View camera
Encyclopedia
The view camera is a type of camera
first developed in the era of the Daguerreotype
and still in use today, though with many refinements. It comprises a flexible bellows
which forms a light-tight seal between two adjustable standards, one of which holds a lens
, and the other a viewfinder
or a photographic film
holder.
The bellows is a flexible, accordion-pleated box, which encloses the space between the lens and film, and has the ability to flex to accommodate the movements of the standards.
The front standard is a board at the front of the camera which holds the lens and, usually, a shutter.
At the other end of the bellows, the rear standard is a frame which holds a ground glass
, used for focusing and composing the image before exposure, which is replaced by a holder containing the light-sensitive film, plate
, or image sensor
for exposure. The front and rear standards can move in various ways relative to each other, unlike most other types of camera, giving control over focus
, depth of field
and perspective
.
The camera must have some means of support, usually provision for mounting it on a tripod
.
View cameras use large format
sheet film
, using one sheet per photograph. Standard sizes in inches are: 4×5, 5×7, 4×10, 5×12, 8×10, 11×14, 7×17, 8×20, 12×20, and 20×24. (It is usual to list the short side first in the Americas
, and the long side in many other countries, thus 4×5 is the same as 5×4). A similar, but not identical, range of metric
sizes is used in many countries; thus 9×12 cm is similar to, but not interchangeable with, 4×5 inches. The most widely used format is 4×5, followed by 8×10.
A few rollfilm cameras have movements that make them as versatile as a sheet film view camera. Rollfilm and instant film
backs are available to use in place of a sheetfilm holder on a single-film camera.
Not all cameras have all movements available to both the front and rear standards, and some cameras have more movements available than others. Some cameras have mechanisms that make intricate movement combinations easier for the photographer.
Some limited view camera–type movements are possible with SLR cameras using various tilt/shift lenses. Also, as use of view cameras declines in favor of digital photography, these movements are being simulated using computer software.
Rise and fall are the movements of either the front or rear standard vertically along a line in a plane parallel to the film (or sensor) plane. Rise is a very important movement especially in architectural photography. Generally, the lens is moved vertically—either up or down—along the lens plane in order to change the portion of the image that will be captured on the film.
In the 35 mm format, special shift lenses (sometimes called perspective control lenses) emulate the rise or fall of view cameras.
The main effect of rise is to eliminate converging parallels when photographing tall buildings. If a camera without movements is pointed at a tall building, the top will be cut off; if the camera is tilted upwards to get it all in, the film plane will not be parallel to the building, and the building will seem narrower at the top than the bottom; lines which are parallel in the object will converge in the image.
To avoid this apparent distortion, a wide-angle lens will get more of the building in, but will include more of the foreground and alter the perspective.
A camera with rising front allows a normal lens to be raised to include the top of the building without tilting the camera.
This requires the image circle
of the lens to be larger than is required to cover the film without use of movements. If the lens can produce a circular image just large enough to cover the film, it will no longer cover the bottom of the film as it rises. Consequently the lens coverage must be larger if rises (and falls, and shifts) are to be used.
In Figure a) below (images are upside down, as a photographer would see them on the ground glass of a view camera), the lens is in the “normal” position. Notice that much of the unwanted foreground is included, but not the top of the tower. In Figure b), the lens has been shifted up: the top of the tower is now inside the area captured on film, at the sacrifice of unwanted green foreground.
Moving the front standard left or right from its normal position is called lens shift or simply shift. This movement is similar to rise and fall, but moves the image horizontally rather than vertically. One use for shift is to remove the image of the camera from the final image when photographing a reflective surface.
The axis of the lens is normally perpendicular to the film (or sensor). Changing the angle between axis and film by tilting the lens standard backwards or forwards is called lens tilt or just tilt. Tilt is especially useful in landscape photography
. By using the Scheimpflug principle
, the “plane of sharp focus” can be changed so that any plane can be brought into sharp focus. When the film plane and lens plane are parallel as is the case for most 35 mm cameras, the plane of sharp focus will also be parallel to these two planes. If, however, the lens plane is tilted with respect to the film plane, the plane of sharp focus will also be tilted according to geometrical and optical properties. The three planes will intersect in a line below the camera for downward lens tilt. The tilted plane of sharp focus is very useful in that this plane can be made to coincide with a near and far object. Thus, both near and far objects on the plane will be in focus.
This effect is often incorrectly thought of as increasing the depth of field. Depth of field depends on the focal length, aperture, and subject distance. As long as the photographer wants sharpness in a plane that is parallel to the film, tilt is of no use. However, tilt has a strong effect on the depth of field by drastically altering its shape, making it asymmetrical. Without tilt, the limits of near and far acceptable focus are parallel to the plane of sharp focus as well as parallel to the film. With forward tilt, the plane of sharp focus tilts even more and the near and far limits of acceptable focus form a wedge shape (viewed from the side). Thus, the lens still sees a cone shaped portion of whatever is in front of it while the wedge of acceptable focus is now more closely aligned with this cone. Therefore, depending on the shape of the subject, a wider aperture can be used, lessening concerns about camera stability due to slow shutter speed and diffraction due to too-small aperture.
The purpose of tilting is to achieve the desired depth of field using the aperture at which the lens used performs best. Using too small an aperture risks losing to diffraction and camera or subject motion what one gains from depth of field. Only testing a given scene, or experience, will show whether tilting is better than leaving the standards neutral and relying on the aperture alone to achieve the desired depth of field. If the scene is sharp enough at f/32 with 2 degrees of tilt but would need f/64 with zero tilt, then tilt is the solution. If another scene would need f/45 with or without tilt, then nothing is gained. See Merklinger
and Luong
for extensive discussions on determining the optimal tilt (if any) in challenging situations.
With a forward tilt, the shape of the portion of a scene in acceptable focus is a wedge. Thus, the scene most likely to benefit from tilting is short in the front and expands to a greater height or thickness toward the horizon. A scene consisting of tall trees in the near, middle and far distance may not lend itself to tilting unless the photographer is willing to sacrifice either the top of the near trees and/or the bottom of the far trees.
