Happy Days

[Barney]

Exposure number eleven

Testing out the Crown Graphic
135 F 4.7 Optar
Fomapan 100 Ei 50 for 1/2 seconds @ F8 in 510 pyro

Happy Days

What's wrong here please?



100% Crop

 

[Nas]

What did you focus on? Did you use a loupe? Could be your ground glass isn’t calibrated to your film plane position but first you need to check whether the spot you focussed on is sharp on the neg. A mate of mine had this issue with his Linhof Master Tecnika ground glass. He tested by focussing on a ruler going away from the camera and had to use strips of film to shim it to the correct position.

 

[Barney]

I did not use a loupe due to the metal hood being in the way, I focused on the ground glass until I could see the writing above the doors become "crisp". I have looked all over the image at 100% and there isn't a spot anywhere where I could say "that bit is sharper"



I think I can see motion blur there, just pressed the button as cable was in the other camera box.

 

[Nas]

Ok. I think it’s a combo of shake and lack of critical focus. Loupe and cable release are essential for crisp shots. Either get a long loupe or unclip the hood for critical focus.

 

[Barney]

Ok. I think it’s a combo of shake and lack of critical focus. Loupe and cable release are essential for crisp shots. Either get a long loupe or unclip the hood for critical focus.

Having the hood is really handy, I like that feature. I will explore the long loupe suggestion. I also wondered if calculating the minimum focus distance for each each F stop might help me.

 

[Nas]

Use the hood for composing but remove for final critical focus. You can check the depth of field visually by stopping down then using your loupe. A dark cloth will help a lot.

 

[Barney]

Use the hood for composing but remove for final critical focus. You can check the depth of field visually by stopping down then using your loupe. A dark cloth will help a lot.

The Crown Graphic is "A press camera" isn't it for rapid photographs on the move, I am wondering what speed film those guys were using as I cant imagine everyone reaching for their dark-cloths and loupes as Bobby Moore ran off the pitch.

 

[Ian Grant]

The first issue is the 135mm f4.7 Optar is a Tessar type lens, f8 will give you shallow DOF. The second is it is Tessar type lens, and will have soft edge and corner sharpness at wider apertures, in my experience using a CZJ 135mm f4.5 Tessar f22 is the optimal aperture, with very slight edge softness at f16 (barely detectible).

It's possible the focus screen register is incorrect, if someone has added or removed a fresnel screen. I've had to correct 2 or 3 over the past few years. I've neen using Crown, Speed & Super Graphics for 20 years, critical focus is easy with the viewing hood.

The image looks rather grainy fof Fomapan 100, Foma films have relatively soft emulsion, temperatures between all abths, including washing need to be +/- 1ºC of the development temperature, Ut could also be slightbunderexosure.

Ian

 

[Nas]

The Crown Graphic is "A press camera" isn't it for rapid photographs on the move, I am wondering what speed film those guys were using as I cant imagine everyone reaching for their dark-cloths and loupes as Bobby Moore ran off the pitch.

Good point. Press photographers would’ve used a calibrated rangefinder for fast focus or zone focus with the distance scale in a hurry.
I use a loupe with the metal hood but I can’t get my eye right up to it. I make it work. Try it with your loupe. First I’d do a proper test with a ruler and cable release to eliminate variables.

 

[Ian Grant]

Good point. Press photographers would’ve used a calibrated rangefinder for fast focus or zone focus with the distance scale in a hurry.
I use a loupe with the metal hood but I can’t get my eye right up to it. I make it work. Try it with your loupe. First I’d do a proper test with a ruler and cable release to eliminate variables.

They would also have used fast film or plates, HP3, HPS, or Tri-X, and maybe. and a little push processing.

Ian

 

[David M]

We might also remember how very poor the resolution of newspaper photographs was. Critical sharpness was hardly an issue. The large neg meant that parts could be cropped out, eliminating the need for longer lenses and the problem of changing them in the field. Film anticipated digital zoom.

