Increasing depth of field (DOF)

Hyperfocal distance is not something that trips off the tongue in this modern age of auto focus. In fact digital camera lenses do not have the facility to take advantage of this compositional tool. You just have to compare today’s lens with yesterdays they don't have aperture settings and therefore you can not play with hyperfocal distance settings.

So what is Hyperfocal distance?

When a lens is set to infinity, the depth of field (D.O.F) closest to the camera is known as the Hyperfocal distance for that aperture. If you have an older lens its barrel will be marked with these distances.

How to change the Hyperfocal distance.

Set the lens focus to infinity, and then read the lower mark for whatever aperture you have set. If you then refocus the lens to the lower mark known as the optimum distance you will increase your depth of field by fifty per cent of the optimum.

For example:

This was made using a
 telephoto lens at close distance.
 The use of hyperfocal distance has
 pulled the area of sharp focus
to the front of the ball.

I have used an old 50mm Nikon lens (pictured) to show how it works. I have set the focus to infinity and the aperture to F16. The good thing about this lens is that it shows the upper and lower limits of each aperture with lines on the lens barrel. Looking to the right (marked A) you can see that the last line on the lens barrel is opposite the five meter mark (about fifteen feet). By resetting the focus to optimum in this case five (A). Then look at the lower limit (marked B) for F16, it is about two and a half meters (eight and half feet). The resetting will extend the overall sharpness of the picture by an extra two and a half meters which is 50 percent of the optimum.

The longer the lens the greater the increase is. For argument, an 80 mm lens with an aperture of F22 set, would have a depth of field from 2.8 meters all the way to infinity when optimum focus is used. Instead of 5.6 meters to infinity.

If  hyperfocal distance had been
used with this picture the
 front post would be sharp.
 

In some cases where you do not have aperture lines on the barrel of the lens some cameras and lenses have a shut down button. This allows you to see before you press the shutter where the hyperfocal distance ends. So you can adjust it if needs be.

Being able to increase the depth of field (D.O.F) can be very useful when using medium and long telephoto lenses for subjects close to the lens, allowing narrow fields of sharpness to be moved. This makes sure the front of the item is in focus.

The soviets answer to the panaramic camera.

I have a twitter feed, Photomi7ch, during the middle part of last year. I
started to see references in my feed to a camera call FT2. My first thought was
they were talking about Nikon's Nikkormat FT2 as it was the only camera I knew of by this designation but the tweets did not make sense. I had some
how missed part of the plot.

 It was a wired sensation to note that the internet search suggested what I
stated above. In among all the Nikon references was a single mention of a
Russian camera call the FT2 panoramic things were starting to make sense.

On further investigation there is a whole world of soviet cameras that I was not
aware of. Obviously I knew that the eastern block produced cameras but not
such a plethora, the most well known being Zenit, Zorky and Prakticar The
dismisive way people treat these cameras from the soviet era in general is
unfounded. They are well made in what could be called an agricultural way and
do the job simply in comparison to the finesse of western offerings. I think
we spend to much time comparing and not enough time using them to there
best. It is a hang up of an art form that requires tech to produce the art work.
Loosing sight of what is important. The photograph.

The FT2 was produced between 1958 and 65 producing 16,000 of them during
that time. They made two main models series 1 and 2 the difference between
them was a leaver on the base plate that allow you to adjust a spring that
calibrated the shutter speed.

 The FT2 is a swing lens panorama camera with a fixed length 50mm f/5
industar. The turret moves from right to left traversing the image across a
curved film plan. The shutter speeds are set by the positioning of two brake
leavers on the top of the body. This allows the lens to swing at 1/60,
1/100,1/200 and 1/400 of a second. These are set independently of the film
advance. Uses 35mm film set for use with 36 exposure canister's. This gives
the user twelve exposures of 110 mm long.

 

Now we know what the box does, what is it like? It has a substantial feel to it
weighing in at 643 grams empty. It is a flattened cube measuring approx
120mm long, 85mm wide and 50mm deep with a simple fold up view finder.
When you are looking down at the top of the camera in both hands it reminds
me of those wind up cine cameras . A definite feel of purpose when being used.

The camera has been sitting around for sometime waiting for me to come up
with a plan of action. It is not straight forward to use film wise. It comes with
four special film containers that you have to load with film. That cannot be
loaded from a bulk film loader. As the canisters have a different wind on
connection.

