Protecting the GG while you hike

daleeman · Nov 2, 2011

I really enjoy shooting 4x5 and have a backpack that lugs just about everything one would want to carry, but I often take the most shots within a mile of the car. Doing this I often put the camera on the tripod while folded up and sling it over my shoulder. I carry my holders (6 max), loupe, and cable release in a shoulder strapped Subways [eat fresh] insulated lunch cooler from a garage sale. Going lighter and lighter is a mandatory prerequisite these days. Age, health and shorter hikes are a factor.

What I would like to do is devise some sort of protective wrap to cover the camera with a stiff portion to protect the GG. I do not want to put any goo laden Velcro on the camera itself or screws or fasteners so it must snap or button or have its own Velcro + and attached to the cover/wrap.
Has anyone made such a device themselves yet? My camera is a Tachihara so it is not a Graflex back but Im certain that there are some brilliant large format shooters out there with some outstanding ideas on this and some designs of their own.

BTW if it could morph into a dark cloth too Id be very impressed!
Lee

Toffle · Nov 2, 2011

Hi Lee,
On the few times I've actually carried my LF cameras, (both are monorails so if I go in the field, the case sits on a set of wheels) I have covered the GG with a piece of foam-core held in place with some elastics. It wouldn't help in the case of a really nasty knock or fall, but it does limit bumps, scratches and smudges.
I know that only answers half of your question, but it's a start.
Cheers,
Tom

Dan Dozer · Nov 2, 2011

I also do the foam core approach. However, I have a Linhoff Technikardan and the back is formed such that the small piece of foamcore I cut wedges in place and doesn't require anything like rubber bands to hold it there.

cowanw · Nov 2, 2011

The 8X10 I bought from Richard Rankin came with a neat protector. 2 pieces of film holder sized masonite with a wood spacer along the one long end of about 1 inch by the thickness of the back from the GG plane to the outside surface; just nailed together. It is extra weight but not to much and is great protection that will not fall off. I am going to make the same in Plexiglass for my studio GG, but it will be heavier.

Ottrdaemmerung · Nov 2, 2011

I made a GG protector for my monorail by cutting two pieces of Lexan plexiglas, one slightly smaller than the other, and hinging them together with gaffer's tape so that they protect both sides, and then are held in place with an elastic.

daleeman · Nov 2, 2011

I've been playing with the idea of a very fat "H" design piece of leather with snaps or velcro to cover the GG and the 4 legs of the H come together by the tripod head. if all things would be equal it almost could be a makshift hood for the GG too

Vaughn · Nov 2, 2011

The GG protector I have for the 11x14 is just a piece of plex that was heated and folded over in half. Half slips in where the film holder goes and the other half slides over the outer side of the GG. Badger Graphics sells them, but unfortunately there is no photo of it on their site.

https://www.badgergraphic.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=1084

But here is a pix of one:

Dead Link Removed

I like the simplicity, light weight, no extra hardware to attach and that it does not put much tension on the springs of the back.

jp498 · Nov 2, 2011

Canham sell some ground glass protectors (basically a plastic version of what Vaughn mentions), but they don't have pictures of them online.

jp80874 · Nov 2, 2011

Lee,

The goo laden Velcro can easily be removed with a product called Goo Gone from googone.com or most hardware stores. It has many other uses and Dolly keeps a jar under the sink. Most of those other jobs involve new clothing labels for her. Googone dissolves the goo and leaves no trace if you decide to sell the camera. Although since most LF cameras have some sort of protector the next owner might want to leave it in place.

Both my RH Phillips cameras were built with lexan gg protectors held on with Velcro dots. With gg in those sizes at $100 $200 these covers have been very good insurance.

Two cautions. At least in the case of these cameras do not forget to remove the lexan before you focus. I have forgotten and done that a few times. You can get very close to in focus but not there. It seems quite mysterious until you notice the lexan is still in place. When you do take the lexan off be very careful where you put it. It just begs to be broken or left behind when you forget to put it back on.

John

ROL · Nov 2, 2011

I use the Canham plexi GG protector (5X7 variety). Haven't had a broken GG yet.

roboflick · Nov 2, 2011

Vaughn said:
The GG protector I have for the 11x14 is just a piece of plex that was heated and folded over in half. Half slips in where the film holder goes and the other half slides over the outer side of the GG. Badger Graphics sells them, but unfortunately there is no photo of it on their site.

https://www.badgergraphic.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=1084

But here is a pix of one:

Dead Link Removed

I like the simplicity, light weight, no extra hardware to attach and that it does not put much tension on the springs of the back.

This is what I use works great!Nik

John Koehrer · Nov 2, 2011

cowanw said:
The 8X10 I bought from Richard Rankin came with a neat protector. 2 pieces of film holder sized masonite with a wood spacer along the one long end of about 1 inch by the thickness of the back from the GG plane to the outside surface; just nailed together. It is extra weight but not to much and is great protection that will not fall off. I am going to make the same in Plexiglass for my studio GG, but it will be heavier.

I made a similar one using plexi and a wooden block. Works slick as snot on a doorknob.