Assuming lens axis front tilt, here are the trade offs in choosing between a small degree of tilt (say less than 3) and a larger tilt: A small tilt causes a wider or fatter wedge but one that is far off axis from the cone of light seen by the lens. Conversely, a large tilt (say 10 degrees) causes the wedge to be more aligned with the view of the lens but with a narrower wedge. Thus, a modest tilt is often, or even usually, the best starting point.
Small and medium format cameras have fixed bodies that do not allow for misalignment of the film and lens planes, intentionally or not. Tilt/shift (“TS”) or perspective control (“PC”) lenses that provide limited movements for these cameras can be purchased from a number of lens makers. High-quality TS or PC lenses are quite expensive; the price of a new Canon TS-E or Nikon PC-E lens is comparable to that of a good used large-format camera which offers a much greater range of adjustment.
Altering the angle of the lens standard in relation to the film plane by swiveling it from side to side is called swing. Swing is similar to tilt, but in the horizontal axis. Swing may be used to achieve sharp focus along the entire length of a picket fence, for example.
One reason to swing or tilt the rear standard is to keep the film plane parallel to the face of the object being photographed. Another reason to swing or tilt the rear standard is to control apparent convergence of lines when subjects are shot at an angle.
It is often incorrectly stated that rear movements can be used to change perspective. The only thing that truly controls perspective is the location of the camera in relation to the objects in the frame. Rear movements can allow a photographer to shoot a subject from a perspective that places him or her at an angle to the subject, yet still achieve parallel lines. Thus, rear movements allow a change of perspective by allowing a different camera location, yet no view camera movement will actually alter perspective.
typically consists of:
Almost any lens of the appropriate coverage area may be used with almost any view camera. All that is required is that the lens be mounted on a lensboard compatible with the camera. Not all lensboards work with all models of view camera, though different cameras may be designed to work with a common lensboard type. Lensboards usually come with a hole sized according to the shutter size, often called the Copal Number. Copal is the most popular maker of leaf shutters for view camera lenses. The following is a list of the Copal Number and the corresponding hole diameter required in the lensboard to mount the shutter:
The lens is designed to split into two pieces, the front and rear elements screwed, usually by a trained technician, into the front and back of the shutter assembly, and the whole fitted in a lensboard.
View camera lenses are designed with both focal length
and coverage in mind - a 300 mm lens may give a different angle of view (either over 31° or over 57°) depending on whether it was designed to cover a 4×5 or 8×10 image area. Most lenses are designed to cover more than just the image area to allow camera movements.
Focusing involves moving the entire front standard with the lens assembly closer to or further away from the rear standard, unlike many lenses on smaller cameras in which one group of lens elements is fixed and another moves.
Very long focus lenses may require the camera to be fitted with special extra-long rails and bellows. Very short focal length wide-angle lenses may require the standards to be closer together than a normal concertina
-folded bellows will allow; a bag bellows, a simple light-tight flexible bag must be used. Recessed lensboards are also sometimes used to get the rear element of a wide angle lens close enough to the film plane; they may also be of use with telephoto lens
es, since these compressed long-focus lenses may also have very small spacing between the back of the lens and the film plane.
Zoom lens
es are not used in view camera photography, as there is no need for rapid and continuous change of focal length with static subjects, and the price, size, weight, and complexity would be excessive. Some lenses are "convertible": the front or rear element only, or both elements, may be used, giving three different focal lengths, although the quality of the single elements will not be as good at larger apertures as the combination. These are popular with field photographers who can save weight by carrying one convertible lens rather than two or three lenses of different focal lengths. Older convertible lenses may not be corrected for chromatic aberration
, making them useless with color film.
Soft focus
lenses introduce spherical aberration
deliberately into the optical formula for an ethereal effect considered pleasing, and flattering to subjects with less than perfect complexions. The degree of soft-focus effect is determined by either aperture
size or special disks that fit into the lens to modify the aperture shape. Some antique lenses, and some modern SLR soft focus lenses, have a lever which controls the softening effect by altering the optical formula.
Current large format lens manufacturers:
but can use roll film
(generally 120/220 size) by using special roll film holders. Popular "normal" image formats for the 4×5 camera are 6×6, 6×7, and 6×9 cm. 6×12 and 6×17 cm are suited to panoramic photography
.
With an inexpensive modification of the darkslide requiring no modification to the camera, half a sheet of film can be exposed at a time. While this technique could be used for economy where a larger image is not required, it is almost always used with the intention of obtaining a panoramic format so that, for example, a 4×5 camera can take two 2×5 photos, an 8×10 can take two 4×10s etc. This is popular for landscape photography, and in the past was common for group photographs (hence, half-frame panorama formats such as 4x10 are commonly referred to as "Banquet formats")
Digital camera back
s are available for view cameras to create digital image
s instead of using film. Prices are high compared to smaller digital camera
s.
. The camera must be mounted in a way that prevents camera motion for the duration of the exposure. Usually a tripod
is used; two may be required for a long camera.
To operate the view camera, the photographer opens the shutter on the lens to focus and compose the image on a ground glass
plate on the rear standard. The ground glass is held in the same plane that the film will later occupy, so that an image that is well focused on the ground glass will be well focused on the film. The ground glass image is somewhat dim and can be difficult to view in bright light. The photographer will often use a focusing cloth or "dark cloth" over his or her head, and the rear of the camera. The dark cloth shrouds the viewing area and keeps environmental light from obscuring the image. In the dark space created by the dark cloth, the image appears as bright as it can and allows the image to be most easily viewed, assisting in focusing and composition.
Often a photographer will use a magnifying lens, usually a high quality loupe
, to critically focus the image. An addition over the ground glass called a Fresnel lens
can considerably brighten the ground glass image (albeit with a slight loss of focusing accuracy). The taking lens may be stopped down to help gauge depth of field effects and vignetting
, but while the image is being composed the lens is generally opened to its widest setting to aid in focusing.
