audidudi

Toyo makes a cable release angle-adapter for Copal 0 shutters that will work with a Copal 0 Press shutter (it worked fine with mine, anyway!) They turn up on eBay occasionally or you can buy them new for ~$70 or so...

As one who uses a G-series Toyo in the field (admittedly, mine is the 2x3 version and somewhat smaller/lighter than the 4x5 version), I find little need to disassemble the camera between shots. I have walked as far as 12 miles with the camera mounted on the tripod and the tripod resting on a folded towel on my shoulder without any problems. Thanks to Toyo's quick-release tripod clamp, on those occasions when I do have to remove the camera from the tripod, I carry it upside-down by the rail and for short distances (say, a few city blocks), I've never had any problems with this method, either.

 

Mind you, the 45G is slightly bulkier and heavier than my 23G and I can understand your wanting to replace it for that reason but if you simply want to improve your response time when presented with a photo op and need the amount of rise the 45G offers (and like me, have become spoiled by the convenience of using geared movements!), I'm not sure that replacing it with a 45AII (or other camera) is really necessary.

You don't have to knock the camera to make it vibrate ... depending upon the shutter used, simply releasing it may be enough to do it. I'm using a Toyo 23G (a medium-format version of the 45G) and the vibration caused by firing the Seiko shutters on the Mamiya lenses that I'm using make it ring like a bell. My attempts at damping the vibration haven't been all that successful so it appears the only solution is to remount the lenses into different shutters.

If you do buy one, check out the tripod mount adapter offered for sale at www.bigcamera.com as it allows you to mount the camera on something other than just the factory-provided pan-tilt head.

The main difference is the knobs ... the "G" series knobs are hard plastic whereas the "GII" knobs are rubber-covered. (At one time, Toyo offered an upgrade for owners of existing G-series cameras -- and a reasonably priced one, at that -- but I don't know if they still do or not.) This and the color (black rails instead of chrome) are the only differences that I know of...

For me, the problem with buying a used drum scanner inexpensively is that the cost of repairs does NOT drop in parallel to its depreciated market value. I know of one person who bought a used Screen something or other for a little over $3k and after using it for just six months, tossed it in the trash when it broke and the estimate to repair it was $2400. Now he makes do with a humble Epson 2450 while he saves to buy a replacement for the deceased Screen...

I haven't seen a Sinar standard but based upon their reputation, I think that a competent machinist might be able to enlarge the opening in order to accomodate a Toyo rail without removing so much metal as to weaken it appreciably. Worth looking into, anyway...

I shoot MF with a view camera ... the best of both worlds, perhaps?

I use all of these methods -- including Genuine Fractals as well -- but I'm afraid there's no clear-cut winner. The best choice for this image may not be the best choice for that image and although my intuition sometimes allows me to predict which method will work best, I find the only way to know for sure is by trial and error. FWIW, I usually start with GF and if I'm not happy with the results, try VFZoom next and then the "Fred Miranda" Stairstep method (I put quotes around his name because -- no offense intended -- I was using the same method [well, practically the same method ... I haven't checked out his latest version] at least one year, if not two, before he started shooting with his first camera!)

 

Anyway, the bottom line here is that if you have the money, then all of them will prove useful but if you're trying simply to determine which one of them is "the best," it's been my experience that there's no easy answer.

FYI, the only difference between the original Minolta Scan-Multi and the Scan-Multi II lies in the software, which can be bought separately for around $100. That said, I've found Vuescan produces superior results as compared to the Minolta software and its less expensive, too!

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Laugh if you will but a Slik 700DX for $169.95, including a decent three-axis panhead, works well for my ~10lb. Toyo 23G. This combo weighs a bit over 7lbs. and except for the Tiltall, which is slightly lighter (but in my experience, less convenient to use), you aren't likely to find anything lighter without spending a lot more money.

<P>For $1199.95, you can buy a <a href="http://www.publishingperfection.com/productdetails.asp?sku=PLR225">factory-refurbhished 2nd generation Polaroid Sprintscan 45i</a>, which scans at 2000ppi instead of 2500ppi. I have used my friend's on several occasions and while its scans are not a match for the best drum scans, they're noticeably better than any I've seen made with a consumer-grade flatbed scanner.</P>

Although the necessary tank and regulator will cost a bit more, you might be better off using compressed nitrogen instead of air. It should contain considerably less moisture than home-compressed air (even after you filter it) and there is less risk of foreign particles being able to damage your film.

 

FWIW, the lab that processes my film uses compressed nitrogen to dust off film but since they also use it with their E6 line, this may be as much a matter of convenience rather than performance.

Since my original post, I've done some more research into this and have determined the following:

 

1) The vibration is caused by the cocking lever slamming against the end of the slot in the shutter body after the shutter's been released. However, by holding a finger against the lever and slowly returning it to its stop -- the shutter actually fires in the last 1/8" of travel -- the vibration level is reduced several-fold.

 

2) The vibration noticeably affects image sharpness as I've now made several shots back-to-back using the same lens elements mounted in a regular Copal 0 shutter and the difference is obvious when looking at the film with a 3x loupe.

 

3) As some people speculated, my initial attempts at damping the vibration by applying damping material to the back of the lensboard haven't been very successful. Clearly, the proper solution is to eliminate the vibrations at their source rather than damp them after-the-fact.

