rosswordhouse.com

You can check out my new solution for the traveling shooter. It's coming out mid March

and works really well. It's an adhesive based sensor cleaner that doesn't leave any residue.

You won't need a scope to see dust, just apply four times in each corner and you've got a

clean sensor.

http://www.dust-aid.com

Thanks,

Ross Wordhouse

Yes, a panoramic forum would be cool. It would get us off of the medium format and large

format forums.

You got my support.

Ross Wordhouse - The Panoscape Photographer

www.rosswordhouse.com

Seeing images is an art all within it's self. It's the ability to analyse an area and capture

what makes it unique. It's also the ability to find wonder in the smallest details. Let me ask

you, did you get off your bike and lay flat on your back and look up? Did you get on your

knees and get eye level with the water and study reflections? Did you compare tree barks

and the textures created by them? Did you look for backlit leaves that could create a

glowing effect and framed by branchs? What did you do to really "see" the area?

Photography is about seeing what others miss and being able to share those insights with

them. Next time when you go, take your camera and give yourself several hours to crawl,

climb, roll and explore your world with your new "seeing" eyes.

many look, but few see.

You can learn how to see, it just takes time and tons of practice and research. But, most of

all, have fun!

Ross Wordhouse

www.rosswordhouse.com

There's no real problem switching the lens back and forth, just your time. There is no wear

or tear on the fotoman by taking the lens out repeatedly. Once you have dialed in your

focus then all you do is remember what focus shims and cone spacers you used that got

you prime focus. For the 72 XL it's a 2mm focus mount spacer and a 10mm cone spacer,

pretty easy.

I'm new to mounting lenses so I'm not wanting to switch back and forth because i know

one of these times I'm going to scratch my lens or something. I got my 72 XL to live in my

fotoman's cone, It's not going anywhere. But if you're carefull with the lens then there's no

reason that you can't keep switching it out all the time.

Check out my fotoman page to see this camera up close:

www.rosswordhouse.com/fotoman.html

rw

Barry, the camera I think you had seen was a Widelux or a Horizon. Most of these are

35mm format, not sure if they make MF models. The only problem with these camera's,

besides being 35mm, is that you have to keep the horizon close to the middle of the frame

or you will get horizontal distortion.

I've used my 617 camera for group shots and once I photographed an entire school with

about 1200 students out in front of it. When I enlarged the print you could make out

everyone's faces. I'd look into the 617 option if you plan on doing many group shots, or

you could rent a 617 set up.

www.rosswordhouse.com

Mark, You will have to go here to calculate all of your DOF's. It will give you your

hyperfocal measurments too.

http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

Select 5x7 film format because they do not have a 6x17 option.

rw

The viewfinder works just fine for framing and shooting. When I frame the scene I just add

ten percent with the viewfinder to make sure that everything will be captured. You don't

have to use the GG at all, but I like to get it as close as I can to the final crop in camera so I

can go really big with my prints, so I double check with the GG.

Also, I shoot a ton of verts. If you have ever tried to compse a vert shot with a rangefinder

you know that the viewfinder will be off because it is off center. It's really nice to be able to

slap on the GG on a vert shot and to make sure nothing is being cut off or is properly

centered in the frame.

You'll have no problem shooting with the viewfinder, just add a little extra space to your

composition and you'll be safe.

rw

The camera is made in Mainland China. You can get service and buy it through

badgergraphics.com. Regarding the finishing, I don't much care about it. my camera's

aren't show pieces, they are working machines that help me capture my vision. The

Fotoman is finished enough so the film isn't scratched or light damaged. It's very nicely

painted if that's what you're after. For making a body out of one piece of aluminum they

did a good job. If you campaired it to a GX617 then it's a little ruff around the corners but

it's about $1K cheaper for the body and the cone/lens set up can be $1-2K cheaper. Plus

you have a very wide lens choice with the fotoman, something that's not possible with the

