forrest_hartman1

Thanks Jon! My catches were so very tight, I never thought they were really meant to slide out. Now I have a rotating back and the Tachi is even a better camera than I thought!

In view of Leonard's important remarks about decreased tripod stability if rotating your camera, I should mention that I use the Ries J600 tripod & Ries J250 head, an (expensive) combination that helps preserve stability when rotating my light Tachi 90 degrees. (The tripod's wood also seems to better absorb increased vibrations in wind or streams.) When I require vertical orientation, I must rotate the camera, since the Tachi has no rotating focus screen. But I certainly wouldn't rotate it just to get axial tilt. But it's nice to know it's there!

Perhaps a thread to correct some common misunderstandings about 4x5

field cameras is a good idea.

 

This one is about my 4x5 Tachi and its (restricted) movements.

 

Since I�m a happy 4x5 Tachi user, I enjoy reading Tachi threads as

they appear. But these threads � even when helpful � often spread

misunderstandings about the camera�s movements that have become all-

too-common. (In fact, these misunderstandings may apply as well to

other cameras with restricted movements.)

 

One of the most common: �The Tachi has no front axial tilt.� Well,

this is true indeed when you have the camera in its normal

horizontal position. The only front tilt you get is base tilt. And

it can be a pain when ideally, you need front axial tilt (which

keeps the center of the lens the same distance from the film plane).

 

But here�s the clarification: the Tachi DOES have front axial tilt,

and here�s why:

 

If your tripod/head allows you to rotate the camera�s body 90

degrees (so the viewing glass has a vertical orientation), you now

have front axial tilt. Why? Because your former front axial swing

converts to front axial tilt. You lose one movement, but gain

another.

 

The same happens to the back standard � your former back swing

becomes back axial tilt.

 

I could go on � one more: your former front rise/fall becomes front

left/right shift. (BTW, you can easily compensate for the loss of

front rise/fall when in the vertical position: you just tilt the

camera bed up, and use the newly gained front and back axial tilts

to bring the lens/film planes back to vertical. It's very easy.)

 

For its price, I think the Tachi is a truly useful, dependable and

sexy camera. (I have the newer version with nylon washers that

apparently improve its sturdiness.) But I wonder what Mr. Tachihara

is thinking about the introductions of the newer but heavier Shen-

Hao and Badger brands, with their added movements�

 

I�d enjoy hearing other helpful clarifications about this or

different cameras�

There's a quick calculation about whether or not you need exposure compensation due to your bellows draw.

 

In his book "Using the View Camera," author Steve Simmons says:

 

"The increased bellows extension only becomes a problem when working with a camera-to-subject distance that is less than ten times the focal length of your camera." (See pages 69-70 in the revised edition, a brief discussion about bellows and factors.)

 

Yesterday, I used my fuji 240mm to photograph a camel -- well, a stone sculpture of one, anyway. Recalling Simmons, I calculated that if my subject was closer than 2400 mm (i.e., 240mm x 10 = 2400mm, or 2.4 meters), I needed the compensation. In this case, my subject was about 4 meters away, so no bellows extension...And no extra math!

Thanks for the reply, Mike. The diaphragm blades of my other lenses are always fully retracted at their widest indicated aperture. It seems odd that the Schneider 110xl is different; that is, when f/5.6 is indicated, its diaphragm blades are still blocking some degree of light. I thought the aperture lever may have needed some re-calibration, but I guess it's a feature of this lens.

I should clarify that when I refer to this "sliver," I'm referring to the diaphragm blades, not the shutter blades!

Hi all,

 

I'm a new owner of schneider's 110XL lens, and I've noticed when

setting the aperture to 5.6 (the lens' widest), a very slight sliver

of the shutter blade remains visible inside the lens, around the

extreme edge. Only when I push the lever a little beyond 5.6 (that

is, "off the scale") does this sliver fully disappear.

 

So, just where is the TRUE 5.6 setting? Is it when 5.6 is indicated,

or is it when the lever is pushed a little beyond 5.6 (until no

sliver shows)?

 

Of course, this raises a related question: if the TRUE 5.6 occurs

when the lever is moved beyond 5.6, does this mean that all other

aperture settings are sligtly inaccurate?

 

Thanks in advance!