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LCC plate question...

tjv

Active member
Hi all,

I haven't posted in a while, so happy new year to everyone!

A quick (or maybe not) question about LCC plates / cards for use with a technical camera.

A while back I dropped my official Mamiya Leaf LCC plate into a river while on a job and have since been using a piece of white / opal plastic that is between 2mm and 3mm thick. After about a year of use I haven't noticed any difference in outcome of using a different plate, at least until until now...

Yesterday I shot a multi shot landscape (A 360 degree panorama, intending for each shot to be kept as an independant image,) panning the camera and keeping exactly the same focus and movements and exposure settings, then shot one LCC to apply to all. The scene was relatively dark in the foreground and with bright overcast sky in the top third of the frame. Some frames had more or less shadows in the foreground / sky at the top. After I applied the LCC file to all, on shots with more sky I noticed some of them had a quite pronounced colour cast in the top of the frame (It was an overcast day.) Toggling LCC colour cast correction on and off, it seemed on those shots (and maybe the other shots too,) the LCC-uncorrected images looked better; the green of the plant life was more vibrant and, more obviously, the sky was more neutral. This got me thinking...

I'm wondering if the LCC plate I've been using is too thin / transmits too much of the scene through it? When analysing the LCC shot in C1, upping the saturation to +100 etc, I can't see any trace of the "image", but maybe I'm missing something?

Anyone else able to chime in with experience here?

PS: I'm using a Credo 60 back and the lens I was using was an RS 55mm APO-SD.

Thanks!
 

rga

Member
With your system, why not spring for a new LCC plate? You can compare the two if you want to see if there is a difference in the results (another venue obviously).
Given the apparent relative cost of your system, the cost of a new plate is pretty small.
There were threads about this earlier in the life of GetDPI which had alternate solutions that you could search for too.
Best,
Bob

Hi all,

I haven't posted in a while, so happy new year to everyone!

A quick (or maybe not) question about LCC plates / cards for use with a technical camera.

A while back I dropped my official Mamiya Leaf LCC plate into a river while on a job and have since been using a piece of white / opal plastic that is between 2mm and 3mm thick. After about a year of use I haven't noticed any difference in outcome of using a different plate, at least until until now...

Yesterday I shot a multi shot landscape (A 360 degree panorama, intending for each shot to be kept as an independant image,) panning the camera and keeping exactly the same focus and movements and exposure settings, then shot one LCC to apply to all. The scene was relatively dark in the foreground and with bright overcast sky in the top third of the frame. Some frames had more or less shadows in the foreground / sky at the top. After I applied the LCC file to all, on shots with more sky I noticed some of them had a quite pronounced colour cast in the top of the frame (It was an overcast day.) Toggling LCC colour cast correction on and off, it seemed on those shots (and maybe the other shots too,) the LCC-uncorrected images looked better; the green of the plant life was more vibrant and, more obviously, the sky was more neutral. This got me thinking...

I'm wondering if the LCC plate I've been using is too thin / transmits too much of the scene through it? When analysing the LCC shot in C1, upping the saturation to +100 etc, I can't see any trace of the "image", but maybe I'm missing something?

Anyone else able to chime in with experience here?

PS: I'm using a Credo 60 back and the lens I was using was an RS 55mm APO-SD.

Thanks!
 

tjv

Active member
Thanks.

That is what I've done, although also undertaken some tests by cutting plates of different thicknesses from opal acrylic sheets, 3mm, 3.5mm, 4mm and 4.5mm. Initial tests indicate that there is no detectable difference unless there is a strong light source in the frame, then the thicker plates work best as the light is more diffuse. The plate I have been using tested fine, but for safety of performance under a range of light conditions, I'd prefer to use the thicker ones.

In the meantime, I also got a friend to cut some rings on his CNC machine that I've carefully glued to the plates. The rings are the size of my Lee Universal Hood adaptor rings, so I can now use the LCC plates as lens caps, and not need hold them over the lens for an age when doing longer LCC exposures in dim light.

In terms of the replacement plate I ordered, I'm sure it'll be no better than what I've made myself, but it'll be good to compare.
 

Jamgolf

Member
White Translucent 55% Acrylic Sheet in 1/8 inch thickness does the job.
If the LCC plate you are using is thinner or more transparent, it could explain the observed behavior.
 
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