GX617. Everything has trade offs, Fotoman has made a camera that is very utilitarian and

gets the job done with a large selection of lenses to chose from. The GX617 is a plush

camera for sure, but if you want to save some money for film and not skimp on

performance and versatility then look at the fotoman.

rw

<p>I just finished a quick review of the Fotoman 617 camera with shots of the camera

system for you all to check out. I'm working on having some images taken with it shortly

but for now, you can take a close look at this system. Hope this helps with some questions

you have about the camera. I've been getting about ten questions a month about the

camera so I thought this would help you all out.</p>

<p>I am not paid by fotoman, I just got one for trade for 4 of my images that they used to

show what the 617 format can do. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.rosswordhouse.com/fotoman.html">http://

www.rosswordhouse.com/fotoman.html</a></p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

If you want to see what is around central oregon, please visit my site. Almost every

nature image is about an hour from Bend.

You might hit a little hidden jem called Opal Creek, it just down the highway from

silver falls. This is a secret little local spot, well, not secret any more. :-)

If you find yourself in Bend then drive up the cascade lakes highway and take the

green lakes trail head. There about 5-6 falls going up one trail between brokentop

and south sister. You might hit it with a lot of color. If you find yourself in bend, stop

on by my gallery on Minnesota street in downtown bend. i'll fill you in on what's going

off in central oregon.

www.rosswordhouse.com

Micheal,

I have never seen a 617 with a built in rangefinder, so I'm sure she is using a hand

held one. All 617's use LF lenses and a pretty plain focus mount. Off hand I can't

remeber if my G617 has a distance chart on it or not, I think it does. It came with a

little chart that gave you all the DOF's at all the F stops. But, with this camera, sharp

focus is at F22 so I try to shoot around that.

I think her main point is wondering how other 617 shooters gauge their distances

without doing GG verification. I like filling my foregrounds with close stuff so it's easy

for me to measure out ten or twenty feet with a string. But, if your shooting a tele lens

then the best bet is a laser rangefinder. Any golf or hunting store will have one. I don't

shoot tele yet, so I have no need for one. I'm sure the GX617 lenses have DOF charts

right on the lens. My Fotoman 617 doesn't so I am currently putting it through DOF

focus tests at various F stops with a 72MM XL mounted on it.

Talking about GG and 617, I've got to say that Fotoman has got it down with their GG.

It's got a magnatized steel frame that clicks into place. It's sick. You have to lift one

edge off slowly to release the magnatism grasp without shaking the camera, but it's

very slick. I tried using the fotoman GG on my G617 but the GG frame is to large and

does not latch onto the G617.

www.rosswordhouse.com

Darcy,

First off, what set up are you using? A g617? A gx617 with which lens? Or a art

panorama or other? This matters due to the distance of the closest subject matter.

But, I'll take a wild guess and say you're shooting a G617 with a fixed 105mm. This is

an easy lens and DOF to master. Here it is;

F16 @ infinity focus for thirty feet to infinity

F22 @ 10mm focus for twenty feet to infinity

F45 @ 5mm focus for ten feet to infinity

At F45 you can get away with six feet, but it might fuzz out just a little.

Regarding exact mesurements, here is waht I did before I learned how to eyeball my

distances. Take the hook end of a wire hanger and cut it off. Now tie a thirty foot

piece of string to it. Now tie little knots at ten and twenty feet. Then set up your

camera and hook the hanger hook on your tripod head and march out to your

foreground element. This will give you your focus and f stop. It's a light and quick way

to judge close distances. Soon you will be able to eyeball these distances with ease.

Hope this helps,

www.rosswordhouse.com

<p>I had a XpanII but sold it because after looking at my 617

chromes for the

past 5 years I just couldn't stand the smaller format. I mainly got

it for shooting

pano stock due to the 21 pano's you could get on one roll of

film. But the small

chromes where a headache. Plus, I like to print my shots BIG,

so the expanII

had to go. I bought myself a schneider 72 XL to throw on the

front of my new

Fotoman 617. I'm doing lens focus/DOF/CF compensation

tests right now to get

it dialed in.</p>

<p>If you like to go big with your prints get a 617. Having only 4

images will

force you to be VERY sective in what you shoot. I just might

make you a better

shooter because you will not be willing to just fire off shots.