Doremus Scudder · Nov 3, 2011

I use a Calumet ground glass protector on each of my cameras. They are black plastic, but otherwise look like those available from Midwest Photo and The View Camera Store.

I usually take the camera off the tripod and carry it in a fanny pack along with lenses and filters, but for the times I carry it around on the tripod as you do (which I don't recommend doing regularly unless you really are sure of the strength of your tripod mount and the sturdiness of your camera), I have a drawstring bag that I made from waterproof nylon that fits over the folded camera (with the gg protector inserted). The drawstring tightens around the tripod head. Voilá, protected ground glass and waterproof cover that are light and packable.

Just don't smack your camera against a rock or a tree and don't put too much stress on the tripod mount. I don't know how the Tachi attaches, but pulling a mounting bushing out of the camera or stripping the threads would be a bummer.

I imagine you could fashion a darkcloth out of Gore-Tex or other waterproof material that would serve the same purpose as my waterproof bag (sew the velcro to the darkcloth so it wraps around the camera and tripod head). I made a black-inside/white Gore-Tex-outside darkcloth that I carry rolled up under straps on the outside of my fanny pack, but which has saved the camera from breaking waves and sudden downpours a time or two.

FWIW, for me, light is better. The camera and lenses go in a small fanny pack, film holders in a small over the shoulder bag and meter, and more stuff in pockets of a short fly-fishing vest. I hike with camera, 5 lenses, 6 holders, 12-15 filters, meter, viewing frame, lightweight tripod and misc. accessories and my kit weighs in at under 10 kilos. I think a bulky set-up like you are suggesting might be counter productive.

Hope this helps,

Doremus Scudder
www.DoremusScudder.com

daleeman · Nov 3, 2011

jp80874 said:
Lee,

The goo laden Velcro can easily be removed with a product called Goo Gone from googone.com or most hardware stores. It has many other uses and Dolly keeps a jar under the sink. Most of those other jobs involve new clothing labels for her. Googone dissolves the goo and leaves no trace if you decide to sell the camera. Although since most LF cameras have some sort of protector the next owner might want to leave it in place.

Both my RH Phillips cameras were built with lexan gg protectors held on with Velcro dots. With gg in those sizes at $100 $200 these covers have been very good insurance.

Two cautions. At least in the case of these cameras do not forget to remove the lexan before you focus. I have forgotten and done that a few times. You can get very close to in focus but not there. It seems quite mysterious until you notice the lexan is still in place. When you do take the lexan off be very careful where you put it. It just begs to be broken or left behind when you forget to put it back on.

John

John,
Thanks for the advice. I think we have some goo gone here atthe house, I'll have to take a look, still skidish about using it on fine wood, but bet we ave it.

Focusing through the protector sounds right up my alley. sounds like the multitudes of times I have taken photos of me closing the lens after pulling the dark slide and then wondering why the shutter will not fire. I quit doing that film prices would drop.

Lee

jp80874 · Nov 3, 2011

daleeman said:
John,
Focusing through the protector sounds right up my alley
Lee

The above mentioned black plexi sounds like a way to accomplish the goal and avoid trying to focus through the gg.

John

Peter Simpson · Nov 3, 2011

There is a thicker 1/2" foamcore available that should protect against anything but a direct hit on a pointy rock. Scraps should be available at a local design or photo mounting firm. Importantly for hiking, it weighs almost nothing.

John Austin · Nov 3, 2011

International back

Don't be so lazy and pack your camera down when you walk any distance - If you get a viewfinder, Linhof or similar, you should be able to work out your images before you set up the tripod - Also, the weight of the camera and lens is swinging around with added G and held in the air by a tiny quarter inch bolt

If you do insist on the lazy and risky path of carrying your camera on the tripdod over your shoulder get an old Speed Graphic back with the flappy metal hood - Make an adaptor so it replaces the current spring back and you are home and hosed with the advantage of the use of an old RFB should you so desire

That is what I am planning to do with my new 10x8" Tackyhara to make an adaptor panel - I hope the Tacky is OKish enough for field work - It is on special very cheaply, but I worry about using a wooden camera, so it may end up on sale here or FleaBay

John

Thingy · Nov 3, 2011

When I bought my Ebony it came complete with aluminium GG protector. Perhaps Ebony will make one for you, to order..... at a price.

Vaughn · Nov 3, 2011

jbaphoto said:
Don't be so lazy and pack your camera down when you walk any distance...

John

That was my philosophy when I was bicycling in NZ for a half-year with the 4x5. Replacement for a damaged camera would have been difficult and costly on a minimum budget, and the purpose of the trip was photography. The trip was already a repeat of a trip taken there with a messed-up 4x5 camera, so I was playing it very safe.

But photographing locally, I now walk around the redwoods with the 5x7 on the pod. As a good friend (another owner of a Gowland PocketView, and a photo instructor) says, if he has the camera out and ready, he is ready to make an image that he would miss if he had to unpack it -- and that image could be worth far more than the camera.