 

 

I decided to play it safe and unreel a loaded film. I say safe it was a very out
dated roll of Agfa APX 100. I came at it from the point of view that if I balls it
up completely it would not matter so much as if it had been fresh film stock. In
a blacked out darkroom I transferred the film into the FT2 film canister's. It

went surprisingly well including the loading of them into the camera still in
complete black out. By doing this you dont not loose a frame to daylight which
would suggest thriteen frames insead of tweleve.

With the camerachallenge fast approching I was ready to take part camera
check, black and white film check, topic season.
It was a birght early morning with the sun not that high off the top of the ridge
at south common with some wonderful mottle cloud against a blue sky. As
suggested I used the camera hand held, pointed it in the direction of scene I
wanted to capture and pressed the shutter button. In the blink of an eye the
lens had traversed a 120 degrees of view clonk I don't know what I was
expecting but was a little disapointed with the action.

It takes three and a half turns of the winder to pull the next frame into place. I
noticed straght away that it felt like the film was slipping, that maybe the spool
was not holding the film firmly enough? Now't I can do so carried on.

 
Before I new it the film was finished.

To the darkroom, it was a little bit of a struggle to relice the back from the
body of the camera. Apart from that the rest went smoothly. Three quaters of an hour later the wet film was hanging up drying.

 I had nine good looking negatives I think that maybe the three and a half turns
was to much and the slipping did not help. Next time I will allow for it. Under
the cercumstances it was a good result.

 I have always enjoyed the panoramic format of image making. It is more in
tune with the way we see the world but more detailed.

 

Techinal data:

Agfa APX 100 developed at box speed in HC110 for 6 mins 1+37. 

Pictures and article are the Copyright Mitch Fusco 2023 

 

 

 
 

 

Picture post, Personaly processed slide film.

 Developed using the Fuji Hunt chrome 6 kit.

 

 

These were scanned using a flat bed scanner.

All the slide film used is Fuji Provia, RMS 120

Cameras used Bronica SQAi 6x6 negatives, Zero Pinhole multi format 6x9, Praktica MTL3.

 

All images are the copyright of Mitch Fusco 2022

Zero double take project first results.

Zero 6x9 pinhole camera.

As I sit here reviewing the first batch of photographs from double take, the wind and the rain is still lashing the property - something it has been doing for the last twenty four hours. I'm pleased to be inside in front of a warm fire with Tabatino who is stretched out in front of it like a rug. 

Zero 6x9 pinhole camera.
 

The contact print shows that the second exposures are quite weak and will require dodging and burning to make their presence felt. With this in mind I  have been using half page test strips  so I can see how much more exposure is needed to bring out the weaker parts of the negative. This has given me a better overall idea of how much extra time the weaker parts of the picture need so I can get as close as possible to what the final print will look like. Having  chosen to use 6x6 negatives I find myself cropping them to a landscape frame size giving me more choice over which parts of the negative make the final composition and partly to get the best use out of the paper size. I'm using Silverprint's gloss proof paper mainly because I believe it has added something to the overall expression of the photographs.

Zero 6 x 9 pinhole camera.

The results of this first film have been a pleasant surprise in that most of the negatives have produced picture combinations that work well. Whether this is down to luck or the pre-planning in the picture combinations only time will tell. The day I took the pictures was a challenge in that it was windy with a broken cloud sky that was fast moving making metering each shot difficult. By the time I had worked out the shutter speed and opened it the scene in some cases had gone from bright sunshine to dull and overcast or vice versa. It just goes to show how forgiving film is when it comes to exposing it in rapidly changing light conditions over extended periods. These were printed at grade 3 and not my more common split procedure.

Technical data: 

Film 120 FP4+ set to 6 x 6 negative size, developed in PMK Pyro, Printed on silverproof paper, developed in Ilford warmtone developer.

Related posts:

Split grade printing.

Zero pinhole camera

Using Zero pinhole camera

Reciprocity

The start of double take.

Out for a stroll with the Zero

It is always a joy to be out with the Pinhole camera. But it must be a strange sight to behold as I walk up the street. A little brown box attached to what could be construed as a big black stick (tripod). On this occasion it was a lovely bright day with a biting cold wind; I had not appreciated just how cold it was until I had been standing about making the first image.