The ground glass and frame assembly, known as the spring back, is held in place by springs that pull and hold the ground glass firmly into the plane of focus during the focusing and composition process. Once the focusing process is complete, the same springs act as a flexible clamping mechanism to press the film holder into the same plane of focus the ground glass occupied.
To take the photograph the ground glass is pulled back and the film holder is slid into its place.
The shutter is then closed and cocked, the shutter speed
and aperture
set, and the darkslide of the film holder removed, revealing the sheet of film. The shutter is then triggered, the exposure made, and the darkslide replaced into the film holder.
Sheet film holder
s are generally interchangeable between the various brands and models of view camera, in the most common formats, adhering to a set of standards. The largest cameras and more uncommon formats are less standardized.
There are special film holders and accessories that fit in place of a standard film holder, such as Grafmatic, which could fit six sheets of film in the space of an ordinary two-sheet holder, and some light meter
s have an attachment that inserts into the film holder slot on the camera back that allows the photographer to measure light falling at a specific point on the film plane. The entire film holder/back assembly is often an industry standard Graflex
back, removable so accessories like roll-film holders and digital imagers can be used without altering focus.
Some of these disadvantages can be viewed as advantages. For example, slow setup and composure time allow the photographer to better visualize the image before making an exposure. The shallow depth of field can be used to emphasize certain details and deemphasize others (in bokeh
style, for example), especially combined with camera movements. The high cost of film and processing encourages careful planning. Because view cameras are rather difficult to set up and focus, the photographer must seek the best camera position, perspective, etc. before exposing. Beginning 35 mm
photographers are even sometimes advised to use a tripod
specifically because it will slow down the picture-taking process.
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
first developed in the era of the Daguerreotype
Daguerreotype
The daguerreotype was the first commercially successful photographic process. The image is a direct positive made in the camera on a silvered copper plate....
and still in use today, though with many refinements. It comprises a flexible bellows
Bellows (photography)
In photography, a bellows is the pleated expandable part of a camera, usually a large or medium format camera, to allow the lens to be moved with respect to the focal plane for focusing....
which forms a light-tight seal between two adjustable standards, one of which holds a lens
Photographic lens
A camera lens is an optical lens or assembly of lenses used in conjunction with a camera body and mechanism to make images of objects either on photographic film or on other media capable of storing an image chemically or electronically.While in principle a simple convex lens will suffice, in...
, and the other a viewfinder
Viewfinder
In photography, a viewfinder is what the photographer looks through to compose, and in many cases to focus, the picture. Most viewfinders are separate, and suffer parallax, while the single-lens reflex camera lets the viewfinder use the main optical system. Viewfinders are used in many cameras of...
or a photographic film
Photographic film
Photographic film is a sheet of plastic coated with an emulsion containing light-sensitive silver halide salts with variable crystal sizes that determine the sensitivity, contrast and resolution of the film...
holder.
The bellows is a flexible, accordion-pleated box, which encloses the space between the lens and film, and has the ability to flex to accommodate the movements of the standards.
The front standard is a board at the front of the camera which holds the lens and, usually, a shutter.
At the other end of the bellows, the rear standard is a frame which holds a ground glass
Ground glass
Ground glass is glass whose surface has been ground to produce a flat but rough finish.Ground glass surfaces have many applications, ranging from mere ornamentation on windows and table glassware to scientific uses in optics and laboratory glassware....
, used for focusing and composing the image before exposure, which is replaced by a holder containing the light-sensitive film, plate
Photographic plate
Photographic plates preceded photographic film as a means of photography. A light-sensitive emulsion of silver salts was applied to a glass plate. This form of photographic material largely faded from the consumer market in the early years of the 20th century, as more convenient and less fragile...
, or image sensor
Image sensor
An image sensor is a device that converts an optical image into an electronic signal. It is used mostly in digital cameras and other imaging devices...
for exposure. The front and rear standards can move in various ways relative to each other, unlike most other types of camera, giving control over focus
Focus (optics)
In geometrical optics, a focus, also called an image point, is the point where light rays originating from a point on the object converge. Although the focus is conceptually a point, physically the focus has a spatial extent, called the blur circle. This non-ideal focusing may be caused by...
, depth of field
Depth of field
In optics, particularly as it relates to film and photography, depth of field is the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a scene that appear acceptably sharp in an image...
and perspective
Perspective (visual)
Perspective, in context of vision and visual perception, is the way in which objects appear to the eye based on their spatial attributes; or their dimensions and the position of the eye relative to the objects...
.
The camera must have some means of support, usually provision for mounting it on a tripod
Tripod (photography)
In photography, a tripod is used to stabilize and elevate a camera, or to support flashes or other photographic equipment. All photographic tripods have three legs and a mounting head to couple with a camera...
.
Types of view camera
There are several types of view camera for different purposes and allowing different degrees of movement and portability. They include:- Monorail cameraMonorail cameraMonorail cameras are the studio workhorses that are still used today in the digital photography age to make many of the images for catalogs, magazines, and advertising around the world....
- This is the most common type of studio view camera, with the front and rear standards being mounted to a single rail that is fixed to a camera support. This design allows the greatest range of movements and flexibility, with both front and rear standards able to tilt, shift, rise, fall and swing in similar proportion. These are generally made of metal with leather or synthetic bellows, and are difficult to pack for travel. Sinar and Toyo are popular manufacturers of monorail view camera systems. ARCA-Swiss produces monorail cameras for field use in addition to models for the more conventional studio applications. Many manufacturers also offer monorail extensions, which permit the front or rear standards to move further away from each other, allowing for focus on very close objects (macrophotography). - Field cameraField cameraA field camera is a view camera that can be folded in a compact size. Modern designs are little different from the first folding field cameras from the 19th century. In general they have more limited camera movements than the monorail cameras used in many professional studios worldwide.Modern field...
