Shooting Architecture, Film & Digital, with One System

[Bill_Evans]

So is this realistically possible? I‘d love to know if anyone is currently doing this and what system they shoot.

Currently my digital solution is a Canon R5 with a bevy of TS-E lenses and my film system is a Hasselblad Arcbody and 903 SWC.

At some point I’d love to simplify to a single system. Crazy, I know.

ps.. Obviously shift is important...

 

[drevil]

The obvious answer would be a tech camera, cambo, alpa etc, then get a digital back and film backs, problem solved
Maybe there are also adapters to use a Canon R camera on those tech cameras

 

[wallpaperviking]

Arca Swiss Universalis does this right?

 

[anyone]

Linhof Techno works this way.

What stops you from using what you have also digitally with e.g. a CFV back? The 903 SWC will work well that way (at least my SWC/M does with the IQ160), the Arcbody (I’m envious!) might require slight modification. Whether or not the lenses are up to the task I don’t know.

Edit: also a Linhof M679 is a rock solid option, but probably too heavy for on location work.

 

[guphotography]

I attempted that myself with arca swiss universalis with mixed results, but found it lacked precision when stitching. Also you cannot rotate the N standard film back adapter holder to portrait orientation on universalis, the solution is to get a rotamount or go with m two, which I recently acquired mainly for shooting 6x7, it will also work much better with digital back.

My go to camera is rm3di, primarily use it with digital back, haven't tried it with film yet, but will do soon.

Depending how much film / digital you work with and if you prefer view camera or tech cam, either rm3di or m two should be a good platform for both medium.

Of course, there is aforementioned linhof techno.

 

[rdeloe]

I attempted that myself with arca swiss universalis with mixed results, but found it lacked precision when stitching.

Given that I just bought an F-Universalis for GFX with the Rotafoot, I am not liking the sound of that!

Can you tell me more about why you think the Universalis lacks precision when stitching. I bought this unit because it's supposed to be precise.

 

[Boinger]

Linhof Techno would be my vote.

 

[mristuccia]

If you don't need tilt, I think that one of the best solutions is something like a lightweight Cambo WRS with a Hasselblad V back-adapter and a Canon TS-E lens adapter.
Keep in mind that the image circle of the TS-E lenses won't have a lot of room for shifting and covering the 55x55mm area of an Hasselblad film back though. If you'll need more room, then you could then move to Schneider/Rodenstock lenses, but mind you, this can cost a lot.

 

[guphotography]

Given that I just bought an F-Universalis for GFX with the Rotafoot, I am not liking the sound of that!

Can you tell me more about why you think the Universalis lacks precision when stitching. I bought this unit because it's supposed to be precise.

Well, I noticed on mine that front and rear function carriers had some play, resulted in them not 100% parallel, so when I shift left to right, refocus was needed. It became a pain in the backside when I'm on a job, so much time was spent on making sure focus was spot on.

It would be fine if you tend to work with single frame capture, or at least test thoroughly make sure your camera is good enough.

Having said that, it is better than cambo actus, way too much play on cambo in comparison.

If I ever want to shoot digital on view camera, I would go with arca m two instead.

 

[SylB]

Well, I would propose Hasselblad H with HTS. If using a H6D, you have T+S with all lenses except the 120 macro when using the HTS system, and you can switch digital back with film back if you find one. You can do that with some older H bodies, but I'm not sure which ones so I won't write anything to avoid mistakes.

 

[rdeloe]

Well, I noticed on mine that front and rear function carriers had some play, resulted in them not 100% parallel, so when I shift left to right, refocus was needed. It became a pain in the backside when I'm on a job, so much time was spent on making sure focus was spot on.

It would be fine if you tend to work with single frame capture, or at least test thoroughly make sure your camera is good enough.

Having said that, it is better than cambo actus, way too much play on cambo in comparison.

If I ever want to shoot digital on view camera, I would go with arca m two instead.

Argh. I hope mine doesn't have the play. I do mostly shoot single frame captures, but it would be a pain to not have the ability to flat stitch, for example.

Anyway, thanks for the tip. We'll see when mine shows up in a few weeks.

 

[mkphotomedia]

A vintage Cambo Wide DS can do this; you'd be hitting the B&S section here and eBay for the camera, lenses, and appropriate backplates. Get a backplate that will take an H/V/Phase-mounted Phase back, and find a groundglass+Graflok back with a MF film holder on it. The lenses are the same as on the (newer) Wide RS and, nominally, the Phase XT.

All that said: depending on what lenses you have on your ArcBody, putting an older Phase back on your ArcBody could be a possibility. since there are some perfectly good Hasselblad V (your ArcBody takes V accessories, right? Been at least 15 years since I've seen one IRL...) used older Phase backs around. The Capture Integration crew could probably give you a better idea as to possibilities with this.

The problems you'd run into with that and your TS-E lenses is that a) you need a back with an electronic shutter, which means an IQ3 or IQ4, which there might not be one of in a mount that will fit the ArcBody, and b) the ArcBody lens mount is unique, so you'd probably have to custom-fab yourself a mount to get from that to Canon at the appropriate space. If you do with a Cambo rig, Cambo makes a perfectly good Canon to Cambo lens adapter that I end up using semi-frequently with my TS-E lenses and reviewed in a past issue of MF.