You'll take

your time waiting for just the right moment and if it doesn't

happen then come

back another time.</p>

<p>The expanII is razor sharp and I was happy with the images i

took with it but

I just couldn't get over the small chromes and the non ability to

print big.

I pretty much only shoot when the light and scene is worth it, so

I'd rather

have it big. I wouldn't print my xpan chromes larger than 11

inches on the short end.</p>

<p>Ross Wordhouse - The Panoscape Photographer<br>

<a

href="http://www.rosswordhouse.com">rosswordhouse.com</a

></p>

<p>I don't know about a site that is just for 617 members but I'm

an exclusive

617 shooter so all of my shots on my site are 617. Well, actually

they are more

around 615 because I feel that 17 is just a little to long for my

tastes. I

like the aspect ratio of 6x15 better. Click on my link and

hopefully you will

enjoy what you see.</p>

<p>Ross Wordhouse - The Panoscape Photographer<br>

<a

href="http://www.rosswordhouse.com">rosswordhouse.com</a

></p>

Will,

It would be nice to get a DOF chart with the camera and lens

combo. But there is a pretty good DOF calculator online though,

here is the link ;

http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

Just select 5x7 as your film format and you are good to go. I'm

going to do this with my 75mm and print it out and put in in my

bag. After two months of using it I'll have it ingrained in my head.

Regarding the film advance. Yep that would be a good feature.

The film nobs have good tention but I could see them geting

moved around some during transport. But all you would have to

do is check the small film postion window in the back of the

camera before you shot to make sure it was on the right film

number. On the back of the door is a small window that has a

sliding steel cover. The window is red tinted plastic so it will help

to cut down light. It will show you the number of the film position

on the back of the 120 paper. Just check this to make sure you

are in position before you release the shutter. It's way more work

than the G617, but then again the G617 cant change lenses. The

film position numbers are listed on the back of the door to

remind you where to place the film. But to be honest, I use all

four shots of the 120, one for dead nuts on exposure and the

other three for bracketing. So I burn through one roll per shot.

Hope this helps,

rw

www.rosswordhouse.com

Will,

The cable release is supplied with the camera. On the handle

part you can screw it into the top and thread it through the handle

so it can be fired from a hand holding position. This is going to

be great for shooting from a plane. I've tried it the other way with

my G617 and it's hard to hold the camera steady in one hand

and fire off the cable with your other. This screw in feature of the

cable will allow me to hold the camera with both hands and fire

of the shutter with a finger. There are slits in the side of the

handle so you can set the camera down and not pinch the cable.

The viewfinder is bright and easy to see through but it's kind of

like looking through a loop. You know, your eye has to be at just

the right spot to see everything clear. When looking straight

through the finder the center is sharp but the sides tend to fuzz

out. If you slant your head and eye over and look to the side then

the side that you are looking at becomes sharp. Best thing to

compare it to is a loop on a light table. You have to move your

eye around to see every part sharp. The weight is heavy. It feels

like a heavy high quality pro loop.

Jan,

On the focus ring of my 75mm they have markings for 3.3 ft, 4, 5,

7, 10, 15, 30 and infinity. To calibrate it you set the focus ring on

infinity, space the cone and focus mount to the lens FFD, check

your focus with ground glass. If it's sharp then all of your other

focus ring settings will be on.

Hope this helps. Now if only my 75mm lens would arrive!

rw

www.rosswordhouse.com

Great, now I have Ellis Vener calling me a paid writer by Fotoman

over in the LF forums. I guess that's what I get for trying to show

off my new camera that not a single photographer has in the

entire USA. Here is my rebutal to her accusation.

"Ellis, Please check with me before you acuse me of something.

