chris_wray

What many people don't realize about swings and tilts is that the

world is rarely that two dimensional. I find I use a tilt or swing

about 10% of the time, even with many close images in my portfolio. I

commonly use f32 or f45, however. There always seems to be something

sticking out the top or bottom, or sides of a tilt or swing image.

Sometimes, you can use about half the movement, and a small stop to

boot. This gives a nice combination for depth, without sending the

oddball parts out of focus. I find I rarely use a movement for focus

control unless the obect is within a few feet of the lens.

Just for the record, sounds like Bryant had one of the Graphics which

did not come with the Fresnel lens originally. The backs have a

spacer to place the ground glass in the right place on the non-

Fresnel cameras. Someone probably added a Fresnel and didn't know the

gap had been taken up already. Or, someone flipped the surfaces of

the glass and Fresnel. I have seen them that way several times.

Fresnel goes in front, glass in back to actually focus on, with rough

sides together in the middle. When assembled correctly, these cameras

are stunning for nighttime photography with a good lens.

Then again, those of us who photograph at night know which of our

lenses can handle it or not. A 150mm at f5.6 focused on stars will

show just how sharp your corners are. I have newer lenses that can

make it, and older ones that can't. The older ones may be great at

f32, but not wide open. Image circle is no where near as important as

sharpness over the entire image. Besides, as mentioned, Nikkor tech

sheets give both figures, and they are not the same. My 90mm barely

covers wide open, but has more image than my 210mm when stopped down.

The circle certainly does change with f-stop, if you consider the

usuable part.

James is right, pre-exposure is often used with slide films to help

give a head start for shadows. You do have to watch the high end. I

would just try a few different levels to see what works best.

The Tessar design is never quite as sharp in the edges at wider

apertures than other designs. Even the newer Schneiders and

Rodenstocks of Tessar lineage have the trait. They are great stopped

down a couple stops from wide open, however. My Rodenstock one is

good after one and one-half stops down. The softer, stretched image

in the edges will result in lower contrast ratings for the lens. I

love mine, though. It is a low price design which matches anything

for landscape or detail work, except when wide open. I don't need to

use it that wide anyway.

What most people don't realize is that about 99% of all dust on sheet

film comes from the light trap that seals the dark slide. They act

like scrubber brushes and remove any dust on the slide when you pull

it out. When you push the slide in, the dust is picked up and

scattered over the film. You have to use compressed air with about 15-

20 psi to blow a small dust cloud come out of the trap when blown.

Too much air will damage the trap, so be careful. Also, make sure the

slides are clean both sides, that is where the dust comes from that

the felt trap picks up. Also, the longer the film is stored in

holders, the better the chance of disturbing dust. Packing holders

around on a few trips before actually using them is asking for

trouble.

Blowing the camera, especially the bellows, is needed as well.