C330 and Parallax

Reframing is the actually the point of the paramender. In a TLR, what you see in the viewing lens is not the image the camera will capture, because the taking lens is lower. The paramender reframes so that what you saw in the VF is what will be captured.

If the camera is not perfectly vertical, won't a paramender affect the focus?

Yes, but that's why you want to make sure your tripod is set up correctly.

Kirks518 said:

Reframing is the actually the point of the paramender. In a TLR, what you see in the viewing lens is not the image the camera will capture, because the taking lens is lower. The paramender reframes so that what you saw in the VF is what will be captured.

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True, but correct me if I am wrong, it merely moves the taking lens up to where the focusing lens once was, correct? The focus on the object does not change but if you are within the 3 to 4 feet window, it eliminates frame cut off.

I took a look at my friends developed film and the camera. The lens was locked, the 80mm lens was set up correctly to the body, and I misspoke in that the pointer in the viewfinder is black, not red. It seems to be merely a case of not accommodating for the parallax. He was shooting handheld so a paramender was not going to be of any use. The question of the night was if you use the indicator in the viewfinder to show the top of the frame and that indicator does not readjust as you reposition the camera, how do you know how much to move the camera up?

Scenario: about 5 feet from a flower (one of his actual shots) and the indicator in the finder is about half way down. Do you reposition the camera until half of said flower is no longer in the finder to adjust?

Kirks518 said:

Yes, but that's why you want to make sure your tripod is set up correctly.

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The camera cannot be leaned for a better angle on something when using the paramender? Like having it tipped forward to obtain a better angle on a subject?

Something like a paramender would ideally sit between the tripod head and the camera, and should be firmly fixed to the base of the camera. The point of it is to move the camera up its vertical axis the exact distance of the lens separation, so putting it on the tripod with the tripod head on top of it would kind of defeat the purpose.

However it means it doesn't matter which way the camera is pointing or even if your tripod is remotely level, as the only purpose is to shift the camera along a set axis such that the lower lens moves to the same spot the upper lens had just been in. But the camera itself by no means has to be vertical and level. If you hold it completely upside down then the camera's vertical axis is now pointing into the ground.

Aren't relative frames of reference fun?


If you are handholding a Mamiya TLR with parallax indicator that is set to the correct lens adjustment, then you can carefully move the camera along an imaginary line running from the tripod socket up through the middle of the ground glass until the indicator line in the viewfinder is level with the top of where you want your frame. Easiest done when the camera it perfectly vertical, but can be done while it is tilted in any direction if you're careful.

Tilting slightly can work, but do keep in mind the slight shifts that can make in everything, which may or may not be important to your photo.


As for the red indicator: I've seen a number of other posts suggest that the parallax indicator IS the red one. As far as I can tell this is wrong and none of the models had a red indicator for parallax. Which is kind of sad because I actually find it brighter and easier to see in a lot of conditions I've tested my C330f in, but I will admit that I was initially confused when I first got my hands on mine. I may open mine up and see if I can't swap them, which may someday really mess with someone.

It would be tripod, ball head, paramender, the camera.

You have to use the C330 in a perfectly vertical state/ position? It cannot be leaned in? I know that he will not be a fan of this too much.

Sorry if my comments were confusing, but no, the camera itself can be pointed it any direction and at any angle. However the vertical axis of the camera itself always runs through the camera the same way, and it is along this line that you have to move the camera 'up'. You could put the camera on its side and nothing in it is going to complain, but the camera's up is now to your side.

If you hold the camera in your hand to frame up an image in the view finder, and then tilt the camera such that you move the top of the image down to where the parallax indicator line is, rather than sliding the camera along that axis till the line is at the top of the image, then the image will have changed slightly from what you had framed it up as in the viewfinder. The closer the focus the larger the difference it will make.

Ok, let's get into real world usage, and skip the technically perfect imaginary world.

If you're shooting very close, IMO less then 2 feet (or macro), the paramender is a must have/must use.

But when you're shooting 'normal' photo stuff, and you use the black indicator in the VF, just tilt the camera up enough so that the indicator is where you want the top of the image frame to be. I always take a glance at the subject after I tilt, and make sure it still looks to be in focus (DOF will take care of this most of the time), and adjust if necessary. It's only when you're fairly close that the focus could be affected.

I think the most important thing to be sure of with the parallax indicator is that you have the dial set to the correct lens.

People with Benbo tripods with a tilt-able column are probably smiling about now...

derelict said:

Scenario: about 5 feet from a flower (one of his actual shots) and the indicator in the finder is about half way down. Do you reposition the camera until half of said flower is no longer in the finder to adjust?

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If you are 5 feet from a flower and the indicator in the finder is half way down, something serious is wrong.

I no longer have an 80mm lens, but with my 65mm, the parallax indicator doesn't go half way down the finder unless I am about six inches from the flower (distance of flower to front lens element). The parallax indicator should barely be visible at a 5 foot camera to subject distance, because the parallax error at that distance is minimal.

When you are using the camera at distances where parallax error does matter, compose normally, and then shift the camera up 2 inches. You will see that the parallax indicator will now intersect the subject at the top of where your initial view ended.

Kirks518 said:

I think the most important thing to be sure of with the parallax indicator is that you have the dial set to the correct lens.

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+1

derelict said:

The camera cannot be leaned for a better angle on something when using the paramender? Like having it tipped forward to obtain a better angle on a subject?

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Exactly the situation I had in mind, but i have since seen one in operation on youtube. It will work at any angle because it moves parallel with the camera axis, not the tripod.

MattKing said:

If you are 5 feet from a flower and the indicator in the finder is half way down, something serious is wrong.

I no longer have an 80mm lens, but with my 65mm, the parallax indicator doesn't go half way down the finder unless I am about six inches from the flower (distance of flower to front lens element). The parallax indicator should barely be visible at a 5 foot camera to subject distance, because the parallax error at that distance is minimal.

When you are using the camera at distances where parallax error does matter, compose normally, and then shift the camera up 2 inches. You will see that the parallax indicator will now intersect the subject at the top of where your initial view ended.

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Sorry, I did not know. It is not my camera so I just chose a random distance.