What is the best way to see/compose with ground glass on a view camera?

It is to be very hard for me to see the screen and compose the shot on my 8x10 view camera.

There must be a better way other than using a dark cloth over your head.

Yep, you' re right, especially at the wide angles, when shifting.

But there's no free lunch; I have one of these mirrorboxes on my sinar, but didn't liked it, so the dark cloth were in use. In really bad light conditions, using polaroids might help.

Will, there's a reason darkcloths are made in multiple variations -- they work, and with 8x10 you simply have to have one. There are some other options for 4x5, though none of them as good IMO and I still prefer a darkcloth. My darkcloth of choice is the hood style as it is lighter than a conventional rectangular cloth. Some folks like to use a black t-shirt or vest too: bottom at the GG, head inserted backwards through the neck, sleevs allowing hand access to use your loupe on the GG.

The quality of the ground glass makes a big difference. There are some excellent suppliers that have glass that produces a much brighter image


http://www.satinsnowglass.com/

is one such supplier

Maxwell Precision (from Bill Maxwell) also has excellent glass.. but i believe the largest he supplies is 5x7 (note.. he will provide 8x10 http://www.mattclara.com/maxwell/index.html

jim

Will Thompson said:

It is to be very hard for me to see the screen and compose the shot on my 8x10 view camera.

There must be a better way other than using a dark cloth over your head.

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Will - you´ll simply have to learn it when using LF. As other photographers before. You can buy very expensive mirror-devices - they don´t help much - or buy lots of 8x10" Polaroids and have a field-processor for it, when no electricity is at hand or a converter for your car´s electricity . . . . . All very expensive (but Polaroids in 8x10" on the other hand are gorgeous).
I even saw a video-device some years ago which was attached to the screen and showed the screen on a monitor - upright. Well . . . ;-)

The best way is, after all, to train your eyes and your imagination to compose on your screen. "Undercover" . . . .

True help is a cloth, you can fix at the camera to avoid too much stray-light and also helpful is of course a bright screen.

best, Klaus

Klaus Esser said:

Will - you´ll simply have to learn it when using LF. As other photographers before. You can buy very expensive mirror-devices - they don´t help much - or buy lots of 8x10" Polaroids and have a field-processor for it, when no electricity is at hand or a converter for your car´s electricity . . . . . All very expensive (but Polaroids in 8x10" on the other hand are gorgeous).
I even saw a video-device some years ago which was attached to the screen and showed the screen on a monitor - upright. Well . . . ;-)

The best way is, after all, to train your eyes and your imagination to compose on your screen. "Undercover" . . . .

True help is a cloth, you can fix at the camera to avoid too much stray-light and also helpful is of course a bright screen.

best, Klaus

Click to expand...

Well Klaus,

Will has already converterd an 8x10 Poalroid processor to work on a drill motor and it is totally portable and works perfectly. Mine needs 110 volts AC still, unless Will gets to work on it too.

Now I can tell you that 8x10 Polaroid film is $200 a box!

For me it's a dark cloth and time to accomodate one's vision. Another way might be a bright modeling light on table top subjects. For people, videographers use very bright light lights. I have no idea how the actors can work with such bright light.

However, this is no way to photograph landscape, LOL!

I saw the Sinar video system and it was both elegant and expensive!

Asher

Asher Kelman said:

Well Klaus,

Will has already converterd an 8x10 Poalroid processor to work on a drill motor and it is totally portable and works perfectly. Mine needs 110 volts AC still, unless Will gets to work on it too.

Now I can tell you that 8x10 Polaroid film is $200 a box!

For me it's a dark cloth and time to accomodate one's vision. Another way might be a bright modeling light on table top subjects. For people, videographers use very bright light lights. I have no idea how the actors can work with such bright light.

However, this is no way to photograph landscape, LOL!

I saw the Sinar video system and it was both elegant and expensive!

Asher

Click to expand...

Hi Asher, hi Will!

That´s great with the processor! Someone here modyfied them by drilling a hole into the side of the case and fixing a crank to the gear. Polaroid built a manually one too, i think.
Yes - LF isn´t really cheap at all . . ;-)

"For me it's a dark cloth and time to accomodate one's vision."

YES! That´s what i mean. Landscapes are THE place for 8x10" - and portraits too:

http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/pops/popwilave.html#spreads

best, Klaus

I haven't shot 5x4 for a while but in the field I sometimes used to wear the dark cloth on my head, holding it in place with a headband. Then when I came to compose I'd flip it off my back and over the camera. I also had velcro anchor points on the side of the field camera and velcro on the edge of the darkcloth.

WOW!

So many great ideas!

I think I like the TEE shirt best (or maybe a sweat shirt to keep all the light out) but I think I will need a third sleeve for a cooling fan.

Now where to get a small 12V dark room fan?

Thanks for all the input.

Will Thompson said:

Now where to get a small 12V dark room fan?

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Google "12V fan" and you'll get a bunch of 'em…

Thanks Nicolas, but not a single Darkroom fan. I have tons of 12v fans but none that block light.

I'd pop by sharper image. They have neck coolers I know

Asher

Will Thompson said:

Thanks Nicolas, but not a single Darkroom fan. I have tons of 12v fans but none that block light.

Click to expand...

Hoops!

Googled "12V darkroom fan" and found this one… ?

Hi Will,

Mount your 12v fan in some sort of ducting with a 180degree or some such light trap. ( short piece of plastic rainwater pipe, say, with a couple or three opposing baffles in the middle - paint it black on the inside.) (or get a Peltier device - make sure you connect it the right way ;-)

Best wishes,

Ray

Hi Ray
I like this simple and cheap solution!

I was just thinking, skip the outside vent just mount it below the GG and point the fan at your face, then cover the whole thing with the dark Tee shirt.

I use a T-shirt with my 4x5, the added value is that covers my neck from the burning effects of the sun when I have to stand waiting for ships to go by the entire morning -- my hat takes care of my head --

If you use a normal lens on a 8x10 it is not so bad, the worst is a 65mm on a 4x5 at night ! when the Polaroid comes is like: aha! one time I had to do that with 4 windows for a store owner and I also almost froze to death.. happy days.

Now I'm using the Speed you sent me -- thanks again -- with the view finder. I prefocus and then fallow the ships whit either the thing that looks like a football goal or the one with glass.

What I like of an 8x10 is that the scale is almost human, you have to embrace the camera, not hand held it as if "she" was a tango partner, I'm talking about the size of it as opposed to a Nikon. The photo experience is a different thing, and then, looking at 8x10 negatives or transparencies is a pleasure as well. I don't have so many -- negatives -- and I sold my G-Claron to buy the digital back, but one day I will end up doing that size negatives and scanning them at 1Giga...

Klaus, by the way, I did the CocaCola test !! but I can't post because I'm changing my server -- to get more space --, so judgement time is near...

Abrazos, Leonardo