- These have the front and rear standard mounted on sliding rails fixed to a hinged flat bed that is fixed to a camera support (tripod, etc.). These cameras are usually made of wood, or sometimes lightweight and strong composites such as carbon fiber. When the bellows are fully retracted the flat bed can be folded up, reducing the camera to a relatively small, light, and portable box. The price for this portability is that the standards are not as mobile or as adjustable as those of a monorail design; the rear standard, in particular, may be fixed and offer no movement. These large format but transportable cameras are popular with landscape photographers. Tachihara and Wisner are examples of modern field cameras at opposite ends of the price scale.- Extremely large field cameras using 11×14 film and larger, or panoramic film sizes such as 4×10 or 8×20, are sometimes referred to as banquet cameras, and were used to photograph large, posed groups of people to mark an occasion, such as a banquet or a wedding.
- Studio and salon cameras are similar to field cameras, but do not fold up for portability.
- Press and technical camerasPress cameraA press camera is a medium or large format camera suitable for use by press photographers.Press cameras were widely used from the 1900s through the early 1960s and commonly had the following features:* collapsibility into strong, compact boxes...
are true view cameras, as almost all of them have a ground glass integral to the film-holder mechanism that allows critical focus and full use of the sometimes limited movements. More expensive examples had a wide array of movements, as well as focusing and compositing aids like rangefinders and viewfinders. They are most often made of metal, designed to fold up quickly for portability, used by press photographers before and during the second world war. - A more modern development is the highly portable SinarSinarSinar AG is a Swiss company producing medium format and large format cameras.The name SINAR is explained as an acronym for "Studio, Industrie, Natur, Architektur, Reproduktion", though in , the acronym is explained as "Sach-, Industrie-, Natur-, undArchitekturfotografie sowie Reproduktion"...
arTec view camera which fails to fit within any of the above criteria and was designed primarily to be used by architectural photographers. It has the novel ability to take panoramic stitched images by means of built in step and repeat mechanism.
View cameras use large format
Large format
Large format refers to any imaging format of 4×5 inches or larger. Large format is larger than "medium format", the 6×6 cm or 6×9 cm size of Hasselblad, Rollei, Kowa, Pentax etc cameras , and much larger than the 24×36 mm frame of 35 mm format.The main advantage...
sheet film
Sheet film
Sheet film is large format and medium format photographic film supplied on individual sheets of acetate or polyester film base rather than rolls. Sheet film was initially supplied as an alternative to glass plates...
, using one sheet per photograph. Standard sizes in inches are: 4×5, 5×7, 4×10, 5×12, 8×10, 11×14, 7×17, 8×20, 12×20, and 20×24. (It is usual to list the short side first in the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, and the long side in many other countries, thus 4×5 is the same as 5×4). A similar, but not identical, range of metric
Metric system
The metric system is an international decimalised system of measurement. France was first to adopt a metric system, in 1799, and a metric system is now the official system of measurement, used in almost every country in the world...
sizes is used in many countries; thus 9×12 cm is similar to, but not interchangeable with, 4×5 inches. The most widely used format is 4×5, followed by 8×10.
A few rollfilm cameras have movements that make them as versatile as a sheet film view camera. Rollfilm and instant film
Instant film
Instant film is a type of photographic film first introduced by Polaroid that is designed to be used in an instant camera...
backs are available to use in place of a sheetfilm holder on a single-film camera.
Movements
Photographers use view cameras to control focus and convergence of parallel lines. Image control is done by moving the front and/or rear standards. Movements are the ways the front and rear standards can be positioned to alter perspective and focus. The term can also refer to the mechanisms on the standards that allow the position to be achieved.Not all cameras have all movements available to both the front and rear standards, and some cameras have more movements available than others. Some cameras have mechanisms that make intricate movement combinations easier for the photographer.
Some limited view camera–type movements are possible with SLR cameras using various tilt/shift lenses. Also, as use of view cameras declines in favor of digital photography, these movements are being simulated using computer software.
Rise and fall
In the 35 mm format, special shift lenses (sometimes called perspective control lenses) emulate the rise or fall of view cameras.
The main effect of rise is to eliminate converging parallels when photographing tall buildings. If a camera without movements is pointed at a tall building, the top will be cut off; if the camera is tilted upwards to get it all in, the film plane will not be parallel to the building, and the building will seem narrower at the top than the bottom; lines which are parallel in the object will converge in the image.
To avoid this apparent distortion, a wide-angle lens will get more of the building in, but will include more of the foreground and alter the perspective.
A camera with rising front allows a normal lens to be raised to include the top of the building without tilting the camera.
This requires the image circle
Image circle
The image circle, or circle of illumination, of a lens is the circular area in the image plane formed by the cone of light transmitted by the lens . Within this circle is the smaller circle for which image definition is acceptable, the circle of good definition ; however, some authors make no...
of the lens to be larger than is required to cover the film without use of movements. If the lens can produce a circular image just large enough to cover the film, it will no longer cover the bottom of the film as it rises. Consequently the lens coverage must be larger if rises (and falls, and shifts) are to be used.
In Figure a) below (images are upside down, as a photographer would see them on the ground glass of a view camera), the lens is in the “normal” position. Notice that much of the unwanted foreground is included, but not the top of the tower. In Figure b), the lens has been shifted up: the top of the tower is now inside the area captured on film, at the sacrifice of unwanted green foreground.
Shift
Tilt
Landscape photography
Landscape photography is a genre intended to show different spaces within the world, sometimes vast and unending, but other times microscopic. This popular style of photography is practiced by professionals and amateurs alike. Photographs typically capture the presence of nature and are often free...
. By using the Scheimpflug principle
Scheimpflug principle
The Scheimpflug principle is a geometric rule that describes the orientation of the plane of focus of an optical system when the lens plane is not parallel to the image plane. It is commonly applied to the use of camera movements on a view camera...
, the “plane of sharp focus” can be changed so that any plane can be brought into sharp focus. When the film plane and lens plane are parallel as is the case for most 35 mm cameras, the plane of sharp focus will also be parallel to these two planes. If, however, the lens plane is tilted with respect to the film plane, the plane of sharp focus will also be tilted according to geometrical and optical properties. The three planes will intersect in a line below the camera for downward lens tilt. The tilted plane of sharp focus is very useful in that this plane can be made to coincide with a near and far object. Thus, both near and far objects on the plane will be in focus.
