Hand holding Horseman 985

I recently bought a Horseman 985 camera and I would like to try hand-holding it the way press photographers of the past used their 4x5 press cameras. Has anyone tried it? I don't have the Electrical Grip accessory and I doubt that I need it. I am after some sort of a side grip with a shutter release cable. Linhof Technika has a great anatomical grip which would be ideal but it uses its own mount. There are smaller and lightweight side grips from Smallrig and similar but they don't have a release cable and I would need to use the tripod socket on the left side of the camera for the grip which I would like to avoid. There are also Horseman P3089 Flashgun Clamps that would make an ideal base for a DIY side grip but they seem to be very hard to find. I don't want to modify the camera by adding a third tripod socket or replacing the lugs. Any ideas?

I found using the thumb plunger from the back did cause some movement artifact. I do feel the electrical release is helpful for hand held at any thing less than 1/250, in my hands. Do you have the thumb plunger?
This is predicated on the fact that I'd only get that camera out for hand-holding because I want bigger, high quality enlargements, than I can get with 35mm.

Lately, I get the most use from the camera shooting Instax.

Flash, is another story. It is always great with flash when hand-holding, due to the stop-action effect.

You might also get attracted to using yours on a tripod. For me, the magic of camera movements led to a Horseman FA 4x5 and ultimately to two 8x10 cameras. It is a slippery downward slope

(now I posted that I see the 985 might not have the bracket to hold the thumb plunger release. )

With those kinds of cameras (I have a 980's but use a miniature Crown Graphic
or a 4x5 Busch Pressman mostly) I make the hand strap as tight as I can and run my hand between the strap and the body gripping the body with my hand. Usually I use the other hand for focusing and tripping the shutter with a cable release.

ic-racer said:

Do you have the thumb plunger?

Click to expand...

No, but it looks neat. What model do you have? Is this an accessory? I could not find it in my Horseman catalogue. Anyway, thank you for the tip. Making a plunger would be easier than the side grip.

ic-racer said:

You might also get attracted to using yours on a tripod.

Click to expand...

I will use it on a tripod most of the time. I just wanted to have a convenient way of using the camera as an oversized rangefinder in places where setting a tripod is not practical.

Besk said:

With those kinds of cameras (I have a 980's but use a miniature Crown Graphic
or a 4x5 Busch Pressman mostly) I make the hand strap as tight as I can and run my hand between the strap and the body gripping the body with my hand. Usually I use the other hand for focusing and tripping the shutter with a cable release.

Click to expand...

This was the first thing I tried with this camera and it seems to work. The weight of this Horseman is just right for holding it steady. Anything much lighter would be prone to movement and I am not strong enough to hand-hold a heavier camera.

I don't understand why an electrical release was needed in place of the mechanical shutter release cable. I might get a better idea after I start using the camera. The roll-film backs and two lenses have not arrived yet.

Romanko said:

No, but it looks neat. What model do you have? Is this an accessory? I could not find it in my Horseman catalogue. Anyway, thank you for the tip. Making a plunger would be easier than the side grip.

Click to expand...

The VH-R (and VH) have a clip on the right side that a special shutter release clips onto. And holds the plunger horizontally so you can use your thumb.

Thank you. I have an instruction manual for VH-R which came with my camera. They call it Cable Release Shoe in the specifications. Interestingly, it is absent from half of the drawings in the manual and is not marked on the Names of the Parts drawing. Sadly, my Model 985 is missing this feature but I should be able to DIY a similar part and attach it to the strap.

I started with a VH which has no rangefinder, so initially I startedwith a standard cable realese with the little nub adapter, but later when I got the VH-R, I wanted to handhold and I discovered the clip-on release which works pretty well for me.