I’m thinking about movements because my beloved Hasselblad Flexbody just got jammed in the ‘Open’ position and I had to send it off to Hasselblad service in New Jersey. The Flexbody was only manufactured for 8 years until 2003.
From the first time I looked through the ground glass of a large format camera, I was hooked. That was over 15 years ago and started my love affair with high resolution cameras and especially cameras that moved. I don’t mean the cameras changed locations, I mean the lens or the film plane, or both, can move. They can go back and forward (tilt), side to side, (swing) or up and down, (rise/fall) or all three.
What’s the point you might ask? I won’t go into the technical bits, but maybe you want to take a shot of a bouquet of flowers, and you want all the flowers (not just the ones in front) to be in focus. No problem. Or you’re shooting a three quarter view of a car and you want the front bumper and the back tire to be in focus. No problem. Or you’re shooting upwards at a building or some trees and you want them to be straight, not converging. No problem.
Of course one way to keep everything in focus is to use focus stacking and then put the shots together in Photoshop. But really, that isn't much fun. Thank you Theodor Scheimpflug who developed the fun way to do it 100 years ago. I’m not shy about it, I just love to Scheimpflug and I'm not the only one. There are lots of large format photographers and there seems to be a resurgence of interest in cameras with movements within the last year or so. New cameras are being released that can use the Scheimpflug principle. One example is the new Cambo Actus, a small, lightweight camera that uses a mirrorless camera body as a digital back/viewfinder. It can also use a variety of legacy lenses. It's a miniature view camera.
I still use my 4x5 view camera, but the camera I use most is the Hasselblad Flexbody because it is also a mini view camera. It's small and light, and can also do digital. It has movements, not too many and only on the back, but they’re the ones that I use most; tilt and shift. It takes my Hasselblad ‘V’ lenses, viewfinders, and backs, etc. So it can shoot film but will also accept my digital back. Unfortunately, a sliding back won't fit so you need to remove the viewfinder and put on the back before and after shooting. On the positive side, if you're going to use digital with movements you need precision geared movements and the Flexbody has that.
A view camera is a very, very manual camera. So is the Flexbody. No batteries. Essentially it’s really a small box with openings on each end and a flexible bit in the middle. That's it. When you're starting out It can be helpful to use a check list until you memorize the sequence of events. Taking a photograph goes like this. Start by attaching the small ground glass and a viewfinder on the back. Turn the winding knob on top to OPEN to open and cock the lens. Focus by adjusting the lens and tilting and raising or lowering the back ever so precisely (I am shortening this step for brevity). Use your favorite light meter (mine’s a Pentax spot meter) and set the exposure. Check your focus and lock everything down so it won't move and go out of focus. Then remove the ground glass and viewfinder. Attach the digital back being very careful not to drop it. Attach a ‘wake-up’ cable from the digital back to the lens (Hasselblad lenses each have their own leaf shutters). Use the cable release to trip the winder to CLOSED, then turn on the digital back. Push the small button on the wake-up cable. Hurry up and use the cable release to trip the shutter within 5 seconds. That’s all there is to it. Re-attach the ground glass (don’t drop the digital back), zero all the movements and start again.
So, the Flexbody is not a point and shoot camera, but compared to a large format film camera it's a piece of cake to set up and get a good shot. When I was starting out with my 4x5, I shot 3 or 4 blank exposures before I remembered to close the lens before pulling out the dark slide.
Yes, view cameras can be a PITA and they certainly aren't for everyone, but they can make beautiful images , and the photographer is genuinely in the moment when composing and shooting. And if you’re in a forest the trees will remain straight. I hope Hasselblad gets my Flexbody back to good health and on my tripod again soon.