I am not being paid to write about my 617 fotoman. I traded Paul

four of my images for their 617, end of story. I am sharing my

experience with this camera online because there has been so

much mystery about it. I have one so I want to share, call it good

nature, call it good will, call it bragging rights that I am currently

the only one in the states that has one. I don't care but don't call

me a paid plant by fotoman.

I sell stock images all the time. They wanted four of the best vert

pano's that a camera could buy and I wanted a 617 that could

house a 75mm. It's just that simple. Good trade for the both of

us. My images take years to capture, I'm sure that in time

Fotoman will have vert pano's that they can draw apon taken with

their system. But a deadline is a deadline so if a NEW camera

company doesn't have good vert pano's then you go with the next

best thing, stock. "

So lets end this jaded take on my post and get to the goods, this

new option for 617 shooters.

Ross

www.rosswordhouse.com

Ellis,

Please check with me before you acuse me of something.

I am not being paid to write about my 617 fotoman. I traded Paul

four of my images for their 617, end of story. I am sharing my

experience with this camera online because there has been so

much mystery about it. I have one so I want to share, call it good

nature, call it good will, call it bragging rights that I am currently

the only one in the states that has one. I don't care but don't call

me a paid plant by fotoman.

I sell stock images all the time. They wanted four of the best vert

pano's that a camera could buy and I wanted a 617 that could

house a 75mm. It's just that simple. Good trade for the both of

us. My images take years to capture, I'm sure that in time

Fotoman will have vert pano's that they can draw apon taken with

their system. But a deadline is a deadline so if a NEW camera

company doesn't have good vert pano's then you go with the next

best thing, stock.

rw

www.rosswordhouse.com

<p>Thanks Paul for coming to my defence regarding this post. I

forgot how jaded

some photographers are here at photo.net. I've been spending

most of my time

over on NPN but remembered that there are some 617

shooters that would like

to know more about this system on this site, so I thought I'd

share my good

fortune and observations with them.Thanks to all who had a

kind word, i'm really

excited about what this camera can do and how it will open up

new doors of images

for me.</p>

<p>For a moment please put yourself in my shoes. For 5 years I

have been focusing

my entire career on panoramic photography. With my limited

funds I was able

to buy myself a G617 with a FIXED 105mm lens.Through hard

work and dedication

to my craft I have built up a very strong portfolio, with just one

camera and

one fixed lens. A year ago I finally hit the wall of limitations with

the G617.So

when this trade deal came through I was very excited because I

knew that I could

now capture the images that are in my head on film, images

that the G617 just

couldn't pull off. I went with a 75mm lens first because of the

close DOF it

provides. The only other cameras that could do this was either

the $3500 Canham

set up or a $5600 617 Linhof 72mm set up, way out of reach for

me. So I'm sorry

if my enthusiasm is over the top, but just think what it has been

like to be

shooting one camera with one lens for the last FIVE years and

now you have 20-30

lenses to chose from! Yes I am very stoked.</p>

<p>Brian Kosoff,<br>

Great to hear from you. The mechanics seem to work very well.

Everything looks

to be very tightly CNC'ed. The metal Cone spacers have good

tounge and groove

light locks and fit snug. The back door fits tight but only swings

left 90 degrees.I'm

used to my G617 that swings left 180 degrees. The fotoman

door swing will be

a big change from your GX617. Everything looks to be

machined out of aluminum.

The first reaction I had when I picked it out of the case was that

this thing

is heavy. It's a lot heaver that it looks. You know the feeling

when you look

at a G617 or a GX617 and you think they are heavy, but you pick

it up and its

light. Well, it's the other way around with the Fotoman. I weighed

just the

fotoman camera body with a 10mm cone spacer and the cone

and it came to 3.5LBS.

