Camera & Lens

 

Lens focal length is the most important characteristic of a lens. One of the prime advantages of a single·lens reflex camera or a view camera is the interchangeability of its lenses; the reason photographers own more than one lens is so that they can change lens focal length. …

PDF: Lens Focal Length, The Basic Difference Between Lenses

 

Normal Focal Length The Most Like Human Vision

A lens of normal focal length, as you might expect from the name,  produces an image on film that seems normal when compared with human vision. The image includes about the same angle of view as the human eye sees clearly when looking straight ahead, and the relative size and spacing of near and far ob­jects appear normal. …

PDF: Normal Focal Length The Most Like Human Vision

 

Short Focal Length, Wide-Angle Lenses

Lenses of short focal length are also called wide-angle or sometimes wide-field lenses, which describes their most important feature they view a wider angle of a scene than normal. A lens of normal focal length records what you see when you look at a scene with eyes fixed in one position. …

PDF: Short Focal Length, Wide-Angle Lenses

 

Long Focal Lenght, Telephoto Lenses

A lens of long focal length seems to bring things closer, just as a telescope does. As the focal length gets longer, less of the scene is shown (the angle of view narrows), but what is shown is enlarged (the magnification increases). …

PDF: Long Focal Lenght, Telephoto Lenses

PDF: Minimum focusing distances for medium telephoto lenses

 

Zoom, Macro, and Fisheye Lenses

In addition to the usual range of short-,  long-, and normal-focal-length lenses, other lenses, such as those shown here, can view a scene in a new way or solve certain problems with ease. …

PDF: Zoom, Macro, and Fisheye Lenses

 

Variable Focal Length Lens, The Zoom

The zoom, or variable focal length lens offers several technical and visual advantages. To begin with you can just take out one lens instead of two or three of varying focal lengths. And within the limits of its zoom range you can continu­ously vary the size of the image-enlarging or reducing it until the right parts of the subject exactly fill the frame. …

PDF: Variable Focal Length Lens, The Zoom

 

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An adjustable camera controls the amount of light reaching the film in two ways. It can make the Image darker or lighter by a variable aperture. positioned behind the lens. and it can control the length of time that the light reaches the film. by a timed shutter. The lens aperture consists of overlapping movable leaves which form a diaphragm.

This can be set to a range of diameters. so that the quantity of light admitted is controlled In the same way that the width of a funnel controls the quantity of water flowing Into a container. When photographing a dimly lit subject you use a wide lens aperture to admit as much light as possible; for a bright subject you can c;hange to a small aperture to reduce the amount of light. In this way the film still receives the same amount of llght.

PDF: Camera aperture

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What are camera movements? Essentially, they are controlled independent movements of lens or film plane which enable us to form a more usefull image under a particular set of conditions. They enable us, for instance, to increase depth of field over important parts of the subject, change image shape, and use images of subjects well above, below or to the side of the lens. Camera movements offer us all sorts of image controls, from simple square-on views of mirrors without the camera showing, to a complete change in the appar­ent perspective of a building. Here, indeed, is valuable ‘professional magic.’

PDF: Camera Movements

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With wide angle lenses covering be­tween 63° and 115°, there is some distortion on the wider angles. For a 35mm SLR, a 35mm focal length covering 63° may not be wide enough if your standard lens is 50mm; 28mm covering 75° would be a better choice. A 24mm covering 84° is going to extremes and, unless you particularly need this coverage with its risk of image distortion, the 28mm is the most sensible all-round choice. …

PDF: Choosing a Lens for Analogue 35 mm Camera

 

Why Change Lenses?

