Monorail camera

Last updated
Sinar F monorail camera Sinar F (profil).jpg
Sinar F monorail camera

Monorail cameras are view cameras with lens mount, bellows, and interchangeable viewing and film backs all fitted along a rigid rail along which they can slide until locked into position.

Contents

Bermpohl 13x18 cm Camera (Prototyp ?) Bermpohl 13x18 cm Camera (Prototyp %3F).jpg
Bermpohl 13x18 cm Camera (Prototyp ?)

They can take sheet film in large sizes, and since the advent of digital photography can take a digital back. They are used to take very high-quality photographs of static subjects on large film, or at high digital image resolution, and capable of much enlargement with good quality. They have many camera movements for image control. The image is usually viewed on a ground-glass screen in the film plane; after the scene has been composed, the ground glass is replaced by the film, and the exposure made. Monorail cameras rarely have any other viewfinder than the ground glass.

Details

Virtually any lens can be fitted, and backs for sheet film, rollfilm, digital back and Polaroid backs. For some uses with long exposures, or flash lighting; a shutter is unnecessary; removing a lens cap to expose the film is sufficient. Extremely small apertures such as f/64 can be used without issues of diffraction on the lenses, of much larger focal length than those used for smaller images (a small relative aperture is still a fairly large hole, reducing diffraction).

The trade-off for their versatility is their large weight and bulk, and use limited to slow photographs of static subjects. Some models, such as the Arca Swiss F-Line, [1] are more compact and designed for field use, still retaining generous movements; however the F-Line cameras still weigh about 3 kg.

Monorail cameras have capabilities that most other cameras do not. Both the lens and the film planes are separate and can be moved independently. By moving the front of the camera, the lens plane, independently of the rear which houses the film, the photographer can alter the depth-of-field (actually, the plane of sharp focus) without changing the perspective of the image. The converse is also true. The rear of the camera, which holds the film, can be moved to alter or improve the perspective of the image without changing the depth-of-field.

Film is typically loaded one sheet at a time into a special holder. Each film holder can hold two sheets of film - one on each side of the holder. Different holders can be loaded with different film; the type of film can be changed from one photograph to the next. Typical film sizes are 4 inch by 5 inch (4"×5") and 8 inch by 10 inch (8"×10"). There are other formats, including 5×7 inch and 11×14 inch.

Monorail cameras are among the simplest cameras possible according to their operating principles, consisting of the front standard (holding the lens) and rear standard (holding the ground glass viewing and focussing screen, then replaced by the film) sliding on a single rail, with a light-tight bellows stretched between. They are built to a high standard of precision and smoothness of operation, and sell in low volume, which makes prices higher than most smaller cameras.

In addition to high-quality general images, monorails can be used for high-precision technical applications. For a general subject it does not matter if the geometry of the image is imperceptibly different from the subject; the measurable, though very small, optical aberrations of even good quality lenses do not cause problems. When photographing subjects which must be very accurately represented, for example in making a mask for integrated circuit manufacture, apochromatic lenses of very high geometric accuracy and minimal color aberration (traded off against a small maximum aperture) and high price, are used.

Unlike with most other cameras, lenses used with view cameras (including monorails) are rarely manufactured by the body manufacturer. The body will be bought with lens panels and a film back; the owner will then choose lenses (in shutters) made by specialist manufacturers. A digital back from yet another manufacturer may be used.

Several companies produce monorail camera bodies, including Arca-Swiss, Ebony, Horseman, Linhof, Cambo, Sinar, and Toyo. Older monorail cameras are available second-hand; unlike most other cameras they are relatively immune to obsolescence, so long as parts and accessories are available. Many parts which would be difficult to replace are unlikely to fail on these large, rugged, and basically simple devices.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Depth of field</span> Distance between the nearest and the furthest objects that are in focus in an image

The depth of field (DOF) is the distance between the nearest and the furthest objects that are in acceptably sharp focus in an image captured with a camera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Single-lens reflex camera</span> Camera that typically uses a mirror and prism system

A single-lens reflex camera (SLR) is a camera that typically uses a mirror and prism system that permits the photographer to view through the lens and see exactly what will be captured. With twin lens reflex and rangefinder cameras, the viewed image could be significantly different from the final image. When the shutter button is pressed on most SLRs, the mirror flips out of the light path, allowing light to pass through to the light receptor and the image to be captured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aperture</span> Hole or opening through which light travels

In optics, the aperture of an optical system is a hole or an opening that primarily limits light propagated through the system. More specifically, the entrance pupil as the front side image of the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that comes to a focus in the image plane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camera</span> Optical device for recording images

A camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. As a pivotal technology in the fields of photography and videography, cameras have played a significant role in the progression of visual arts, media, entertainment, surveillance, and scientific research. The invention of the camera dates back to the 19th century and has since evolved with advancements in technology, leading to a vast array of types and models in the 21st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">View camera</span> Large-format camera