This effect is often incorrectly thought of as increasing the depth of field. Depth of field depends on the focal length, aperture, and subject distance. As long as the photographer wants sharpness in a plane that is parallel to the film, tilt is of no use. However, tilt has a strong effect on the depth of field by drastically altering its shape, making it asymmetrical. Without tilt, the limits of near and far acceptable focus are parallel to the plane of sharp focus as well as parallel to the film. With forward tilt, the plane of sharp focus tilts even more and the near and far limits of acceptable focus form a wedge shape (viewed from the side). Thus, the lens still sees a cone shaped portion of whatever is in front of it while the wedge of acceptable focus is now more closely aligned with this cone. Therefore, depending on the shape of the subject, a wider aperture can be used, lessening concerns about camera stability due to slow shutter speed and diffraction due to too-small aperture.
The purpose of tilting is to achieve the desired depth of field using the aperture at which the lens used performs best. Using too small an aperture risks losing to diffraction and camera or subject motion what one gains from depth of field. Only testing a given scene, or experience, will show whether tilting is better than leaving the standards neutral and relying on the aperture alone to achieve the desired depth of field. If the scene is sharp enough at f/32 with 2 degrees of tilt but would need f/64 with zero tilt, then tilt is the solution. If another scene would need f/45 with or without tilt, then nothing is gained. See Merklinger
and Luong
for extensive discussions on determining the optimal tilt (if any) in challenging situations.
With a forward tilt, the shape of the portion of a scene in acceptable focus is a wedge. Thus, the scene most likely to benefit from tilting is short in the front and expands to a greater height or thickness toward the horizon. A scene consisting of tall trees in the near, middle and far distance may not lend itself to tilting unless the photographer is willing to sacrifice either the top of the near trees and/or the bottom of the far trees.
Assuming lens axis front tilt, here are the trade offs in choosing between a small degree of tilt (say less than 3) and a larger tilt: A small tilt causes a wider or fatter wedge but one that is far off axis from the cone of light seen by the lens. Conversely, a large tilt (say 10 degrees) causes the wedge to be more aligned with the view of the lens but with a narrower wedge. Thus, a modest tilt is often, or even usually, the best starting point.
Small and medium format cameras have fixed bodies that do not allow for misalignment of the film and lens planes, intentionally or not. Tilt/shift (“TS”) or perspective control (“PC”) lenses that provide limited movements for these cameras can be purchased from a number of lens makers. High-quality TS or PC lenses are quite expensive; the price of a new Canon TS-E or Nikon PC-E lens is comparable to that of a good used large-format camera which offers a much greater range of adjustment.
Swing
Back Tilt/Swing
Angular movements of the rear standard change the angle between the lens plane and the film plane just as front standard angular movements do. Although rear standard tilt will change the plane of sharp focus in the same manner as front standard tilt does, this is not usually the reason rear tilt/swing is used. When a lens is a certain distance (its focal length) away from the film, distant objects such as faraway mountains are in focus. Moving the lens farther from the film brings closer objects into focus. Tilting or swinging the film plane puts one side of the film farther from the lens than the center is and the opposite point of the film is therefore closer to the lens.One reason to swing or tilt the rear standard is to keep the film plane parallel to the face of the object being photographed. Another reason to swing or tilt the rear standard is to control apparent convergence of lines when subjects are shot at an angle.
It is often incorrectly stated that rear movements can be used to change perspective. The only thing that truly controls perspective is the location of the camera in relation to the objects in the frame. Rear movements can allow a photographer to shoot a subject from a perspective that places him or her at an angle to the subject, yet still achieve parallel lines. Thus, rear movements allow a change of perspective by allowing a different camera location, yet no view camera movement will actually alter perspective.
Lenses
A view camera lensPhotographic lens
A camera lens is an optical lens or assembly of lenses used in conjunction with a camera body and mechanism to make images of objects either on photographic film or on other media capable of storing an image chemically or electronically.While in principle a simple convex lens will suffice, in...
typically consists of:
- A front lens element, sometimes referred to as a cell.
- A shutterShutter (photography)In photography, a shutter is a device that allows light to pass for a determined period of time, for the purpose of exposing photographic film or a light-sensitive electronic sensor to light to capture a permanent image of a scene...
, which consists of an electronic or spring-actuated iris which controls exposure duration. Some early shutters were actuated by air. For long exposures, a lens with no shutter (a barrel lens) can be uncovered for the duration of the exposure by removing a lens cap. - The apertureApertureIn optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture of an optical system is the opening that determines the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. The aperture determines how collimated the admitted rays are,...
diaphragm - A lensboard: a flat board, typically square in shape and made of metal or wood, designed to lock securely into the front standard of a particular view camera, with a central hole of the right size to insert a lens and shutter assembly, usually secured and made light-tight by screwing a ring onto a thread on the rear of the lens assembly. Lensboards complete with lenses can be removed and fitted very quickly.
- A rear lens element (or cell).
Almost any lens of the appropriate coverage area may be used with almost any view camera. All that is required is that the lens be mounted on a lensboard compatible with the camera. Not all lensboards work with all models of view camera, though different cameras may be designed to work with a common lensboard type. Lensboards usually come with a hole sized according to the shutter size, often called the Copal Number. Copal is the most popular maker of leaf shutters for view camera lenses. The following is a list of the Copal Number and the corresponding hole diameter required in the lensboard to mount the shutter:
- Copal #00- 26.6 mm
- Copal #0 - 34.6 mm
- Copal #1 - 41.6 mm
- Copal #3 – 65 mm
- Copal #3s - 64.5 mm
The lens is designed to split into two pieces, the front and rear elements screwed, usually by a trained technician, into the front and back of the shutter assembly, and the whole fitted in a lensboard.