Altering distance and focal length. Each picture was taken with a lens of different focal length 135 mm format, but  the camera distance was altered each time so that the near end of the monument remained about the same height. …

PDF: Choosing a Lens for Analogue 35 mm Camera

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Filter is optical device to remove or absorb selected wavelengths or proportion of all wavelengths. Types and description of special effects filters, close-up filters, trick filters, filters for b&w and colour. …

PDF: Filters Description

PDF: Filters Types

 

Other filters commonly used with colour film. …

PDF: Colour Filters

 

 

PDF: Filters

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Camera motion causes blur. Though some photographers claim to be able to hand hold a camera steady at slow shutter speeds-V” sec. or even slower-it takes only a slight amount of camera motion during exposure to cause a noticeable blur in an image. If a sharp picture is your aim, using a fast shutter speed or supporting the camera on a tripod is a much surer way to produce an image that will be sharp when enlarged. …

PDF: Lens Performance Getting the Most from a Lens

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Format refers to the size of film that you are using.

Medium format mostly refers to 120 film which will be 6cm wide but depending on the camera you are using can be 4.5,6, or 7cm long and even longer which would go on to a large format camera. Our cameras produce negative that are 6 X 6cm and 6 X 7cm. We would advice that you do not use 220 film as it doesn’t have a paper back and can rip and is difficult to load, also some of our cameras are not designed for this longer film, So please stick to 120 film.

We do have a Polaroid back for the Mamiya RS67 for this you need to buy Polaroid film.

Lots of older medium format cameras don’t have built in light meters and so you will most probably have to use an external light meter. Saying that we do have a metering hood and metering pentaprisim but we would advise you to use a hand held light meter.

Light Meters help to give an accurate light reading which will be converted into the appropriate shutter speeds and fno relative to the film speed ie ISO. When using a light meter first dial in the correct ISO, then set the mode to either ambient, flash non-cord or flash cord, dependant on your lighting. For a general reading point the meter at the subject from the position of the camera and take a reading.

For a brightness-range take a reading from the brightest part and the darkest part then split the difference. Using a grey-card measure the light reflected off it. For incident-light reading use the white plastic diffusing dome then meter the light that is fallin’g This methods will not take into account close-up work, filters on the camera or very long or very short exposures.

Most medium format cameras require you to both cock the lens and wind the film on as two separate actions unlike most compacts and 35mm cameras where both these actions are carried out simply by winding the film on.

PDF: Medium format

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A introduction and step by step guide to making an exposure on the 5×4 camera

PDF: Monorail camera

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Perspective: the impression of depth. Few lenses (except for the fisheye) noticeably dis­tort the scene they show. The perspective in a photograph-the apparent size and shape of objects and the impression of depth-is what you would see if you were standing at camera position. …

PDF: Perspective How a Photograph Shows Depth

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Controlling the exposure. Both shutter speed and aperture affect the amount of light reaching the film. To get a correctly exposed negative, one that is neither too light nor too dark, you need to find a combination of shutter speed and aperture that will let in the right amount of light for a particular scene and film.

PDF: Shutter speed and aperture

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The 35mm Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera is fundamentally a 45° hinged mirror set behind a lens which reflects the image up to a focusing screen on the camera top. As the shutter release is pressed the mirror flips up to:
i) Form a seal under the focusing screen to prevent light from entering the camera through the viewing lens.
ii) Move out of the way of the lens and film. When the mirror reaches the horizontal position it fires a focal plane shutter just in front of the film to make an exposure. Distances are arranged so that the lens, mirror and focusing screen equal the the lens to film distance and everything appearing on the focusing screen is focused correctly. ’35mm’ refers to the width of the film this camera uses. Each frame is a standard 24mm x 36mm format.

SLR ADVANTAGES
-The camera gives you the ability to precisely frame up the picture, focus, and observe depth of field.
-35mm types offer you the choice of fast, accurate modes for setting correct exposure by using through-the-Iens measurement of subject lighting (including flash).
-Key iformation such as correct exposure an focus, shutter speed and f-number, are signalled direct to your eye from alongside the focusing screen.
- There is a vast back-up range of lenses and accessories. This makes SLR outfits versatile ‘unit systems’ – able to tackle most photography well.
- Fully AF (auto-focus) models adjust the lens faster than you can focus it by hand. And they work with a range of lenses.

