(Click on an image to see an enlarged version)
The first test with the technical camera mounted DSLR turned out better than I expected so I was looking forward to the next two “tests” of the system. Since for the first test (simple swings shooting some palm fronds in my backyard) I had shot the same subject I thought it appropriate to shoot the same subject for the other two tests.
The second test with the Ultima was the architecture shot and I planned on keeping that sequence, but it was raining so I decided to go ahead and do the still life shot next. Of course just after getting it more or less ready… the sun came out. Oh well, I’ll get the architecture shot in a day or two.
I knew I would never be able to precisely recreate the last test (with the revolutionary war period items) and in any case, the goal was to test some complex movements. I still have stuff from the days in the saddle so tossed together a little ad hoc set up with a work boot with its spur on, some rope, a knife, and a hat. Here is a shot of the camera in front of the set up. Again to maintain a consistency for the tests I mounted the 5D to it and not the 1Ds MkII. I also put the camera roughly in the same place as the set up with the Ultima, using sunlight and reflector fill for lighting to at least keep that consistent.
This overview shows the still life set up and camera position for this test. It is the same location I used for the still life test of the Cambo Ultima but has different items.
As you can see, once again there was the need for a compound movement. The horizontal plane of desired focus ran from the middle of the silver hatband to the rowel on the spur. The vertical plane of desired focus ran from the top of the rope in the foreground to the back of the hatband as it went out of sight around the hat. Here is a shot of the front of the Wista with the movements dialed in. It required a forward tilt and a very slight swing. There is also a slight rearward tilt to the back but it does not show well from the angle of this shot.
Shot showing front standard movements for the still life with both swing and tilt.
As with the shot of the palm frond, I took 5 overlapping frames and let Photoshop’s “photomerge” function assemble them for me since it is the next best thing to automatic. Here is the shot as it came out of the camera and was first assembled.
Un-Edited stitch from Photoshop’s Photo-Merge with the ineven border straightened and white cropped off.
After a little judicious cropping, a slight curves adjustment, a little burning and dodging, a few touches to bring the rich color of the old leather out, and some clean up of dust spots (real dust on the objects) here is a finished shot. Remember, you can click on this image to enlarge it.
Cropped and edited still life test for Wista/DSLR combo.
This, like the palm frond, was shot with the Linhof Select Schneider 135 mm lens. It appears to be sufficiently sharp. The file size after cropping was 204 megabytes.
Well, so far so good. I’m getting more comfortable with the system and now am anxious to do the architecture shot. Since the still life subject is different than the set up for the Cambo Ultima, I guess I do not need to do the same building though it was pretty handy. If the weather holds I’ll try to get it done tomorrow or Sunday and post it as soon as possible.
THEN… finally… I’ll put the 1Ds MkII on it and go do some real shooting for myself!
Travels with Rocinante 
great camera, in my blog you can see my linhof aerotechnika 4 x 5 inches
http://marcbourbonaerophoto.wordpress.com/my-cameras/