Dealing with wind and LF

kaiyen · Mar 15, 2006

Hi all,
So I've recently started shooting 5x7, and I love it. It's not for everything, but for what it's good for, it is amazing

I processed some negatives from a day out on Pebble Beach, where it was very windy. None of my negatives look nearly as sharp as those taken in a forest-y area, with no wind. I'm thinking that my sail-size camera setup caught the wind and caused shake.

How do you guys deal with the wind? This is something I've not had to handle with my 35mm and MF stuff.

allan

David H. Bebbington · Mar 15, 2006

Many LF cameras have the aerodynamic efficiency of a brick outhouse, so wind-induced vibration is hard to prevent, but one thing to avoid is cantilever arms of any length. Old wooden LF cameras often have two tripod bushes on the underside, the idea was to use both of them to secure the camera to a large-area tripod head. In the same way, if you have a large monorail camera, using two tripod sockets and a big tripod head will help (if your monorail is REALLY long, you can use two tripods and secure one end of the camera to each). A less good but far less bulky idea would be to use cords as guy ropes, tying one end to an end of the camera and the other to a tent peg pushed into the ground.

Leon · Mar 15, 2006

kaiyen said:
How do you guys deal with the wind? This is something I've not had to handle with my 35mm and MF stuff.

Despite trying as hard as I could to be restrained, I just cant keep it in. Here it comes ...

eat less beans, lentils and cabbage?

there I've got it out of the way now so that others can bring on the serious replies.

David H. Bebbington · Mar 15, 2006

Bisodol to you, my friend!

argus · Mar 15, 2006

Bring the wife, along with an umbrella to serve as a windshield.

G

Robert Hall · Mar 15, 2006

I use a large umbrella and a wind brace from Alan at www.filmholders.com.

I use this both for the 8x10 and the 12x20. I would check that your camera is firmly mounted to your tripod and if you can, hang some weight on the tripod.

Baxter Bradford · Mar 15, 2006

Assuming points above about eliminating play have been addressed, and even Leon's....

I have a small loop of rope under my tripod head. To this I hook, or tie a length of thin spectra/dyneema line (although any will do) This line then forms a radius when appraching the ground. When ready to make the exposure, I stand carefully on the line thus making it taught and clamping the tripod to the ground firmly. By laying the tail of the rope which is on the ground upwind, it means that you stand such as to act as a windshield too.

The whole 'system' weighs 50g and takes next to no space in the bag. I have successfully used this in up to a force 8 with my 5x4 and a 210mm lens with exposures of about 1/15s.

The idea has been adopted by David Ward and a number of other LF photographers here in the UK.

doughowk · Mar 15, 2006

A wooden tripod helps dampen vibrations.

Steve Hamley · Mar 15, 2006

Robert,

How do you like AB's wind stabilizer? I've been thinking about one.

Steve

Jim Jones · Mar 15, 2006

Rubber tips on tripod legs can contribute to vibration. The tripod legs should rest firmly on solid ground. Sand and vegetation can cause trouble. When shopping for a LF tripod, pay close attention to the way the legs attach to the head. A century ago, when big cameras and long exposures were common, each leg usually attached with two widely spaced pivots. Modern tripod engineers could learn from this.

seadrive · Mar 15, 2006

Robert Hall said:
I use a large umbrella and a wind brace from Alan at www.filmholders.com.

How much does the wind stabilizer cost?

rbarker · Mar 15, 2006

There are really two issues to consider - the stability of the camera/tripod along with appropriate wind shielding, and the film speed needed to keep exposures short enough to avoid subject movement being obvious in the negatives. Adding weight to the tripod by various means can help, as noted above. Some, for example, carry a small canvas bag that can be attached to the tripod's center post, and then filled with rocks or sand on location. Adding an extra brace between the front of the camera bed and the tripod can also help. Bogen/Manfrotto makes several products that can be used for this purpose.