My G617 with 105mm lens is 5.5 LBS. To be quit frank, this

thing is built like

a tank. I bet a mack truck could hit this camera body and the

only thing you

would notice is the big dent in the mack truck quarter panel. The

film turn

screws have a nice tention on them, not to loose, not to tight. I'm

a BIG hiker,

most of my hikes range from 2-10 miles so the weight of the

fotoman is an issue

in my book. But, I just won't know till I get the camera fully put to

gether

to see what it will weigh in at. I'll let you know when it's all put

together.

I think the 75mm glass is heaver than the 105 too. But then

again, you have

to think about what fotoman is charging for this camera. You are

going to have

trade offs with any price point item. If this camera comes in

around 6LBS with

the 75mm then I'll be a happy hiker/camper. Do you mind

weighing your GX617

body with a 90 or 105 on it? I'd like to know that number.</p>

<p>I got it direct from Fotoman in China. See the first post by

Paul. I'm going

to give the calibration a try myself, but if I can't get it dialed then

I'll

send it off. But it seams pretty straight forward and easy to do

yourself. I

plan on doing a test regarding the viewfinder and the actual film

coverage.

I'll post when I have them.</p>

<p>Matt Brost,<br>

I'll post images and thoughts about the focusing and film

flatness when I get

the lens installed and get some film run through the camera. I

think it's going

to take me some time to get dialed into the 75mm, but when I

do I'll let you

know. It probably won't be on this site, to many jaded people

here. Look for

it on my site. In fact I think I'm pretty much over posting on this

site for

a while.</p>

<p>Jaded People,<br>

I live, breath, eat and sleep panoramic photography and I know

some of you here

do too. So when a new way of capturing pano's comes around I

get very excited

because it opens new doors for me and my creativity. Next time

when a photographer

is excited about a new system that allows them to capture the

world in a new

way please don't rain down on their parade.</p>

<p>Ross Wordhouse - The Panoscape Photographer<br>

<a

href="http://www.rosswordhouse.com">www.rosswordhouse.co

m</a></p>

<p>Yep, I'm the proud owner of a Fotoman 617 camera. It came

in yesterday and

I'm having great fun playing with this cool new 617 system. I

would have had

a lens to put in it but I lost the bidding war on ebay last

weekend. So I just

ordered me a Fuji SWD 75mm from midwest and it should be

here in two days. </p>

<p>

First off, when I opened the DHL box, I was very impressed with

the steel box

the camera came in. Very cool. I then opened it up to find the

goods. inside

was the 617 camera, the lens cone, two cone extenders(5mm,

10mm) for rising

up the cone, focus mount, focus mount shims for raising the

height of the focus

ring, a spirit level, focus mount wrench, a small ground glass,

viewfinder that

is adjustable from 72mm to 90mm and a shutter cable.</p>

<p>The thing I find fun is figuring out the flange focus

depths(FFD) of different

75mm lenses and setting up the cone with spacers to the

correct FFD height.

The Fuji 75mm that I'm getting has a FFD of 85.1mm. So I can

get it as close

as 85mm with the shims and cone extenders. Now, I just need

my lens to mount

it in the focus ring and cone.</p>

<p>Here is a list of measurements of the camera, cone spacers,

cone, shims, and

focus ring so you can do some FFD calculations yourself.

Please remeber I got

this to shoot a 75mm lens. I'm not sure what their big cone

spacers look like.

But if this works out then I'm going to get a 300mm cone and

give it a run through.</p>

<p>Film plane to front edge of camera: 32mm<br>

10mm cone spacer - Optional<br>

5mm cone spacer - Optional<br>

Cone: 21mm<br>

shims for raising focus mount: 2mm, 1mm, .5mm<br>

focus mount: 15mm</p>

<p>With my 85.1mm FFD of my Fuji 75mm I will use this set

up:<br>

Camera 32mm, both spacers 15mm, cone 21, shim 2mm,

focus mount 15mm = 85mm<br>

</p>

<p>You then use the small piece of ground glass to do your

infinity focus test.