I have one of my backpacking stuff-sacks over the 5x7; when hiking in the woods, it helps reduce the chance of a pointy stick nabbing my bellows, etc. I just don't trust my big heavy Zone VI 8x10 on the pod and over my shoulder for much distance.

ROL · Nov 3, 2011

jbaphoto said:
Don't be so lazy and pack your camera down when you walk any distance...

Point taken – but why so judgemental?

The OP suggested his needs were based on age considerations. While I rarely carry my LF camera over the shoulder – for many of the same reasons you otherwise suggest – and I pack up my gear except for miniscule moves because I no longer trust every physical move I make with an extended, snaggy, hitchhiker, I think you have to allow some degree of appreciation for the ravages of the aging process, even if you yourself have (thus far) managed to escape them. You never know the road the inquirer has travelled, his circumstance, or his penchant for laziness.

This reminds me of a good–natured suggestion on DPUG that I carry my tripod with my new P&S (existentially, is it really a P&S if you use a tripod?) and "suck it up" by further lightening my overnight backcountry load by dispensing with vital items of my already sparse and light camping gear. I informed the responder that my previous wilderness forays, some 30 years ago, were made with no other gear than a roll of candy and a large garbage (Polish bivouack) bag. Last century and no arthritis. Oh, impetuous youth.

daleeman said:
BTW if it could morph into a dark cloth too I’d be very impressed!

My plexi GG protector won't morph, but often, especially on longer hikes, I leave the darkcloth behind in favor of a black (dark with elastic drawstrings) XL rain suit windbreaker, which can be used with the neck end over the GG and head through the waist. It really does work as well as my BlackJacket darkcloth, and doubles as – and I know this can hardly be believed – a waterproof windbreaker!

jp80874 · Nov 3, 2011

One of the problems talking around the world on a form like this is that you have no sense of author’s age or condition. I host a three day Apug weekend (NE OH Gathering) every other month in six months of reasonably warm weather on the edge of a national park. We get 10-25 people an event ranging from age 26 to my 71.

If you are in good condition God bless. Some are not. Some have medical problems as I know Lee does. Some are more fortunate.

I can remember one twenty something on the forum saying, “When I get to that age, I…” Yeah. First you have to get to my age and if you do, you may be surprised what you have endured. I have kept three dark suits from my retirement throw aways for the funerals I have had to attend.

Give him a break. It is his hobby.

John Powers

daleeman · Nov 4, 2011

jp80874 said:
Give him a break. It is his hobby.

John Powers

John, your my hero!

I think we all live a bit longer with our issues when we dive into something we love so much like photography. It gets us out walking, gives us the drive to enjoy and share time with those who enjoy the same art and we become connected to something bigger than ourselves, expecially outings like yours (John). I learn so much from you all at these gathering and they are great for my health and mental health as well.

So in looking back over this post I have learned a lot.

1. One is more prone to take a shot while the camera is out rather than folded up in a case of backpack
2. There is a risk in walking about with the camera on the sticks of pulling out the tripod collar from the camera
3. There are good ways to protect the GG from foam board to commercial products made of plexi and other materials
4. Protecting the bellows from sticks and limbs is as important as protecting the GG when trecking
5. All LF shooters have an opinion (and I have an opinion on that too)

This has been a very active thread. I mostly look forward to getting out and shooting more and protecting the camera and myself from unforseen elements on the trails of life. I've been shooting a lot of indoor portraits lately with the 4x5 for a studio class I am taking. Getting back outside for some landscapes are scheduled on 12 November at Charleston Falls outside of Dayton, Ohio. I'll be out there early with a group of other shooters and I'll be othe only film shooter there much less in LF.

Don't kill the thread, I look forward to others inputs on the topic.

Lee

Jeff Searust · Nov 4, 2011

OK to go back to the original question about hiking with a camera while protecting GG and camera--- I have my own rather lo-tech, non-official, works-every-time method that protects the entire camera while at the same time makes shooting easier.

I have a wool US Army blanket that I wrap around my camera to hike with. It protects the GG, the lens on the front, the side, the bellows.... I can use it to also pad my shoulder while hiking and as something to sit on at the end of the hike while shooting. It is great for rolling up and sticking under old and tired knees to kneel down and shoot. Overall having a blanket along (Besides a large dark cloth) has made lots of shooting with large cameras much easier and enjoyable.

Kilgallb · Nov 7, 2011

So I picked up my brand new Toyo 45C by grasping the top front to back. SNAP, the GG was cracked by my thumb pressure. OUCH! and Expensive.

My solution after replacment was to use two pieces of velcro to hold a plastic DVD box against the rear of the camera

1. Very light
2. Stronger than a piece of plexi glass or Aluminum
3. The box will not flex
4. The box is a handy place to hold your bellows factor cheat sheet and depth of filed calculator.

cowanw · Nov 7, 2011

This weekend I started glueing and making more gg protectors. My best job was a piece of 1/8 inch acrylic, twice as long as a double dark slide and the width of a dd slide. I balanced it sideways across a 1 inch pipe and used a paint stipper heat element to soften the centre until the ends met. Great do it yourself even if I do say so.

Protecting the GG while you hike

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