Crucial little bits

[John Austin]

This is about those tiny little things that make a camera system functional, like a squat medium bladed screwdriver in a Hasselblad kit or a tripod screw adapter on your keyring if you use a Rollei

This morning while setting up the Tacky' 10x8" kit for field use and noting the Tacky's impossibility of being set up straight by using its rough notches, I decided to add a small square and a tiny spirit level

Any suggestions for other tiny little things?

 

[David Brown]

Small penlight for lens settings in the dark.

 

[Vaughn]

For larger cameras (like 8x10), a way to attach the darkcloth to the camera. I have a few Aussie pegs (clothes pins) that work well. Perhaps Velcro (not my favorite).

Lighter cameras I would be careful about pulling the camera over accidently if the darkcloth was attached to the camera.

A propane burner would be nice so I could make a cup of tea during long exposures.

 

[LJH]

A 6" Torpedo level (so much more accurate than the smaller levels) and a couple of identical-lengthed strips of aluminium to get rapid, accurate parallelism of the front and rear standards.

 

[Jim Jones]

Small tape measure. Duct tape. 4" Vice Grip: It's not the right tool for anything on Earth, but it's awfully close to the best tool for thousands of uses. Acco binder clips (or their equivalent from any office supply store) may be better than clothes pins for anchoring focusing cloths. A bit of adhesive tape on their inner surfaces improves gripping and won't mar woodwork as much. I use the round bubble levels; perhaps not as accurate as a torpedo level, but good enough.

 

[cliveh]

This is about those tiny little things that make a camera system functional, like a squat medium bladed screwdriver in a Hasselblad kit or a tripod screw adapter on your keyring if you use a Rollei

This morning while setting up the Tacky' 10x8" kit for field use and noting the Tacky's impossibility of being set up straight by using its rough notches, I decided to add a small square and a tiny spirit level

Any suggestions for other tiny little things?

I can understand using a spirit level for building a wall, but not for taking a picture.

 

[keithwms]

Aspirin.

 

[HowardDvorin]

A clean rag. It has mny uses.I kneel on it and protect my pants,wipe dirt or sweat,or even use as a shock absorber to protecrt delicates.

HowardDvorin

 

[John Austin]

Aaah, this all brings us to our keyrings and pockets while working - The keyring has a torchette, a tape measure, used for working out lens extensions and a very small multi-thing - There are two tripod adapter screws on the keyring, but not easily visible



I think that is all,
John

 

[Vaughn]

A clean rag. It has mny uses.I kneel on it and protect my pants,wipe dirt or sweat,or even use as a shock absorber to protecrt delicates.

HowardDvorin

Into my 8x10 camera pack I have put a 12"x12" piece of closed cell foam. While it also pads the film holders from the wood of the camera body, it is waterproof, insulating, and padded -- great for setting stuff on, or for sitting on on the damp ground, sharp rocks or snow during those long exposures or waiting for the light. Also comes in handy as a sun shade.

Vaughn

I also have one of those multi-tools in my camera bags. I find that the screws on a wood LF camera do tend to loosen up a little over time.

 

[pgomena]

A plastic drawstring garbage bag for rainy conditions, salt spray and waterfall mist.

A couple of short pencils, around which I wrap a few turns of gaffer tape that has been torn into long, thin strips.

Peter Gomena

 

[Newt_on_Swings]

My leatherman squirt model with scissors. Its a great keychain multitool which has the most perfect tiny can opener to pop off 35mm cassettes too.

Gaffers tape, either stuck across a large flat area of a bag like inside on a nylon panel or wrapped around flat piece of bag strap like a messenger bag strap.

My small soft filter case, holds 6 filters i use for b&w which I roll a shutter release cable inside as well.

Ziplock bag with silica packet for films and spare batteries.

Extrafine sharpie marker.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

An option for attaching the darkcloth to the camera is not to do it. I attach my Black Jacket hood to the camera, because that's sort of how it works, but with a flat darkcloth I fold it in half over my shoulders and flip it over my head and the camera to view the groundglass. Easier to stay alert to my surroundings that way, which may be more important in New York City than in other kinds of locations.

Other stuff I carry, depending on the camera: spare cable release or two, small screwdriver or Microtool, Allen wrench for QR plates, gaffer's tape, little bungee cords, small pony clamps, lens brush and cloth. Angle finding level or Suunto clinometer-compass (allows you to measure tilt and swing angles on any camera--very handy for lining things up quickly and accurately).

