Who actually carries a tape measure to do closeup work ...

[eli griggs]

... with extension tubes, magnifying 'filters' and bellows?

 

[drmoss_ca]

Not for those purposes, but for calculating the bellows factor of an LF lens used close up.

 

[Bill Burk]

Minox come with a chain with bumps at the “marks”. I carry a string with knots at the marks when I go out with the Retina I.

That’s how I got this picture of “Stone”…
https://www.photrio.com/forum/media/stonenyc.47932/

 

[Steve Goldstein]

I just use my hand - full span is approximately 9" and I interpolate/estimate smaller distances. It's close enough for large-format black-and-white bellows compensation, probably not for chromes.

 

[GRHazelton]

Back in the day my Father did excellent close-up and macro work with an AsahiFlex IIa with tubes and bellows. Since the 'Flex had no TTL metering he calculated the exposure factor based on the distance of the extension, measured usually with the sum of the markings on the tubes or bellows, then used a pocket slide rule for the computation. IIRC he sometimes found a tape measure quicker, expecially with the bellows.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Not a problem. Use reflex cameras and what you see is what you get. [WYSIWYG]

 

[abruzzi]

Never for MF, but there is always a tape measure in my LF kit for calculting bellows factor. The larger the format, the sooner you need to use it, even if you're not doing macro shooting. (i.e 1:1 on 35 is just someone's eye filling the whole frame, whereas 1:1 on 8x10 is a close headshot.)

 

[Sirius Glass]

For LF I printed out a guide and glued it to the rails of my Pacemaker Speed Graphic.

 

[Bronson Dugnutt]

In practice I use tubes / bellows (in combination with a right-angle finder) on ILC SLR systems. Close-up filters for fixed-focus / viewfinder / non-ILC cameras are pretty much the only option and I typically use them with a dedicated measuring chain (e.g. Minolta 16) or guesstimates based on finger span, reach, etc based upon the correction factor of the filter in use.

I picked up a set of Polaroid-branded close-up filters some months back at the local antique mall whose case contains a built-in tape measure demarcated with field size, camera focus, and and close-up filter settings. While not particularly useful for how I use the filters, its still a very useful piece of kit that adds versatility to an otherwise crippled camera.

 

[warden]

I just use my hand - full span is approximately 9" and I interpolate/estimate smaller distances. It's close enough for large-format black-and-white bellows compensation, probably not for chromes.

ditto. Hands can work.

 

[DREW WILEY]

I did it with a very narrow metric tape rule at one time, with my own supplemental marking on it. Strictly view camera bellows applications for close-ups. Then I switched over to the Calumet magnification target, which made life a lot easier. With MF or Nikon close up ext ring copy stand applications, I use TTL metering and a gray card.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

... with extension tubes, magnifying 'filters' and bellows?

never have