Large Format style movements on a Nikon DSLR body? yes we can!

Frankenstein’s Monster in all its glory

Here’s a project that I have been working on for the last couple of years. My idea is to use a Fuji GX680 camera body, to take Mamiya 645 lenses, and a Nikon DSLR body. Why all the contraption? Well, back in the nineties Fuji made the GX680 medium format studio camera – this was the only 6×8 rollfilm SLR with camera movements, just like a large format camera. While in theory it is possible to mount a 645 format digital back on a GX680, I thought to myself ‘why not slap one of my existing Nikons on’ – just a proof of concept really.

So hacksaw in hand, I removed the camera body in its entirety. Just the front standard, twin rails, and wideangle bellows remain. The idea is to mount a Mamiya 645 lens in a custom lens board, into the front standard. The reason for the 645 lens? It’s totally mechanical, and will cover a 35mm sensor even with lens movements applied. The front standard offers lateral shift, rise and fall, tilt and swing. Some of these movements may not be as useful as one might think, because unlike a large format 4×5 camera, the film plane (or sensor, in a DSLR) can’t easily be made to mirror the position of the front standard…..but I can experiment, and that’s the real reason for building this monster.

So I’ve got the basics, and just need to source a custom lens board (the lens will be mounted in a Mamiya 645 extension ring, set into the board). And some means of attaching a Nikon to the rear of the bellows. I’ve got an old BR2 reversing ring, which will mount to the body just fine. In my gleeful ignorance, when removing the camera body, I did overlook the need to have the body mounted securely to the frame, but I think this is not too difficult to overcome.

All the Fuji and Mamiya parts were sourced from Fujiya Camera in Nakano. Can’t recommend this place highly enough. I’ve been shopping here for the last 16 years or so, and have seen a few changes (expansion). They now have 3 separate buildings, all within a couple of minutes’ walk. One store for used (and some new) cameras, lenses, and bags. The ‘Junk Store’ opposite – crammed with used accessories, and hundreds of ‘junk’ cameras and lenses. And now they have another store filled with tripods, and studio lighting gear. Most of the graded items have a 6 month warranty, and in all this time I’ve only needed to call on that warranty once. And that lens was back in my hands in under a week, and with a new 6 month warranty! Now that is service!

If you are ever in Tokyo, I highly recommend a visit to Fujiya in Nakano. I’ve seen buyers from KEH in there; every morning there is a queue of twenty to thirty dealers waiting for an hour, to snap up the bargains. But you can still source some fantastic deals. Bought my old Lowepro Trekker there a long time ago – three thousand yen – a bag that at the time retailed around ¥15000. So, happy days.

Just Act Polite And Nod

Look, it’s really very simple – there is no ‘maybe’…

 

Ended up shooting these in available light; started off with a softlighter directly overhead on a boom, and slave flash behind. Tried a variety of backgrounds, all of which desparately need ironing – job opportunity if you want it? Finally settled on this hard disk case, which has a nice glossy surface with sandblasted lines. I have fairly good daylight in the studio though 8am in the winter it’s a little on the scarce side. 1/6th second at F4 on a 105 with PK-13 extension ring.

Happy Birthday, Cliff! and, more haste, less speed.

Today I won’t be blogging about Valentine’s Day, or Whitney Houston, although I will be recalling and honouring another great musical talent, taken too soon, in the greatest tradition of rock & roll.

Happy 50th birthday, Mr. Cliff Burton! Okay, I missed the date by 4 days. That doesn’t stop me celebrating your life, or your works though. You were the ‘quiet one’ in a world of noise. When the other guys in the band were goofing off at presscalls you were diligently tuning your guitars.

I was covering the Monsters of Rock Festival for All Action that year, and had a proper photo pass. Shot a few ‘interesting’ backstage pix, some from the photo pit (an area between the front of the 80,000 strong crowd, and the stage). Here’s Cliff having the time of his life; the bottles in the foreground are traditional gifts from fans, bestowed upon their heroes from long range (thrown from the crowd). Eg Def Leppard ‘bottled off’ at Reading Festival a couple of years previous – ie retreated under a hail of bottles.

As always, I had considered film developing a bit of a chore, and used to up the development temperature, to save time. Of course the risk of ‘reticulation’ ie cracking of the film base, was always present – as seen here. After removing the developer I flooded the developing tank with stop bath (which inhibits the action of the film developer)……it’s supposed to be around the same temperature as the developer but………you can guess the rest! On this small scan you might be able to make out the random cracks. Fortunately the colour transparencies which I shot for the agency were processed properly!

And the moral of this story is – it’s perfectly okay to make mistakes. Just learn from them!

Taxi!

On Route 20 west out of Tokyo, a busy four lane highway, with a further 6 lanes expressway some 30 feet above. Pedestrian bridges are common at large intersections, so it makes sense to use them to get a cleaner image. Keep it simple, stupid. By shooting from overhead we can eliminate the distractions of a typical urban background. I’ve been in the habit for a while now, of going out with just one body and one prime lens. It seems to focus the mind more. This one was shot with my elderly D1x, and the 35mm F1.4 lens, albeit stopped all the way down. You can can really only make this picture at a certain time of day; when taxis starting lighting up, but while there is still ambient light.

Start them young

I was given my first camera around the age of ten; it was a very basic point and shoot made by Kodak. So it would be natural for me to want my kids to have cameras as well. I have twin boys aged 7 – one of them I know definitely has an ‘eye’ – on the occasions that he has picked up one of my dslr cameras, there’s always been something interesting or usable in his pictures – even down to getting the horizon dead level in a landscape – something a few of us struggle with, right? 😉

His brother, to  be fair, has never shown much interest in art or academia – he’s far more interested in soccer or Pokemon. But I gave them both the chance.  I started this little venture last year. On their seventh birthday, they both received  Kenko KF1n camera bodies, with 55mm F3.5 MicroNikkor lenses. These camera are film cameras: I had the idea that they should be able to enjoy the mechanical side of photography – what small boy doesn’t enjoy mechanics in motion? My good intentions however, were largely cast aside. They already knew that digital cameras existed. They were disappointed that they couldn’t see the pictures now. We lost the impetus, especially when Daddy forgot to take the films to be developed week after week. And there were mechanical issues too; the bodies both had manual film advance, too much of a struggle for small hands. However both boys learned to hold a camera, and got a rudimentary idea of focusing. A week or so ago, a friend of mine offered his old DSLR to any deserving cause – what was more deserving than my two boys?

Both boys are now kitted out with Nikon D70 bodies (I had one that had been ‘retired’ after arrival of the D1x), and the MicroNikkor lenses that came with their film camera bodies – part of my reason for using Nikon. These cameras unfortunately don’t meter with manual focus lenses, so Daddy needs to set the exposure on each body. But the kids are now quite competent at focusing accurately, with these old manual focus lenses. Rex is the ‘artistic’ one, the one who six months ago had expressed a desire to take photos of wildlife (round here that means beetles, birds, flowers and turtles) – hence my choice of Micro Nikkor lenses. His brother Nash has actually dived in headfirst. Much to my amazement. Maybe it’s emulating his peers, but he has been shooting like crazy this past week.

The pictures they take, good or not, give me an extra insight into their minds. What really matters. When the questions come, I’ll be ready for them. But for now we’re just enjoying the ride. Here’s Nash’s first picture  (top). This is a wall in our living room that my wife has decorated with a few framed snaps. Rex has perhaps a better handle on the focusing, and here’s his portrait of one of our neighbours (bottom).