 

[anyone]

A vintage Cambo Wide DS can do this; you'd be hitting the B&S section here and eBay for the camera, lenses, and appropriate backplates. Get a backplate that will take an H/V/Phase-mounted Phase back, and find a groundglass+Graflok back with a MF film holder on it. The lenses are the same as on the (newer) Wide RS and, nominally, the Phase XT.

All that said: depending on what lenses you have on your ArcBody, putting an older Phase back on your ArcBody could be a possibility. since there are some perfectly good Hasselblad V (your ArcBody takes V accessories, right? Been at least 15 years since I've seen one IRL...) used older Phase backs around. The Capture Integration crew could probably give you a better idea as to possibilities with this.

The tradeoff with the Cambo WDS is size. Since it was designed to take 4x5”, the frame is very large for digital use. The second tradeoff is with lenses. They changed the flange distance between film and digital. So if you go the route with the 4x5” ground glass, you will need different lenses! There was also one film adapter made for the right (digital) flange distance. It’s rare and expensive.

The other route using the ArcBody was what I pointed out earlier above. It might be (at least for you, since you own the ArcBody already!) the cheapest way to go.

 

[Cambo]

The Cambo WDS came in two guises. Initially it was a 4x5 tech cam for use with wide angle lenses. Every lens came with its own rear spacer to set the right flange-to-film-plane. A later version was added to accept digital backs. That camera is the predecessor of the current Cambo WRS. The Digitar and Digaron lenses supplied for it can be used on the current cameras as well.

The older 4x5 WDS and its lens system can be used with digital backs. We've got Graflock style plates for Hasselblad-V, -H and Phase One/Mamiya interfaces that simply take the place of the ground glass. Your sensor will be in the same plane as the film used to be. An example (on a much older Wide) shown in this blog.

The set-up mentioned above is not going to work with the topic starter's Canon R. A platform that could handle it all (mirrorless camera body, digital back and film) is the Actus-G. Although it won't go as far as 4x5, it does accept an adapter for Mamiya RB film cassettes.

Richard

 

[observedlight]

So in-conclusion, the solutions would be either Actus-G or the Arca Swiss M-Two?

I'm also looking to accomplish this (having a modular system of film + dlsr/gfx). OP - did you persue this setup further?

 

[P. Chong]

I will be attempting to do this with my Sinar X and GFX. I will be ordering the adapter soon…but for now they live in two different universes - the Sinar for 4x5 and GFX for macro and all else.

though I must say that the Alpa 12 STC does digital very well, and there is the ability to attach a 6x7 back. Plus it can also attach an adapter for tilt.

 

[rdeloe]

So in-conclusion, the solutions would be either Actus-G or the Arca Swiss M-Two?

I'm also looking to accomplish this (having a modular system of film + dlsr/gfx). OP - did you persue this setup further?

The Arca-Swiss F-Universalis is also modular and would let you use a GFX (ideally with a Rotafoot) and film with a separate rear standard and bellows.

 

[AndyPtak]

Here's one from left field. Fuji GX680III. It has tilt, swing and shift (with the right adapter) and takes film and digital backs. Great quality and quite cheap these days. Of course, there's the weight issue. It's a beast.

 

[Bill_Evans]

So in-conclusion, the solutions would be either Actus-G or the Arca Swiss M-Two?

I'm also looking to accomplish this (having a modular system of film + dlsr/gfx). OP - did you persue this setup further?

Real work has seemly interrupted my thinking of a future "perfect" film digital architectural system. The challenge I've run across while researching, and in some cased trying, alternative options is that they are more complicated or cumbersome than having two separate systems. I think my "perfect" system would be an Arcbody that played well with a digital back.

I've tried the Canon TS-E lenses on my X1D but that's not where I hope to be at some point. My Canon gear is entirely a tool set for work and provides great results but little joy.

Joy, versatility and quality, a tough combo to find.

 

[Paul Spinnler]

The Arca universe is very well conceived for analog / digital. Remember that you can buy an R lens adapter for the F metric which is their top of the line field analogue camera which can do 6x9 to 8x10 with everything in between. You can also on top of that buy a rotamount so you can directly mount a digital back onto the F metric. For ultimate precision with digital you use the R camera where you can switch the backs too from digital to analogue or even use the rotaslide to do digital and analogue one after the other ... and if you are not so fussed about stitching you mount the lenses on the F metric via adapter and then you have all movements on top.

I must say that I never had issues with parallel standards with the f metric, analogue lenses and a digi back.

On my F metric I just use all the analogue lenses with the digiback; you could, as mentioned, also use R lenses on it via adapter which is kind of cool.

Alpa IMHO is better designed for pure digital, although you can shoot 6x9 with it too. It is juat a notch more refined and differentiated with special bodies like the TC which can be a sort of street camera and the Pano which is super fast for stitching, etc.

So my vote to your question is Arca, definitely, as you seek analogue features and affinity for architecture (e.g. micrometric movements, relatively high precision, etc.). Arca allows you to do everything that is possible in digital in film too.