 

[Doremus Scudder]

I carry a lot of gadgets when photographing in the field. A wooden spool with 1" gaffers' tape rolled around it, a dentist's mirror for checking levels and settings when I have the camera set up over my head, a Swiss army knife with the small screwdriver intentionally broken in half to make a smaller screwdriver, a mini-mag lite, an LED pocket light, 4-diopter reading glasses for focusing, etc. a retaining-ring wrench (fits in behind a 67mm filter in the filter case), a small roll of "skin tape" (light tack medical tape) for taping filters on lenses, a small tape measure for measuring bellows extension, 20' of nylon line and a couple of old bootlaces for tying things up/back, etc., a spare cable release, a large garbage bag, several twist-ties, a couple of micro-fiber cleaning cloths, a lipstick brush, and, one of my favorites, the no-longer available Voss filter holder with barn doors for a lens shade.

My Pentax digital spot meter and a Zone VI viewing filter are on lanyards attached to my fishing vest. They live in pockets, but the lanyards prevent them from hitting the ground if inadvertently dropped (which has saved the meter more than once).

My home-made darkcloth is made of white Gore-Tex lined with non-slip black cloth and equipped with Velcro strips. It will protect the camera from rain, mist and crashing breakers (and will function as a poncho for me when the camera's packed and it's raining). I also made a waterproof nylon drawstring bag that is big enough to go over the camera when set up. It doubles as an emergency bucket and, when filled with rocks, sand, etc. a good tripod weight.

I've got levels and scales on all my cameras, most of which I added myself. Stickers for true shutter speeds on each lensboard and for optimum f-stop calculation on each camera. My exposure record (small pocket-sized notebook) contains tables for reciprocity adjustments and bellows-extension factors for all the lenses I have as well as other exposure info (filter fudge-factors, etc.).

I've put hooks on the bottom of the center column or directly under the head on my tripods to allow me to hang my gear pack: a good way to weight the tripod as well as to keep the pack off the ground (I really hate having my pack on the ground!); it's also easier to work out of this way.

I find a couple of white cotton bandanas to be indispensable as well, for uses from everything to clean-up and hand-drying to putting on under my baseball cap to keep the back of my neck and ears from being sunburned. Wetting it before doing this is a real relief in the hot weather (I photograph in the deserts a lot).

Of course, I've got some business cards stashed away in an inside pocket somewhere too to hand out to curious/interested onlookers.

When on the road for a "photo safari," I have a bag of all sorts of other stuff in the car as well, everything from screwdriver sets to extra tripod leg-locks and knobs to a cigar end-cutter.... but that's for another thread

Best,

Doremus

www.DoremusScudder.com

 

[removed account4]

a post level / bullseye level
a pen ( for adjusting fstops on a lens deep recessed lens board )

 

[flash26c]

I carry dental floss - not for my teeth though it isn't a bad idea. The floss is super stong and easy to use to hold thing together.

 

[artonpaper]

I have become addicted to the Swiss Army knife as a wonderful accessory for LF photography and so many other uses. The one I have also has a magnifying glass loop for inspecting sharpness on the ground glass. And of course, a small level, tape measure, clips for the dark cloth, all the other stuff mentioned above.

 

[pgomena]

Yes, my Swiss Army knife is always in my pocket. I could almost completely disassemble/repair my Rochester Optical Company whole-plate camera with it in the field if necessary. Try that with a newer camera!

Peter Gomena

 

[mrsmiggins]

And from the over 50's corner, 2 pairs of cheap (3.5x or thereabouts) reading glasses for when close inspection of the ground glass is required (hate using a loupe in the field). Another way of correcting non-parallel standards on the detent-less 8x10, without levels and a compass.

Just don't forget to remove the glasses as you come out from under the cloth!

And with a farming community becoming increasingly suspicous of anything bigger than a compact p&s, I'm also considering a portable road sign that reads "No, I'm not a surveyor and I don't work for the Council, Government or an Estate Agent."


Frank...

 

[John Austin]

And with a farming community becoming increasingly suspicous of anything bigger than a compact p&s, I'm also considering a portable road sign that reads "No, I'm not a surveyor and I don't work for the Council, Government or an Estate Agent."


Frank...

I hadn't thought of that, a sign saying "Coal Seam Gas Survey Ahead" could cause all sorts of problems for any LF photographer that pisses you off - Time to get out the yellow boards and black paint

 

[RalphLambrecht]

i always carry two tiny flash lights. i can place them anywhere into the scene,and standing up.they are easy to focus on. this helps with precise focusing in dark surroundings. also a mechanical stop watch for long exposures and a tape recorder to 'take' notes in a hurry.