Using 4x5 to Nikon digital adapter

[juan]

I inherited a bunch of photo stuff. One is an adapter that fits a 4x5 graflock back and allows the attachment of a Nikon F mount digisnapper. How does one use this thing? Put the camera in manual, the large format lens on T, set the aperture on the lens, and shutter speed on the camera?

don’t ask why I’d want to do such a thing. You know you’d love to see a landscape shot on a modern digisnapper through a 100-year old Zeus Protar.

 

[reddesert]

I made an adapter like this, to do some examination of lenses and have some lens movements for tabletop setups. Use it by experimenting. You have both a lens shutter and a focal plane shutter, so obviously one or the other needs to be locked open for exposure, like on a Speed Graphic. You can also use lenses in barrel.

It's more limited than it might seem at first. The detector is small compared to LF, and spaced far behind the graflok back, and you can't use much in the way of rear movements because the adapter and camera mount will vignette the detector. But if you make one or get it for free, it can be useful for experiments.

 

[juan]

I did hook it all up and do one experiment. I opened the lens, used the lens f-stop and the camera for shutter and ISO. My adapter is made to slide - I assume to make two images to stitch together - but the lock is not very good and the weight of the camera causes it to slide. I need to tape it down so it won’t move. I had thought it might be good for checking focus, etc, in the way Polaroid was once used, but the digital sensor is far back from the film plane. I’ll keep experimenting.

 

[locutus]

I use such an adapter with a Panasonic S1 and a Cambo Ultima (all geared 5x4 monorail) for macro work requiring movements using 50/80/135 enlarger lenses and i find it extremely useful, the quality with the APO 50 and 80 is very good.

Front movements are all fine like this, but as noted rear tilts/swings are a problem not only due to vignetting but also due to the sensor being far behind the center of movement making it tedious to use.

Cambo now has a L mount conversion kit for the Ultima which puts the sensor in the correct place and the bellows attached directly to the camera's mount. But it's hundreds of euros and i'm not sure i want to plunge that deep for what's a hobby setup.

As for workflow, lens is always open, shutter is selected on camera (or rather, through the app on my phone connected over wifi). always view at working aperture and use live view, even at macro distances the image is bright that way.

This is something digital bodies have made infinitely easier.