As I strolled around the local lakes I took warmth from the brilliant sunshine and the anticipation of some interesting image making. By the time I was half a dozen pictures in I had forgotten how cold I was. I think the cold must have gotten to me as I could not remember what the reciprocity factor should be. Times 2 up five seconds and times 5 from then on. Dam and I had left my note book behind with the reminders in. Oh well I'm not going back.

from T max negative

This walk is turning to a bit of a jokers holiday which had started before I had even left the house. My Zero is a multi format camera Just before I loaded the film I checked to see where the dividers were and in my mind it was set to 6x6 I loaded the film and used the centre red window to view the frame count. I should explain there are three for the different sizes of negative. Later that day I had the chance to develop the film only to find it was set to 6 x 4.5 – ehh! Fortunately the second film was only part way through so rectified it by using the top window for the next days images.

The wind was that strong it was producing lots of fine ripples across the water. I was not quit sure how this would look in the final images not having made many photos of water with this camera. It just go's to show how cold it was, on the eastern side of the lake I found a lot of glass thick ice being smashed up on the shore. This brought back how cold I was feeling. Time to get back, to a home made slow cooked beef Currie that should be bubbling away by now.

Contact print at 2 seconds
the print is
also showing signs
of exhausted fix. 

Just before I left the house the following day I filled my pocket with a mix of film from different manufacturers; I do not usually do this but so what! it was an off the cuff decision to go out picture making so why not mix it up completely! The previous day I had already loaded Kodak's T Max 400 which I thought might be a bit of a gamble seeing how bright it was, just as well I did, as I messed up the exposure completely. On subsequent trips I loaded Ilford's delta 100 and Fomapan 100 which is my fav film for the Zero. The others were first time use and this time I got the exposure right.

How badly the T Max was exposed showed it self when I contact printed the negatives. I had to re do it at 5 sec's instead of my usual 2, enlarging lens fully open with white light (with no grade filters set). The negatives when looked at showed full detail. The contact print indicated that the enlargement were going to need long exposures and a lot of dodging to get them the way I wanted.

From Fomapan 100 negative

I have developed all my negatives in Adox version of Rodinal. I use 1+50 for the time required. I have to keep reminding myself that this developer has a high acutance and therefore a lot more contrast. In some cases overly so. I had in mind to use Kentmere RC gloss but changed to Footspeed's RC gloss that has a more normal look. If I had kept to the original route they would have had super contrast. As it was, I had to drop the filtration for printing down to 0 from my normal grade 3 . With the contrast sorted it was time for the exposures. With the segmented test print in the holding tray the fun really started. As an example one print had a base exposure of twenty seconds but then needed an extra 40 seconds on top of that for the sky and some of the lake. Others longer.

From Ilford delta 100 negative.

I had a good time in the darkroom even though the printing sessions were challenging the prints came out a lot better than expected. They have a lot of atmosphere to them that I'm really pleased about. Some of the photographs show that there is ice on the lake in places. I was not sure if that would show up but it has in a couple of the images.

Welcome to the new Year.

What a great start to the New Year for some with all that snow turning the landscape into a photographs paradise! Unfortunately, this part of the country is in the middle of a monsoon, in fact we have had that much rain I'm surprised we have not floated off into the North sea! Dull, dark and uninspiring, I am pleased to have a darkroom when the weather is like this.

A bit late I know, Welcome New Year! I had told some of my regulars that I would be posting a number of articles over the Christmas period. It did not happen and you have my apologies. December was so busy and passed by so quickly I feel I have lost a month from last year.

In case you did not know, this blog has always been a collaboration - so I need to say a big thank you to the editor for keeping it legible and concise. With that in mind we are looking for contributors and it does not matter if you blog or not. Maybe you have had an inkling to blog but do not want the hassle of doing the whole thing yourself or you would like to try it out before you get stuck in. Needless to say it should be photograph related. If you would like to contribute your thoughts and pictures please do. We have no set length, a few hundred words will do but definitely no more than a 1000. You will get full credit and links to your web site, blog if you have them.

 As you will have noticed I have refreshed the header for the new year. Something that has become a bit of a tradition. We may refresh the whole site in line with our mobile offering. Along with other subtle changes when we get the time.