View camera lenses are designed with both focal length
Focal length
The focal length of an optical system is a measure of how strongly the system converges or diverges light. For an optical system in air, it is the distance over which initially collimated rays are brought to a focus...
and coverage in mind - a 300 mm lens may give a different angle of view (either over 31° or over 57°) depending on whether it was designed to cover a 4×5 or 8×10 image area. Most lenses are designed to cover more than just the image area to allow camera movements.
Focusing involves moving the entire front standard with the lens assembly closer to or further away from the rear standard, unlike many lenses on smaller cameras in which one group of lens elements is fixed and another moves.
Very long focus lenses may require the camera to be fitted with special extra-long rails and bellows. Very short focal length wide-angle lenses may require the standards to be closer together than a normal concertina
Concertina
A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It has a bellows and buttons typically on both ends of it. When pressed, the buttons travel in the same direction as the bellows, unlike accordion buttons which travel perpendicularly to it...
-folded bellows will allow; a bag bellows, a simple light-tight flexible bag must be used. Recessed lensboards are also sometimes used to get the rear element of a wide angle lens close enough to the film plane; they may also be of use with telephoto lens
Telephoto lens
In photography and cinematography, a telephoto lens is a specific type of a long-focus lens in which the physical length of the lens is shorter than the focal length. This is achieved by incorporating a special lens group known as a telephoto group that extends the light path to create a long-focus...
es, since these compressed long-focus lenses may also have very small spacing between the back of the lens and the film plane.
Zoom lens
Zoom lens
A zoom lens is a mechanical assembly of lens elements for which the focal length can be varied, as opposed to a fixed focal length lens...
es are not used in view camera photography, as there is no need for rapid and continuous change of focal length with static subjects, and the price, size, weight, and complexity would be excessive. Some lenses are "convertible": the front or rear element only, or both elements, may be used, giving three different focal lengths, although the quality of the single elements will not be as good at larger apertures as the combination. These are popular with field photographers who can save weight by carrying one convertible lens rather than two or three lenses of different focal lengths. Older convertible lenses may not be corrected for chromatic aberration
Chromatic aberration
In optics, chromatic aberration is a type of distortion in which there is a failure of a lens to focus all colors to the same convergence point. It occurs because lenses have a different refractive index for different wavelengths of light...
, making them useless with color film.
Soft focus
Soft focus
In photography, soft focus is a lens flaw, in which the lens forms images that are blurred due to spherical aberration. A soft focus lens deliberately introduces spherical aberration in order to give the appearance of blurring the image while retaining sharp edges; it is not the same as an...
lenses introduce spherical aberration
Spherical aberration
thumb|right|Spherical aberration. A perfect lens focuses all incoming rays to a point on the [[Optical axis|optic axis]]. A real lens with spherical surfaces suffers from spherical aberration: it focuses rays more tightly if they enter it far from the optic axis than if they enter closer to the...
deliberately into the optical formula for an ethereal effect considered pleasing, and flattering to subjects with less than perfect complexions. The degree of soft-focus effect is determined by either aperture
Aperture
In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture of an optical system is the opening that determines the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. The aperture determines how collimated the admitted rays are,...
size or special disks that fit into the lens to modify the aperture shape. Some antique lenses, and some modern SLR soft focus lenses, have a lever which controls the softening effect by altering the optical formula.
Current large format lens manufacturers:
- Schneider KreuznachSchneider KreuznachSchneider Kreuznach is the abbreviated name of the company Jos. Schneider Optische Werke GmbH, which is sometimes also simply referred to as Schneider. They are a manufacturer of industrial and photographic optics....
- Price-no-object high quality lenses. - NikonNikon, also known as just Nikon, is a multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging. Its products include cameras, binoculars, microscopes, measurement instruments, and the steppers used in the photolithography steps of semiconductor fabrication, of which...
- Noted for its high quality telephoto designs. As of January 2006, Nikon announced it would discontinue manufacturing its LF lenses. - RodenstockRodenstock GmbHThe Rodenstock GmbH is a renowned German manufacturer headquartered in Munich and the only brand producer of the entire spectacles product worldwide...
- Extremely high quality, reasonably priced. - FujinonFujinonFujinon is a division of Fujifilm that specialises in the production of optical lenses for photographic, medical, video, and television use.- Fujinon SWD :...
- Has a strong presence in Asia. - CookeCookeCooke is the surname of several notable people:* Alan Cooke, British actor* Alexander Cooke , English actor* Alfred Tyrone Cooke, of the Indo-Pakistani wars* Alistair Cooke KBE , journalist and broadcaster...
- Interesting and expensive soft focus and color-corrected convertible lenses. - Congo - Budget lenses, but offering interesting soft focus and telephoto designs.
- Seagull/Shen-Hao/Sinotar - Budget lenses.
- Wisner - Offer a modern convertible Plasmat set.
- SinarSinarSinar AG is a Swiss company producing medium format and large format cameras.The name SINAR is explained as an acronym for "Studio, Industrie, Natur, Architektur, Reproduktion", though in , the acronym is explained as "Sach-, Industrie-, Natur-, undArchitekturfotografie sowie Reproduktion"...
- Zeiss, Schneider and Rodenstock lenses. - Caltar - Rebranded Rodenstock lenses.
- LinhofLinhofLinhof is a German company, founded in Munich in 1887 by Valentin Linhof. The company is well known for making premium rollfilm and large format film cameras...
- Rebranded Rodenstock and Schneider lenses.
Film
View cameras use sheet filmSheet film
Sheet film is large format and medium format photographic film supplied on individual sheets of acetate or polyester film base rather than rolls. Sheet film was initially supplied as an alternative to glass plates...
but can use roll film
Roll film
Rollfilm or roll film is any type of spool-wound photographic film protected from white light exposure by a paper backing, as opposed to film which is protected from exposure and wound forward in a cartridge. Confusingly, roll film was originally often referred to as "cartridge" film because of its...
