Large Format focussing help / hints / tips

[AshleyC]

ok i popped out around the harbour today with my 5x4 with a view to getting some shots in. I managed some landscapes fine in the week and hope to get them developed soon. But this particular view i couldnt get into focus properly at all. This was it, taken with my digi cam (and still not really in focus!)

Anyway, what i was doing was getting the distant houses on the hill focused by sliding the base forward / back. Then tilting the lens forward in order to try and bring the lamp into focus. But it just never happened, this technique worked fine for the landscapes earlier in the week. it took a couple of iterations of refocusing the distant stuff and re tilting the lens, but each time the movements became smaller till i got it.

Im not sure if it was to do with the lamp being the full height of the frame. In which case just how would you get sharp focus from front to back? All i did in the end was get both as sharp as i could and then stopped down a lot to hope for a bigger DoF which seems to defeat the point of being able to tilt things around.

 

[magicolor1]

Hmm that's a tricky one. Tilting the lens forward will allow you to get the foreground at the bottom into the plane of focus, but not the top of the lamp. If anything it will make it more difficult to get the top of the lamp into focus as you're angling the focal plane away from it. You could try tilting to the right which would pull the focal plane toward the whole lamp, but then you'd lose focus on both the left foreground and the right distance!
I think your only option is to use hyper focal distance and stop down.

 

[wickerman]

Have a look here http://www.largeformatphotography.info/how-to-focus.html
Specifically, under Procedure, point 1, third bullet point. I hope this helps.

 

[AshleyC]

Thanks peeps, the link is interesting reading. As mentioned , its saying i was onto a loser there no matter what so just stopping down was the only chance of getting it all in focus. Will just have to see what comes out of the developing tank at the weekend.

 

[retrogamer1990]

I think your only option is to use hyper focal distance and stop down.

if you want everything sharp: this.

try using this - they also have a phone app http://dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

 

[Nguss]

As mentioned above it is a tricky one considering the lamp being in frame. I think, as mentioned already focus, tilt and stop down.

 

[AshleyC]

well yeah but the point of tilting and shifting is so you can stay relatively wide open and still get even more in focus than with hyperfocal, and you dont lose detail due to defraction when stopped right down. But there's compositions that just require it i guess like this.