Jim Noel · Mar 15, 2006

I use only fairly heavy wooden tripods. Each is large enough to have a fairly large leg spread when at an appropriate shooting height. The spike ends are always used outdoors. This takes care of winds up to about 20 mph.
In addition, I carry a small mesh laundry bag. If the wind is too strong, I fill the bag with rocks and tie it to the bottom of the tripod plate. If the wind is strong enough to blow this rig, I don't have any business out there.
In addition,I solve the blowing dark cloth problem by using a black T-shirt for 4x5 and 5x7. The neck of the shirt is placed around the back of the camera, and if necessary a hand can go through the sleeve to keep the shirt from blowing into the field of view. For the 8X10 I have a "BlackJacket" made by Quietworks which works on the same principle but has reflective material on the outside.
The t-shirts and the "BlackJacket" weigh essentially nothing and take up little room in my pack.
If the wind is blowing too strong for this outfit, I don't even want to think about being outside.
Jim

PeterDendrinos · Mar 15, 2006

Wind affects me in one of 3 ways. 1) it blows at the camera but the subject is still. Here I use a big umbrella, seems to work well. 2) wind blow the subject but not the camera. For me this is the most vexing. Ill push the film, open up the lens for a faster speed or all of the above. 3) when the wind blows both the camera and the subject. Here I do all of the above or I punt. There are simply times when shooting LF is not going to work. High wind is one of them.

Pete

kaiyen · Mar 15, 2006

Thanks for the help, all. I always seem to forget to include something in my original question...I don't see buying a new tripod as an option. I would love to be able to do it, but I had a hard enough time convincing my wife to spend $100 on a 5x7 kit _all_told_. I don't see her saying okay to a new tripod. So...I am stuck with my Bogen 3021. Aluminum. Rubber feet.

Now, my camera does have multiple tripod mount holes, so I'll try that. I'll go look at the bogen website for some tripod-head-mounting options that might stabilize the front rail.

I will also bring along faster film with me in an attempt to use faster shutter speeds. I'll keep that handy for those situations.

Finally, it seems like having the tripod spread out farther and lower helps? I will try that, and use the rope idea to hold it steady.

thanks!
allan

Dave Wooten · Mar 15, 2006

In situations where it merits sitting up and "waiting for the light" which is often the case in conditions of storm or changing weather conditions....a portable hunters duck blind from Bass Pro works quite nicely, you are out of the wind...

Lee L · Mar 15, 2006

Bogen sells spiked feet for the 3021 for something around $30 or less per set (IIRC). I think they even have screw mounted rubber pads so that you have a choice.

Lee

Troy Ammons · Mar 15, 2006

Thats part of your problem. My 3021 center post and clamp is pretty wobbly. I used it in a for a week on a trip in windy situations and when I returned from my trip a new tripod was the first order of business.

The big berlebach is a good choice.

That said weight it down as much as possible and try to use short lenses.

A brace also helps.

Faster film helps.

Lower also helps.

I almost lost my camera (fly away) a few times on that trip. I ended up moving the tripod legs way out when I could and that helped.

That trip was when I formed the impression that there are just sometimes when something like a mamiya 7 makes a whole lot more sense, especially when its windy.

kaiyen said:
Thanks for the help, all. I always seem to forget to include something in my original question...I don't see buying a new tripod as an option. I would love to be able to do it, but I had a hard enough time convincing my wife to spend $100 on a 5x7 kit _all_told_. I don't see her saying okay to a new tripod. So...I am stuck with my Bogen 3021. Aluminum. Rubber feet.

Now, my camera does have multiple tripod mount holes, so I'll try that. I'll go look at the bogen website for some tripod-head-mounting options that might stabilize the front rail.

I will also bring along faster film with me in an attempt to use faster shutter speeds. I'll keep that handy for those situations.

Finally, it seems like having the tripod spread out farther and lower helps? I will try that, and use the rope idea to hold it steady.

thanks!
allan

kaiyen · Mar 15, 2006

Troy,
My 5x7 is certainly not my only kit and if the weather is bad, I wouldn't go out with it in the first place. But if I happen to be out there, it's good to have a few other options. The tripod isn't ideal, I know, but if I can just minimize the issues, that's a start. At the least, I have a few more tricks up my sleeve, none of which will be very expensive.

thanks,
allan

Dealing with wind and LF

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency