david_gardner1

Well, I'm making my way from stupid questions to more intelligent questions <g>.

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I've traveled with a lot of 35mm equipment and film, and in fact I bought a camera bag that lets me take the film pouch easilly for airport hand inspection. I'm getting ready for a trip with the 4x5, and some questions about how aiport security will handle film inspection have occured to me.

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I know that the FAA gives me the right to request hand inspection of film. So far, so good. Inspecting a 35mm cassette is fiarly straightforward: looks like film, weighs about what film should weigh, and you're on your way. What about a box of 4x5, though? Essentially it can't really be inspected, except by competent personnel in a completely dark darkroom. So what happens when I hand them 5 or so boxes of LF film and tell them that they can't be opened? Do they arrest me on the spot? I've had airport security take my 35mm film pouch and put it on the conveyer to the scanner, from which I've had to rescue it, and then tell me that I'm be arrested unless it went through (I explained to them that they were wrong, and that if I was unlawfully arrested they'd be working for me for the rest of their lives).

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I've contacted the airline, the airport, and the FAA about this. The FAA has directed me to the airline and the airport. The airline and the airport have both told me "get there early" which to me really doesn't address the basic issue that the film cannot be inspected in any menaingful way.

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Any ideas? Any experience?

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Thanks

David Gardner

First, thanks to those who have answered my previous questions. This is a very friendly and helpful board.

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I have had a (several?) recurring problem with my setup, a Calumet CC400 with a Schneider-Kreuznach Angulon 90mm. I don't seem to be able to use much if any camera movements without losing focus. Last week I took a shot with full rise, and a little added rise via a base tilt-type maneuver. The upper corners were vignetted, and a circular, arc-shaped band extending about an inch below that was very out of focus.

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A friend told me that the vignetting was likely caused by the bellows, but I have the short bellows wide angle version of the camera. And that still doesn't explain why large portions of my shots go completely out of focus whenever I try to add tilt or swing (and I have attemtped to refocus, BTW, to no avail). Am I using the movements incorrectly?

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Any help is appreciated, and thanks in advance.

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David

This may be the mother of all beginner questions, but I've seached all over this site, and having found the answers to almost every other questions I've had, I haven't found the answer to this one. In short, how does one know if a given lens will work with a given shutter? I have to believe that these things come in different sizes and/or capabilities, but I have yet to see an ad that says anything like "Barrel lens X, for use with shutter Y." Or is the answer that any competent machinist can make any lense work with any shutter?

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Thanks in advance

David Gardner

I've just gotten into LF over the last year. Overall I am enjoying the experience immensely, and even the technical challenges are just that, challenges rather than deterents.

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I have five old wooden 4x5 film holders. In general, they work well, but the hinge tape is loose on most of them, and light leaks along the bottom edge of my film is, I suspect, being caused by hinge tape that doesn't stick to the holder parts. Is there a specific hinge tape that I need to buy to replace the old tape? I asked several local camera stores and was told to use duct tape. Will it work just as well?

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And while I have your attention <g>, all of my reading says that wooden and plastic film holders are pretty much interchangeable, and that neither has a distinct advantage. I took my setup on a camping trip to the Smokies last summer, and it rained the entire time I was there. The wooden holders swelled and were difficult to open and close, but I'm guessing that plastic holders would not suffer from this problem. Are there any downsides to using plastic holders that I need to know about?

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Thanks

David