A view camera is a large-format camera in which the lens forms an inverted image on a ground-glass screen directly at the film plane. The image is viewed, composed, and focused, then the glass screen is replaced with the film to expose exactly the same image seen on the screen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twin-lens reflex camera</span> Type of camera

A twin-lens reflex camera (TLR) is a type of camera with two objective lenses of the same focal length. One of the lenses is the photographic objective or "taking lens", while the other is used for the viewfinder system, which is usually viewed from above at waist level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Press camera</span> Medium or large format camera

A press camera is a medium or large format view camera that was predominantly used by press photographers in the early to mid-20th century. It was largely replaced for press photography by 35mm film cameras in the 1960s, and subsequently, by digital cameras. The quintessential press camera was the Speed Graphic. Press cameras are still used as portable and rugged view cameras.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circle of confusion</span> Blurry region in optics

In optics, a circle of confusion (CoC) is an optical spot caused by a cone of light rays from a lens not coming to a perfect focus when imaging a point source. It is also known as disk of confusion, circle of indistinctness, blur circle, or blur spot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camera lens</span> Optical lens or assembly of lenses used with a camera to create images

A camera lens is an optical lens or assembly of lenses used in conjunction with a camera body and mechanism to make images of objects either on photographic film or on other media capable of storing an image chemically or electronically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Large format</span> Imaging format for film camera of 4×5 inches or larger

Large format refers to any imaging format of 9 cm × 12 cm or larger. Large format is larger than "medium format", the 6 cm × 6 cm or 6 cm × 9 cm size of Hasselblad, Mamiya, Rollei, Kowa, and Pentax cameras, and much larger than the 24 mm × 36 mm frame of 35 mm format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enlarger</span> Specialized transparency projector

An enlarger is a specialized transparency projector used to produce photographic prints from film or glass negatives, or from transparencies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macro photography</span> Photography genre and techniques of extreme close-up pictures

Macro photography is extreme close-up photography, usually of very small subjects and living organisms like insects, in which the size of the subject in the photograph is greater than life size . By the original definition, a macro photograph is one in which the size of the subject on the negative or image sensor is life size or greater. In some senses, however, it refers to a finished photograph of a subject that is greater than life size.

The science of photography is the use of chemistry and physics in all aspects of photography. This applies to the camera, its lenses, physical operation of the camera, electronic camera internals, and the process of developing film in order to take and develop pictures properly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lensbaby</span>

Lensbaby is a line of camera lenses for DSLR and mirrorless cameras that combine a simple lens with a bellows or ball and socket mechanism for use in special effect photography. A Lensbaby can give effects normally associated with view cameras. The lenses are for use in selective focus photography and bokeh effects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purple fringing</span> Type of chromatic aberration in photography

In photography, purple fringing is the term for an unfocused purple or magenta "ghost" image on a photograph. This optical aberration is generally most visible as a coloring and lightening of dark edges adjacent to bright areas of broad-spectrum illumination, such as daylight or various types of gas-discharge lamps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tilt–shift photography</span> Camera technique

Tilt–shift photography is the use of camera movements that change the orientation or position of the lens with respect to the film or image sensor on cameras.

The design of photographic lenses for use in still or cine cameras is intended to produce a lens that yields the most acceptable rendition of the subject being photographed within a range of constraints that include cost, weight and materials. For many other optical devices such as telescopes, microscopes and theodolites where the visual image is observed but often not recorded the design can often be significantly simpler than is the case in a camera where every image is captured on film or image sensor and can be subject to detailed scrutiny at a later stage. Photographic lenses also include those used in enlargers and projectors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuji GX680</span>

The Fuji GX680 is a series of single lens reflex system cameras for medium format film produced by Fujifilm with interchangeable camera lenses and interchangeable film holders for the unusual film format 6×8 cm on 120 and 220 roll film. The distinguishing feature of the Fuji GX680 is the articulating front standard, which runs on a rail connecting lens and camera body by a bellows; the interchangeable lens is permanently mounted to a lens board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaubel</span>

Plaubel is a German camera maker, founded in November, 1902, by Hugo Schrader, who learned the technology of cameras and lenses as an apprentice at Voigtländer in Braunschweig in the late 1800s before being employed by a Frankfurt camera and lens manufacturer and distributor, Dr. R. Krügener, whose daughter he married. Hugo Schrader and his wife elected to open their own business, Plaubel & Co., as distributors and makers of cameras and lenses, naming it after his brother-in-law because he thought Plaubel was easier to remember than Schrader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of photographic lens design</span>

The invention of the camera in the early 19th century led to an array of lens designs intended for photography. The problems of photographic lens design, creating a lens for a task that would cover a large, flat image plane, were well known even before the invention of photography due to the development of lenses to work with the focal plane of the camera obscura.

References

  1. Tom Westbrook:The Arca-Swiss F-line Field Camera