(generally 120/220 size) by using special roll film holders. Popular "normal" image formats for the 4×5 camera are 6×6, 6×7, and 6×9 cm. 6×12 and 6×17 cm are suited to panoramic photography
Panoramic photography
Panoramic photography is a technique of photography, using specialized equipment or software, that captures images with elongated fields of view. It is sometimes known as wide format photography. The term has also been applied to a photograph that is cropped to a relatively wide aspect ratio...
.
With an inexpensive modification of the darkslide requiring no modification to the camera, half a sheet of film can be exposed at a time. While this technique could be used for economy where a larger image is not required, it is almost always used with the intention of obtaining a panoramic format so that, for example, a 4×5 camera can take two 2×5 photos, an 8×10 can take two 4×10s etc. This is popular for landscape photography, and in the past was common for group photographs (hence, half-frame panorama formats such as 4x10 are commonly referred to as "Banquet formats")
Digital camera back
Digital camera back
A digital camera back is a device that attaches to the back of a camera in place of a film holder and contains an electronic image sensor. This lets cameras that were designed to use film take digital photographs...
s are available for view cameras to create digital image
Digital image
A digital image is a numeric representation of a two-dimensional image. Depending on whether or not the image resolution is fixed, it may be of vector or raster type...
s instead of using film. Prices are high compared to smaller digital camera
Digital camera
A digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in the field of digital photography...
s.
Operation
The camera must be set up in a suitable position. In some cases the subject can also be manipulated, as in a studio; in others the camera must be positioned to photograph a subject such as a landscapeLandscape
Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...
. The camera must be mounted in a way that prevents camera motion for the duration of the exposure. Usually a tripod
Tripod (photography)
In photography, a tripod is used to stabilize and elevate a camera, or to support flashes or other photographic equipment. All photographic tripods have three legs and a mounting head to couple with a camera...
is used; two may be required for a long camera.
To operate the view camera, the photographer opens the shutter on the lens to focus and compose the image on a ground glass
Ground glass
Ground glass is glass whose surface has been ground to produce a flat but rough finish.Ground glass surfaces have many applications, ranging from mere ornamentation on windows and table glassware to scientific uses in optics and laboratory glassware....
plate on the rear standard. The ground glass is held in the same plane that the film will later occupy, so that an image that is well focused on the ground glass will be well focused on the film. The ground glass image is somewhat dim and can be difficult to view in bright light. The photographer will often use a focusing cloth or "dark cloth" over his or her head, and the rear of the camera. The dark cloth shrouds the viewing area and keeps environmental light from obscuring the image. In the dark space created by the dark cloth, the image appears as bright as it can and allows the image to be most easily viewed, assisting in focusing and composition.
Often a photographer will use a magnifying lens, usually a high quality loupe
Loupe
A loupe is a simple, small magnification device used to see small details more closely. Unlike a magnifying glass, a loupe does not have an attached handle, and its focusing lens are contained in an opaque cylinder or cone. Loupes are also called hand lenses .- Optics :Three basic types of loupes...
, to critically focus the image. An addition over the ground glass called a Fresnel lens
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
can considerably brighten the ground glass image (albeit with a slight loss of focusing accuracy). The taking lens may be stopped down to help gauge depth of field effects and vignetting
Vignetting
In photography and optics, vignetting is a reduction of an image's brightness or saturation at the periphery compared to the image center. The word vignette, from the same root as vine, originally referred to a decorative border in a book. Later, the word came to be used for a photographic...
, but while the image is being composed the lens is generally opened to its widest setting to aid in focusing.
The ground glass and frame assembly, known as the spring back, is held in place by springs that pull and hold the ground glass firmly into the plane of focus during the focusing and composition process. Once the focusing process is complete, the same springs act as a flexible clamping mechanism to press the film holder into the same plane of focus the ground glass occupied.
To take the photograph the ground glass is pulled back and the film holder is slid into its place.
The shutter is then closed and cocked, the shutter speed
Shutter speed
In photography, shutter speed is a common term used to discuss exposure time, the effective length of time a camera's shutter is open....
and aperture
Aperture
In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture of an optical system is the opening that determines the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. The aperture determines how collimated the admitted rays are,...
set, and the darkslide of the film holder removed, revealing the sheet of film. The shutter is then triggered, the exposure made, and the darkslide replaced into the film holder.
Sheet film holder
Film holder
A film holder is a device which holds one or more pieces of photographic film, for insertion into a camera or optical scanning device such as a dedicated film scanner or a flatbed scanner with film scanning capabilities...
s are generally interchangeable between the various brands and models of view camera, in the most common formats, adhering to a set of standards. The largest cameras and more uncommon formats are less standardized.
There are special film holders and accessories that fit in place of a standard film holder, such as Grafmatic, which could fit six sheets of film in the space of an ordinary two-sheet holder, and some light meter
Light meter
A light meter is a device used to measure the amount of light. In photography, a light meter is often used to determine the proper exposure for a photograph...
s have an attachment that inserts into the film holder slot on the camera back that allows the photographer to measure light falling at a specific point on the film plane. The entire film holder/back assembly is often an industry standard Graflex
Graflex
Graflex was a manufacturer, a brand name and several models of cameras. William F. Folmer, an inventor, built the first Graflex camera in 1898, when his company was called The Folmer and Schwing Manufacturing Company, founded originally in New York as a gas lamp company...
back, removable so accessories like roll-film holders and digital imagers can be used without altering focus.
Advantages
- The ability to skew the plane of critical focus. In a camera without movements the film plane is always parallel to the lens plane. A camera with tilts and swings allows the plane of focus to be skewed away from the parallel in any direction, which in many cases can bring the image of a subject which is not parallel to the lens plane into near-to-far focus without the need to stop down excessively. Both standards can be tilted through the horizontal or swung through the vertical axes to change the plane of focus. Tilts and swings of the front standard alone do not alter or distort shapes or converging lines in the image; tilts and swings of the rear standard do affect these things, as well as the plane of focus: if the plane of focus must be skewed without altering shapes in the image, front movements alone must be used. The Scheimpflug principleScheimpflug principleThe Scheimpflug principle is a geometric rule that describes the orientation of the plane of focus of an optical system when the lens plane is not parallel to the image plane. It is commonly applied to the use of camera movements on a view camera...
explains the relationship between lens tilts and swings, and the plane of sharp focus.