SLR DISADVANTAGES
- You cannot see through the viewfinder while the exposure is taking place. This can be a nuisance during long exposures or when panning at slow shutter speeds.
- When you are viewing at open aperture (having set a small aperture) it is easy to forget the changes that increased depth of field will give to your picture.
- The camera is electronically and mechanically more complex (and noisy) than other designs. By offering many options it tends to be more complicated to use than, say, a compact. Most SLRs also rely heavily on battery power to function.
- The range of speed settings for use with flash is limited (unless your flash gun provides a long peak.

PDF: SLR Camera Summary
PDF: SLR more detailed overview

Guide covering:
Inside a Single-Lens Reflex Camera
Loading film into the camera
Focusing and setting the exposure
Exposure readout
Exposing the film
What will you photograph?

PDF: SLR Camera

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Want to play around with SLR Camera settings and see how it affects your photo, but without actually using an SLR? Well, you can do just that with the Online SLR Camera Simulator. This simple application allows you to choose the lighting, ISO, shutter speed and aperture. A great tool to teach someone the basics of photography.

Website: http://camerasim.com/camera-simulator.html

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Cameras and Accessories

View cameras come in a variety of sizes, ranging in inches  from 2 1/4″ x 3 1/4″ up to 11 x 14 formats. There are larger models, but those are usually used only for special-purpose photography because of  the limits imposed  by  their massive size and weight. The two most popular sizes are 4×5  and 8 x 10. All monorail cameras are modular  in  design. These can be specifically configured in terms of bellows, monorail length, and type of back and front components to serve  a wide variety of photographic needs.  …

PDF: Cameras and Accessories

 

Definitions

The view camera is unique because its lens and back are not rigidly fixed in one position; they can be moved readily. These movements change the relationship between the film and the lens and consequently reposition the area of sharpness or alter the shape of the subject. Each movement produces a specific effect and is defined in relation to the camera’s neutral position. …

PDF: Definitions

 

Rising-falling and lateral movements

These movements alter the position of the image-up, down or sideways with respect to the film (Fig.  50). Identical results can be achieved with the swings and tilts combined with a change in the angle of the camera bed. There are two reasons for using the rising­falling and lateral adjustments, however. …

PDF: Rising-falling and lateral movements

 

Tilting by using Lens or the Back Adjustments

Either the lens or the back adjustments  can be used to control the plane of sharp focus, whereas the shape of the image is controlled solely by the back. Both the lens and back can be adjusted when either one alone does not provide sufficient control. However,  if  it is necessary to control shape and the plane of  sharp focus on the  same photograph, the back must be used to control the  shape and the lens to control the plane of sharp focus, and the back must be adjusted first. …

PDF: Tilting by using Lens or the Back Adjustments

 

Photographing a Flat Surface

To photograph a flat, rectangular subject, so that the entire image is in focus and all vertical and horizontal lines are parallel. …

PDF: Photographing a Flat Surface

 

Photographing a Flat Surface at an Angle

To photograph a flat subject at an angle and have the subject sharp from one end to the other. …

PDF: Photographing a Flat Surface at an Angle

 

Photographing a Box or Building From Ground Level

How to maintain both parallels and sharp focus in two planes. …

PDF: Photographing a Box or Building From Ground Level

 

Using the Rising Front

Only a single adjustment is required to include the top of the building. …

PDF: Using the Rising Front

 

Photographing a Subject With Two Inclined Planes

To photograph an inclined plane that is skewed, or tilts both to the side and from front to rear. …

PDF: Photographing a Subject With Two Inclined Planes

 

Improving the Image Sharpness by using Tilts and Swings. …

PDF: Improving the Image Sharpness

 

Loading and Exposure

A step by step guide to making an exposure on the 5×4 camera. …

PDF: Loading and Exposure

A introduction and step by step guide to making an exposure on the 5×4 camera. …

PDF: Exposure on the 5×4 Camera

 

Bellows Extension Calculations

As the bellows on the camera are extended in order to focus and magnify the image,  the amount of light reaching  the film decreases rapidly. To ensure an accurate exposure it is vital to compensate  for  this loss of light by opening the aperture  in the lens or by adding more time onto the shutter speed. This can be calculated using the  following method …

PDF: Bellows Extension Calculations

 

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