 

[Barney]

Thanks all for your helpful replies.

Ian the screen is bright and very good, there is no fresnel there as far as I can tell, should there be ? the ground glass is a replacement as square corners - no relief.

The image was taken about 8pm with the sun no higher than 5-10 degrees. the ev of the scene was 9 point something apart from the bright glass and front of the building, I metered off, the very patient guy(James) shirt. I used to mountain bike a fair bit and we had a good chat.

 

[Barney]

Good point. Press photographers would’ve used a calibrated rangefinder for fast focus or zone focus with the distance scale in a hurry.
I use a loupe with the metal hood but I can’t get my eye right up to it. I make it work. Try it with your loupe. First I’d do a proper test with a ruler and cable release to eliminate variables.

I will try that later, I will have the tape measure handy all day.

 

[Ian Grant]

Thanks all for your helpful replies.

Ian the screen is bright and very good, there is no fresnel there as far as I can tell, should there be ? the ground glass is a replacement as square corners - no relief.

The image was taken about 8pm with the sun no higher than 5-10 degrees. the ev of the scene was 9 point something apart from the bright glass and front of the building, I metered off, the very patient guy(James) shirt. I used to mountain bike a fair bit and we had a good chat.

The Pacemaker fresnels are quite thick and the rings obvious. The original screens are quite dim, so sounds like a replacement.



The Pacemakers were sold with and without fresnels and the casting is the same, the one for a fresnel is machined to fit the fresnel under the GG.

The one on the left is a plain screen GG holder, note the slight gap which is in each corner, the one on the right has a fresnel and has been machined so the gap is lost.

Ian

 

[Nas]

I will try that later, I will have the tape measure handy all day.

What I meant was set up the tape measure going away from the camera, focus on a number on the tape and expose a sheet of film. If that number on the negative isn’t sharp you’ll know the screen is in a different position to the film plane. You’ll be able to see how far out it is by looking at the point that IS sharp on the neg.

 

[Barney]

The Pacemaker fresnels are quite thick and the rings obvious. The original screens are quite dim, so sounds like a replacement.

View attachment 6486

The Pacemakers were sold with and without fresnels and the casting is the same, the one for a fresnel is machined to fit the fresnel under the GG.

The one on the left is a plain screen GG holder, note the slight gap which is in each corner, the one on the right has a fresnel and has been machined so the gap is lost.

Ian

I have just disassembled it and there two panes of glass, the one on the inside has very feint circular image which when viewed from the inside projects kind of a 3D raised dish shaped illusion.

 

[Nas]

I have just disassembled it and there two panes of glass, the one on the inside has very feint circular image which when viewed from the inside projects kind of a 3D raised dish shaped illusion.

The one with circles is the fresnel lens. I fitted a fresnel onto one of my Speed Graphic’s and after testing it had to be fitted on top of the ground glass (closest to me) to achieve accurate focus. This is not common and that’s why focus testing is essential.

 

[Barney]

The one with circles is the fresnel lens. I fitted a fresnel onto one of my Speed Graphic’s and after testing it had to be fitted on top of the ground glass (closest to me) to achieve accurate focus. This is not common and that’s why focus testing is essential.

Brilliant

Thank you Nas. As long as there is a solution we can get there !

 

[Barney]

The one with circles is the fresnel lens. I fitted a fresnel onto one of my Speed Graphic’s and after testing it had to be fitted on top of the ground glass (closest to me) to achieve accurate focus. This is not common and that’s why focus testing is essential.

How close does that lens focus ? what distance and aperture do you suggest ?

 

[David M]

All lenses will focus as close as the bellows extension allows. With LF, that’s the deciding factor. There may be some image deterioration and it’s a matter of individual judgement what is acceptable in each case. There are, of course specialist lenses but they tend to be rare and expensive.
For very close work, a high-end digital camera and focus stacking has probably usurped this field.