- The ability to distort the shape of the image by skewing the film plane, most often to reduce or eliminate, or deliberately exaggerate, convergence of lines which are parallel in the subject. If a camera with parallel film and lens planes is pointed at an angle to a plane subject with parallel lines, the lines will appear to converge in the image, becoming closer to each other the further away from the camera they are. With a view camera the rear standard can be swung toward the wall to reduce the convergence. If the standard is parallel to the wall convergence is entirely eliminated. Moving the rear standard in this way skews the plane of focus; this can be corrected with a front swing in the same direction as the rear swing.
- Improved image quality for a print of a given size. The larger a piece of film is, the less detail is lost at a given print size because the larger film requires less enlargement for the same size print. In other words, the same scene photographed on a large-format camera will give a better-quality image and allow greater enlargement than if photographed on a smaller format. Additionally, the larger a piece of film is, the more subtle and varied the tonal palette and gradations are at a given print size. A large film size also allows same-size contact printing.
- Shallow depth of field: view cameras require longer focal length lenses than smaller format cameras, especially for the larger sizes, with shallower depth of field, allowing focus to be solely on the subject in the photograph...
- Smaller apertures can be used: much smaller apertures can be used than with smaller format cameras before diffractionDiffractionDiffraction refers to various phenomena which occur when a wave encounters an obstacle. Italian scientist Francesco Maria Grimaldi coined the word "diffraction" and was the first to record accurate observations of the phenomenon in 1665...
becomes significant for a given print size.
- Low resale value is an advantage for buyers, but not for sellers. A top-of-the-line 8×10 camera that cost $8,000 new can often be bought in excellent condition, with additional accessories, for $1,500.
Disadvantages
- Lack of automation: most view cameras are fully manual, requiring time, and allowing even experienced photographers to make mistakes. Some cameras, such as SinarSinarSinar AG is a Swiss company producing medium format and large format cameras.The name SINAR is explained as an acronym for "Studio, Industrie, Natur, Architektur, Reproduktion", though in , the acronym is explained as "Sach-, Industrie-, Natur-, undArchitekturfotografie sowie Reproduktion"...
s, have some degree of automation with self-cocking shutters and film-plane metering. - Steep learning curve: In addition to needing the knowledge required to operate a fully manual camera, view camera operators must understand a large number of technical matters that are not an issue to most small format photographers. They must understand, for example, view camera movements, bellows factors, and reciprocity. A great amount of time and study is needed to master those aspects of large format photography, so learning view camera operation requires a high degree of dedication.
- Large size and weight: view cameras are unsuitable for action photography and are difficult to transport.
- Shallow depth of field: view cameras require longer focal length lenses than smaller format cameras, especially for the larger sizes, with shallower depth of field.
- Small maximum aperture: it is not feasible to make long focal length lenses with the wide maximum apertures available with shorter focal lengths.
- High cost: there is limited demand for view cameras, so that there are no economies of scale and they are much more expensive than mass-produced cameras. Some are hand-made. Even though the cost of sheet film and processing is much higher than rollfilm, fewer sheets of film are exposed, which partially offsets the cost.
- Poor availability: many large-format products have been discontinued, and others are increasingly expensive as demand declines. Since view cameras are a niche product, it can be difficult, expensive, or even impossible, to obtain required equipment and materials.
Some of these disadvantages can be viewed as advantages. For example, slow setup and composure time allow the photographer to better visualize the image before making an exposure. The shallow depth of field can be used to emphasize certain details and deemphasize others (in bokeh
Bokeh
In photography, bokeh is the blur, or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image, or "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light."...
style, for example), especially combined with camera movements. The high cost of film and processing encourages careful planning. Because view cameras are rather difficult to set up and focus, the photographer must seek the best camera position, perspective, etc. before exposing. Beginning 35 mm
135 film
The term 135 was introduced by Kodak in 1934 as a designation for cartridge film wide, specifically for still photography. It quickly grew in popularity, surpassing 120 film by the late 1960s to become the most popular photographic film format...
photographers are even sometimes advised to use a tripod
Tripod (photography)
In photography, a tripod is used to stabilize and elevate a camera, or to support flashes or other photographic equipment. All photographic tripods have three legs and a mounting head to couple with a camera...
specifically because it will slow down the picture-taking process.
See also
- GraflexGraflexGraflex was a manufacturer, a brand name and several models of cameras. William F. Folmer, an inventor, built the first Graflex camera in 1898, when his company was called The Folmer and Schwing Manufacturing Company, founded originally in New York as a gas lamp company...
- LinhofLinhofLinhof is a German company, founded in Munich in 1887 by Valentin Linhof. The company is well known for making premium rollfilm and large format film cameras...
- LensbabyLensbabyLensbaby is a line of camera lenses for SLR cameras that combine a simple lens with a bellows or ball and socket mechanism for use in special-effect photography. A lensbaby can give effects normally associated with view cameras...
- Large formatLarge formatLarge format refers to any imaging format of 4×5 inches or larger. Large format is larger than "medium format", the 6×6 cm or 6×9 cm size of Hasselblad, Rollei, Kowa, Pentax etc cameras , and much larger than the 24×36 mm frame of 35 mm format.The main advantage...
- Large format lensLarge format lensLarge format lenses are photographic optics that provide an image circle large enough to cover large format film or plates. Large format lenses are typically used in large format cameras and view cameras....
- Perspective controlPerspective controlPerspective control is a procedure for composing or editing photographs to better conform with the commonly accepted distortions in constructed perspective. The control would:...
- Perspective control lens
- SinarSinarSinar AG is a Swiss company producing medium format and large format cameras.The name SINAR is explained as an acronym for "Studio, Industrie, Natur, Architektur, Reproduktion", though in , the acronym is explained as "Sach-, Industrie-, Natur-, undArchitekturfotografie sowie Reproduktion"...