Reversing Front Standard On Crown Graphic

[chuckroast]

What are the virtues and vices of reversing the front standard on my Crown Graphic to make front tilt simpler?

 

[AnselMortensen]

I did it to my Speed Graphic.
The Pacemakers have the standard set for back tilt to compensate for using the drop-bed feature.
If you won't need to drop the bed, (I don't)...having forward tilt is much more useful for Scheimpflug, etc.

 

[Alan Townsend]

What are the virtues and vices of reversing the front standard on my Crown Graphic to make front tilt simpler?

It lets the lens board tilt forward only instead of backward only, which is more useful for landscape photography to increase depth of field but also requires lenses that have more coverage than the regular Optar type or stopping those way down.

 

[Saganich]

Dropping the bed can be problematic with bellows extended out and so reversing the standard is a simple alternative. No vice in it that I found as it is easily done and undone.

 

[chuckroast]

It lets the lens board tilt forward only instead of backward only, which is more useful for landscape photography to increase depth of field but also requires lenses that have more coverage than the regular Optar type or stopping those way down.

I am using 127mm, 203mm, and 8 1/.2" Ektars and a 65mm Super Angulon. The only concern I have is whether I would be able to use the 65mm closer than infinity as it might require a bed drop to stay out of the frame.

 

[Dan Fromm]

I am using 127mm, 203mm, and 8 1/.2" Ektars and a 65mm Super Angulon. The only concern I have is whether I would be able to use the 65mm closer than infinity as it might require a bed drop to stay out of the frame.

Hmm. 65 mm lens. How close is "closer than infinity?" At infinity it should require a bed drop to keep the bed out of the frame. As long as it will focus to "closer than infinity" as you mean it while in the inner bed rails, no problem. If it has to be on the outer rails you'll need to have front standard mounted normally so that you can use back tilt to keep the lens' axis perpendicular to the film plane.

 

[BrianShaw]

Hmm. 65 mm lens. ...while in the inner bed rails, no problem.

I found it to be quite a problem when I tried using an 80mm lens with an Anniversary Graphic. Found that to be near impossible and definitelynot worth the effort. Good luck with a 65...

 

[Dan Fromm]

I found it to be quite a problem when I tried using an 80mm lens with an Anniversary Graphic. Found that to be near impossible and definitelynot worth the effort. Good luck with a 65...

Interesting. I have 2x3 Pacemakers. The Century and Crowns work with a dropped bed and a 35 Apo Grandy. The problem with short lenses and Speed Graphics is high minimum extensions. But the OP has a Crown.

 

[BrianShaw]

Dan, it could be the lens I was using. Extracted from a TLR, possibly Ciroflex. Was hoping to get a circular image. I know a 90 Optar works fine so I might be extrapolating from a sill experiment. Mea culpa, if so.

 

[chuckroast]

Hmm. 65 mm lens. How close is "closer than infinity?" At infinity it should require a bed drop to keep the bed out of the frame. As long as it will focus to "closer than infinity" as you mean it while in the inner bed rails, no problem. If it has to be on the outer rails you'll need to have front standard mounted normally so that you can use back tilt to keep the lens' axis perpendicular to the film plane.

I can move the standard to get about 90mm from the film plane to the lens plane and still lock it on the back rail. That's not enough for 1:1 (which I wouldn't use that lens for anyway) but it's enough to get most things closer in in focus, especially given the huge DOF of this lens, especially with front tilt.

Front tilt on this camera was no problem (I had done it before) because there is enough room to slide the front standard over to avoid the rangefinder mechanism. Not so with my Baby Speed. No matter what I did, it was not practical to leave the standard reverse and close the body for transport. So, on that camera, reversing the standard will have be done for shooting and the returned to factory state to be able to close it back up.

 

[Dan Fromm]

I can move the standard to get about 90mm from the film plane to the lens plane and still lock it on the back rail. That's not enough for 1:1 (which I wouldn't use that lens for anyway) but it's enough to get most things closer in in focus, especially given the huge DOF of this lens, especially with front tilt.

Well, in that case, you're set as long as you don't tilt the circle of coverage off the camera's gate when you use front tilt. Since the standard has base tilt you'll have to refocus after tilting.

Front tilt on this camera was no problem (I had done it before) because there is enough room to slide the front standard over to avoid the rangefinder mechanism. Not so with my Baby Speed. No matter what I did, it was not practical to leave the standard reverse and close the body for transport. So, on that camera, reversing the standard will have be done for shooting and the returned to factory state to be able to close it back up.

Huh? Rangefinder mechanism? My 2x3 Pacemaker Graphics' Kalart rangefinders have a linkage that is spring-loaded against a stud that sticks out of the right rear of the inner sliding bed rail. The linkage doesn't connect to the front standard and I don't see how a reversed front standard could interfere with it. Please tell us more about which 2x3 Speed you have and how its RF works.

You said "slide the front standard over." Are you talking about shift? If so, yeah, more than a few mm when the standard is inside the bed struts is all that's possible. But then shift is limited by the struts. I don't see where the RF comes in.

 

[Dan Fromm]

Dan, it could be the lens I was using. Extracted from a TLR, possibly Ciroflex. Was hoping to get a circular image. I know a 90 Optar works fine so I might be extrapolating from a sill experiment. Mea culpa, if so.

The Anny's minimum extension is 65.1 mm, should be plenty for an 80 mm lens. How did you attach the lens to the board?

 

[chuckroast]

Well, in that case, you're set as long as you don't tilt the circle of coverage off the camera's gate when you use front tilt. Since the standard has base tilt you'll have to refocus after tilting.


Huh? Rangefinder mechanism? My 2x3 Pacemaker Graphics' Kalart rangefinders have a linkage that is spring-loaded against a stud that sticks out of the right rear of the inner sliding bed rail. The linkage doesn't connect to the front standard and I don't see how a reversed front standard could interfere with it. Please tell us more about which 2x3 Speed you have and how its RF works.

You said "slide the front standard over." Are you talking about shift? If so, yeah, more than a few mm when the standard is inside the bed struts is all that's possible. But then shift is limited by the struts. I don't see where the RF comes in.

The thing is, when you reverse the standard, the tilting mount (now reversed) has the long end pointing backwards which collides with that stud that rangefinder engages. In the Crown, I can shift the front standard over for storage to avoid this. But on the Baby Speed if I try to do this, I'll avoid the rangefinder stud but then end up jammed up against the left side (right side viewed from front) door hinge. The camera isn't quite wide enough to get away with this.