1]

Martti:

 

<p>

 

If you would like to use Merklinger's approach, it would be easiest

if you hired a could survey crew to map the scene and make the

calculations.

[matthieu_levi_strauss]

I don't share the opinion expressed in this thread concerning the

lack of clarity of Harold M Merklinger's writings. His Hinge rule is,

in my opinion, a simple and efficient way of determining the tilt

angle. Moreover his QuickTime movies helped me a lot to understand

the effects of the various view camera movements on the position of

the plan of sharp focus.

[doug_paramore]

If you get caught out in the field without all the formulas and

gizmos, you might try a peek at the ground glass. It will show you

what happens when you move something.

 

<p>

 

Regards,

[ellis_vener_photography]

doug,

 

<p>

 

exactly.

[qtluong]

To answer the original question, I doubt that there are

manageable equations to deal with a simultaneous tilt and swing.

The spatial geometry is quite complex and not easily described by

the two angles. An acceptable approximation could be to use the

tilt equation independently on both axis. In fact, working

independently, and sequentially on both axis is what I have found

the simplest with visual methods. Personnally I prefer visual

methods based on the GG (as explaned in great detail on the LF page).

With the use of a simple gizmo (a ruler) these methods are technically

optimal rather than relying on guesses.

[ellis_vener_photography]

The easiest way I've found to usetilt and swing, especially in a

studio setting tho that doesn't really make a difference except of

the pain of lugging a big camera outinto the world, is to use on e

ofthe Sinar P series of ccameras; the P, P2, X , C or C2.

thebuiltin tilt and swing angle finder aids really come into their

own in this kind of situation. You can improvise an assymetric

swing set up by shifting the rear (or front or both) standard(s)

sideways by few cm. Focus on a point on that new axis and then

swingthe opposite side ofthe standard till the next point you want

to come into focus does. Now recheck the focus atthe first point

to make sure it is still in focus, you might need to tweak the focus

a little. With the Sinar P rear standard this isn't necessary. A yaw

free base tilt, or an assymmetric tilt mechanism (like on the

Sinar P, I don't know if there are others) makes combined tilt

and swing movements much easier over tilt designs that are

not yaw free. the basic design which makes a camera yaw free

is to have the swing mechanism above the tilt mechanism, not

all base tilt cameras are yaw free and by definition axis tilt

cameras cannot be.<P> One thing i have found using swing and

tilt cameras is that once you combine movements you often

need to refocus the camera in the opposite direction than you

might think to get the optimum placement for keeping your f-stop

in the optimum range for best lens performance (generally I find

this to be in the f/16 to f/22.5 range).