I am not one for New Years resolutions it is just something I don't do. But I am going to try and use my Multi format pinhole camera even more than last year now that I have found a film, developer combination that gives the images a certain style that I like. I'm just not sure which of the 120 format family to use or what paper to print them on. I have some ideas as to what I will make pictures of and already know some of them will be double exposures whether I like it or not.

All I need to do now is thank you all for reading the articles from the year just passed and wish you all the best for the Year ahead. Keep well and creative.

Accompanying images:

Were all made using 35 mm Kodak  gold colour negative. A number of different cameras were used I know one of them was a Nikon FM. Locations of the images are not remembered apart from the first one which is Yosemite valley looking towards the falls.

Spiraling trouble?

Putting this lot back together was fun.

Y eh! right, there is no way I'm going to start separating a plastic spiral once the film had been processed. I was of that mind set until I started to use medium format film. In the old days I would gently unpick the 35mm film from the spool unwinding it slowly so as not to damage it. Then I was confronted with having to reset the spiral so it would take 120 film and because this film has a larger surface it is very easy to damage as I have found out.

Looking back I have to say what was all the fuss about. I think it is a lot to do with the unknown. If I take it apart will I ever get it back together? I will, just takes a bit of time. In my case the first time was easy I just gripped both sides of the spiral and twisted till it went click. Then gently pulled it apart until it reached the top slot and twisted it back the other way. Done! There that was not so bad. Huh! Not quite as clever as you thought, when it came to doing it again! I couldn't get it to go back together again no matter what I tried. It took ages to get those slots to meet up the right way and then they were backwards. Just before exasperation set in I put them down. Made a cup of tea and chilled. What makes it more maddening is when I went back to the spiral it went straight together with out a hitch.

Now a days it is second nature, don't be fooled it does not always go right first time.

Scanning Photographs

Before adjustments in  Photoshop

Using a scanner for photographs is slowly becoming a thing of the past. I say a thing of the past but what I really mean is that you no longer need to use a flat bed scanner to reproduce your photographs to share with people digitally. You can if you wish use your smart phone or digital camera to reproduce the pictures you make.

As some of you know, most of the black and white images I share with you on this blog are scanned from photographs. Over the years I have developed a simple method for getting the best from my scanned prints and negatives. I like to keep things straightforward when it comes to digitizing prints. There is no point in doing a lot of work in Photoshop when I have already done it in the darkroom.

Levels adjustment.

Hus and saturation adjustment.

I use a very old flat bed Epsom scanner. I open the software on the computer and a window comes up with a number of pre-sets on it. In most cases I scan at original size, that's because my photographs are A4 and larger. This is done at three hundred DPI. I usually end up with a file size of about twenty four megabytes and under four thousand pixels on the longest side which is more than enough for screen display. The unsharp mask is set to medium. I always scan in colour even for monochrome and save the files as tiffs. Dust removal is set to zero, I have found it better to use a very slightly damp cloth wiped over the scanning window a few minutes before use to remove any bits. Far better than letting the software do it.

After all the adjustments have been added

Once on the computer I open the file in Photoshop. I check the picture at one to one for blind pixels, specks, process faults and dust etc, that have transferred from the darkroom process. The scanner tends to flatten the contrast of my images so I adjust the contrast to replicate that of the photograph in a levels mask. Once done I open hue and saturation mask to adjust the tone of the picture. If you use toned papers and developers the scanner under represent these as well hence the adjustment. Once done I flatten the layers and re-size it for web use.

I know what you are thinking that's a lot of work just to share a picture. If you think it is a good picture it's worth the work. It is a lot less work than some digital photographers do, who can use some forty or fifty layers to get the picture right.

Taken with a camera

I have included a picture from my phone and digital camera for comparison. Both pictures have been checked in Photoshop. Adjustments? Levels a slight tweak but no where near as much as the scanned photograph. The thing to watch for are reflections especially with gloss paper. If you look carefully you will notice some but not enough to detract from the picture.

A phone or a digital camera is a good way round not having a scanner for sharing images of photographs. These methods will not completely replace the consistent quality of a good scanner but will allow you to share you analogue work if you are on a tight budget.

taken with a smart phone.

 

Images for sale.