 

To this end, I have several ideas about how to damp the motion of the cocking lever and if all of these fail, then it appears the only alternative will be to remount the lenses in other shutters. Based upon the results from my first few rolls of film, though, it appears all this effort will prove worthwhile as these lenses (I'm referring specifically to the 75mm and 127mm Polaroid versions) are exceptionally sharp and have a very pleasant color rendition despite being only single-coated.

I believe <a href="http://www.expodisc.com/">this</a> is what you're after.

I don't know about the rest of the world but in my neck of the woods, "figure model" is a slightly more polite way of saying "nude model." I suspect the odds of finding one near a National Park are much lower than finding one in a city...

Using a piece of matboard, a hot glue-gun, a body cap with the center portion cut away and a short piece of PVC pipe, I cobbled together an adapter that allowed me to attach a Minolta RD-3000 digital SLR to my Toyo 23g view camera in place of the ground-glass assembly.

 

It took maybe 30 minutes from start to finish and cost next to nothing since I already had all of the supplies on hand. To my surprise, this Rube Goldberg contraption actually worked quite well, except that for my purposes, the focal-length multiplication factor (due to the small size of the RD-3000's sensor) ended up being too high at ~2.25:1 and I didn't have a lens that was short enough to compensate for this.

 

However, this shouldn't be a problem for you since 1) Your EOS body has a film area that's considerably larger than the RD-3000's sensor, which will reduce the multiplication factor to a more acceptable range and 2) you're planning to use portrait-length lenses instead of wide-angle ones.

 

While it's your money, in view of the fact that you already have an Arca-Swiss view camera and you're obviously not looking for the ultimate in image sharpness, I'd suggest you try this approach before you drop a lot of money pursuing any others.

<P>George, the lensboard of my Toyo only makes contact with the standard for roughly 12mm on each side of its 110mm width so adding damping material to the area inside of this will have no effect on its ability to be attached firmly to the standard.</P>

 

<P>And Yes, Pete's correct: It <I>IS</I> possible to damp vibrations propogating through the lensboard by simply adding a damping material to one or both of its outer surfaces. He mentions rubber but I have a sheet of 1/8" Sorbothane leftover from my high-end audio days and I am going to try this instead. I also have an idea for a composite lensboard -- one made of several layers of different materials then clamped together under pressure -- but this will require quite a bit more work to assemble and besides, first things first... </P>

 

<P>And Yes, Don, my images <I>aren't</I> as sharp as I'd like them to be. Whether shutter vibration is the reason for this or not, I can't say at this point but I do intend to find the cause and if at all possible, fix it!</P>

<P>George, I'm not sure that I follow you here: How will adding damping material to the back of the lensboard change its mechanical alignment with the film back? I suggested adding material <I>to</I> the lensboard, not <I>between </I>the lensboard and standard...</P>

<P>As an inveterate tinkerer with all things electro-mechanical, I

noticed that the Seiko shutters used on the Polaroid/Mamiya lenses

I've adapted for my Toyo 23G ring like bells for several seconds after

they open. I put them on the "B" setting and verified that

this happens only when they open and not when they close. Although I

haven't measured their amplitude or period yet, the vibrations are

sufficiently large that I'm able to feel them when I rest my fingers

on the tripod legs!</P>

 

<P>For comparison purposes, I subjectively tested the few other

shutters I have on hand and found that the '90s vintage Copal No. 0

vibrated the least, a '70s vintage Synchro-Compur No. 1 the next least

and a '70s vintage Copal Press No. 1 the next least after that.

However, all three vibrated quite a bit less than either of

the two Seiko shutters I have.</P>

 

<P>Has anyone else investigated this matter? A search of the archives

turned up a few similar observations but no solutions other than the

obvious one of remounting the lens elements in a different shutter.

My initial thinking is that vibrations of this magnitude <I>must</I>

be having <I>some</I> effect upon image quality and that if there's an

easy way of reducing them, it has to be worth the effort. For

starters, I'm going to apply some damping material to the back of the

lensboard and see whether this helps as well as investigate whether

making the lensboards from something other than aluminum has any

merit. If anybody else has investigated this or experimented with

solutions, then I'd love to hear from you!</P>

I had one of these and had to hacksaw the front two slots off of the P holder in order to use it on a 21mm/f2.8 Minolta MD without vignetting. I sold the polarizer, however, as it kept falling apart on me -- the O-rings that held the glass in the holder had a habit of popping out whenever it was flexed (such as when sliding it into or out of the Cokin holder)-- and while the glass never fell on anything hard enough to break it, I decided that it was only a matter of time before it did and made it someone else's problem instead of mine.

<P>After you finish searching the Medium-Format archives (which is where the answers to your questions are more likely to be found), you should then check out this <a href="http://members.cox.net/gmhsint/">site</a> as well. (And for what it's worth, I've modified the 75mm and 127mm lenses to work on my 2x3 view camera ... while perhaps not my first choice, they have plenty of coverage and so far, I've been very pleased with their performance. Considering what I paid for them, they have proven to be a remarkable bargain.)</P>

Dominic, I had exactly the same problem with one of my Autocords -- the "stripe" looked like the contrail from an airplane -- and it turned out that the hinge/rear door was slightly bent. I was able to straighten it without too much difficulty or cosmetic damage and the problem went away.

Given the usual attitude Mamiya America Corporation has shown toward pricing its products, is anybody else as surprised as I am to see that this camera will apparently be less expensive in the U.S. than it is anywhere else in the world? Could it be that they've finally gotten the hint?