butterfly
4-Feb-2007, 05:56
Took my Ebony 45SU out in the field today for the first time. Miserable conditions and not much light, but a few thoughts and comments appreciated..
Ground glass - it's dim. Much dimmer and coarser than my old Arca monorail. Is there a brighter glass out there that would be better? I remember from my old SLR days you could buy a Beattie Intenscreen. Or is this something I will have to get used to? Maybe it was because the light was so low. Will have to check this out on a better day.
Lens board - it's not a really tight fit, and moves around when I change the lens settings. Side to side, not backwards and forwards. I don't expect it will affect focus, but I expected the Ebony board to be closer tolerance.
Polaroid - I took a couple of shots with type 55 with the intention of developing back home, so I followed the instructions for removing without developing, and it seems the metal clip, once inserted, does not clamp tight onto the film when you take it out for post processing. I ruined 3 pieces of film before realising. Any tips on this? I'm not sure if the ones I have here will be fogged or not. Will report back later.
I rated the polaroid at 40 ASA. Is this ok?
Front rise - getting it back dead level again after use. I can see a red dot on the standard and a small white dot on the board - lining these up - does this mean they are centred again.
Finally - I cannot figure out how to change the back for portrait orientation - sorry for sounding so thick! Any ideas?
Best wishes
Steve
Ground glass - it's dim. Much dimmer and coarser than my old Arca monorail. Is there a brighter glass out there that would be better? I remember from my old SLR days you could buy a Beattie Intenscreen. Or is this something I will have to get used to? Maybe it was because the light was so low. Will have to check this out on a better day.
Lens board - it's not a really tight fit, and moves around when I change the lens settings. Side to side, not backwards and forwards. I don't expect it will affect focus, but I expected the Ebony board to be closer tolerance.
Polaroid - I took a couple of shots with type 55 with the intention of developing back home, so I followed the instructions for removing without developing, and it seems the metal clip, once inserted, does not clamp tight onto the film when you take it out for post processing. I ruined 3 pieces of film before realising. Any tips on this? I'm not sure if the ones I have here will be fogged or not. Will report back later.
I rated the polaroid at 40 ASA. Is this ok?
Front rise - getting it back dead level again after use. I can see a red dot on the standard and a small white dot on the board - lining these up - does this mean they are centred again.
Finally - I cannot figure out how to change the back for portrait orientation - sorry for sounding so thick! Any ideas?
Best wishes
Steve