If it's on then load some film and start shooting. If it's off then it's

fine

tuning the spacers or shims.</p>

<p>Seeing that this is the first Fotoman in the states, I think I

need to do a

web log of this new fotoman adventure. Check my site in the

news, I might get

it started soon. Please let me know if you have any questions,

I'd be happy

to see if I can answer any of them.</p>

<p>I've been only shooting a Fuji G617 so this new 617 sould be

pretty fun!</p>

<p>Ross Wordhouse - The Panoscape Photographer<br>

<a

href="http://www.rosswordhouse.com">www.rosswordhouse.co

m</a></p>

<p><img

src="http://www.rosswordhouse.com/images/fotoman.jpg"></p>

<p>My shooting plans this winter are;</p>

<p>Blue tree trunk shadows cascading over white snow, sunrise

on the three sisters

mountain range from an overnight campout on brokentop

mountain, star trails

at night with the mountains softly lit, hoars frost on old

windblown trees,

wind drifts that swirl and sweap across the landscape, the

backside of Mt. Bachelor

with golden sunset light, and anything else that might strike my

fancy when

I'm out in the wonderful winter wonderland.</p>

<p>Bring it on! Can you tell I'm a winter person :-)</p>

<p>Ross Wordhouse - The Panoscape Photographer<br>

<a

href="http://www.rosswordhouse.com">www.rosswordhouse.co

m</a></p>

<p>I'm with Tim and Brian. I'll never grow tired of taking pictures

of nature

scenes because the process is so much more important than

the end result. There's

nothing like waking up at 4am and rolling down the street when

everyone else

is still sleeping. Getting out in nature before dawn and smelling

the dew drapped

trees and underbrush. Searching for a new POV on an overshot

location and exploring

creative possibilites. Then setting up the gear and sitting for an

hour or so

and listening and watching nature wake up from the night. Then

when the perfect

beams of light drape the stage... click!</p>

<p>You can't ask for a more relaxing past time that also brings in

some serious

money. I've been shooting just pano's for 5 years now and I

have yet to grow

tired of this format. It's a very challenging format to make work,

so it adds

a fun element to the process. You might think about exploring

new formats or

techniques. Heck, go get yourself a Holga and have fun.

Challenge yourself!

Only bring one lens out in the field, only shoot from 5 inches off

of the ground

for a whole roll, only shoot macro for a roll, only take one image

on a field

trip, shoot and cross process, make a pinhole camera,

experement and have fun.

</p>

<p>Explore new formats, challenge yourself, and above all, have

fun!</p>

<p>Ross Wordhouse - The Panoscape Photographer<br>

<a

href="http://www.rosswordhouse.com">www.rosswordhouse.co

m</a></p>

<p>Fudge, I thought I was in digital darkroom.</p>

<p>Sorry for the miss-post.</p>

<p>Ross Wordhouse<br>

<a

href="http://www.rosswordhouse.com">www.rosswordhouse.co

m</a></p>

<p>Just wondering if anyone has heard if Epson is currently

updating their 7600/9600

printers with the 4000 technology. It's feeling right for a new

series to be

coming out. </p>

<p>Did anyone see any information about this at Photokina?</p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>Ross Wordhouse<br>

<a

href="http://www.rosswordhouse.com">www.rosswordhouse.co

m</a></p>

<p>Ivan,</p>

<p>Split the difference on your vert FOV.</p>

<p>I would use a soft grad with this wide lens unless you are

shooting a super

flat horizon. The hard edge grads are just too unforgiving with

guestimation

filter placement. Soft grads help by giving you some slop in the

transition

so you can be off a little with your placement.</p>

<p>By all means try to do it right in the camera, but if you are

unsure of your

filter placement then just take two images for saftey. One for

your foreground

and one for the background and then merge them in pshop. If

it's an amazing

scene that won't happen again, have a saftey net.</p>

<p>Ross Wordhouse - The Panoscape Photographer<br>

<a

href="http://www.rosswordhouse.com">www.rosswordhouse.co

m</a></p>