Shift Cameras - Super Wide Lenses - The Silvestri S4 - Large Format Friday
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- Опубліковано 13 лип 2024
- Breaking the mold from traditional field and studio cameras, there's a class of large format camera that I haven't talked about yet on this channel. Today we're talking about large format shift cameras. These are compact LF cameras that specialize in only one or a few movements...namely shift. Mainly used for architecture and landscape, they're at their best when paired with a wide or ultra wide angle lens.
The camera model featured in today's episode is the Silvestri S4. More information about it HERE: www.silvestricamera.com/index...
The exact camera used in today's video is available for sale at Midwest Photo: mpex.com
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Questions? Send me an email: largeformatquestions@gmail.com
Content by Mat Marrash: www.matmarrash.com
#largeformat #filmphotography #ilford #kodak
00:00 Intro
01:17 Shift Cameras
03:17 Super Wide Lenses
05:39 Wait, No Bellows?
08:07 Field Testing
10:40 What I Liked
12:14 Thank You!
12:46 Finally 4x5
15:54 Closing Thoughts - Навчання та стиль
The 6x12 shots had an unreal, cinematic feeling to them. Not just because the of the panoramic aspect ratio, but because of the light and rendering. Too cool.
Chris, thanks for the comment man! :D This wonky camera has me wanting to shoot more color film all of a sudden.
I never w=saw that camera before!!! So cool!!! What an amazing object and camera!!! You have now made me want one!!!
LFF - another reason to look forward to Fridays. Nice job Mat, even if I will never use something like this, it's cool to see it....kinda like LFF trivia!!! Keep clickin'!!!!
This has been a viewing pleasure! Thank you Mat for the introduction to a unique system. The construction site image was my favorite with the artist studio set a very close second.
Bravo!
Thanks Michael, it was a lot of fun to shoot and glad you enjoyed the panoramic work!
Thanks Mat for another great video. Made my night after my evening shift so look forward to my Friday nights!
Thanks Anthony and more power to you for working the night shift. Haven't pulled a 3rd shift since college...unless you count staying up late editing these videos.
Man, that's a beautiful camera. I don't care if it's Ferrari or Armani, Vespa or Gibellini, nobody does design like the Italians. The Silvestri looks right at home among those legends.
They sure do know how to make me want to empty my savings for a sleek-looking camera!
Wowsers it looks sweet, and the rendering is super nice too! The shot with the jogger in it really shows the feeling of scale that setup can capture. It's very interesting as a camera too, makes me think of a Sinar Handy for some reason even though I've never used a Sinar Handy hahaha
Thanks for the comment William! I had the chance to pickup a Sinar handy around the time I got my Tachihara and have been regretting it ever since. One of those plus the Sinar Zoom would be the ultimate portable Sinar fanboy camera kit!
Great, in-depth video about a super niche camera! Awesome photos too! Great content as always Mat :)
Thanks Imran! Fingers crossed some more rare/odd cameras find their way to me to play around with. :)
This might be my favorite video of yours. I have never heard of this camera before and it was awesome to see it being used and hearing your thoughts on it. Well done, as always!
Thanks Robbie! I had a lot of fun taking this weird camera out and trying to create with it. Sometimes it's the limitations that make the work happen!
Wow a german village.... I love trees with low long branches. Pictures look like the tree taking their own selfi :-)
So cool...
that is funny, Mat
this afternoon I was shooting with the Cambo WDS and the 47mm, the same center filter and also the same 6x12 back :)
Wow now that's a coincidence! LOVE that combo especially with the 6x12!
the camera is so incredibly weird. i love it. 😍
There's a lot of weird ones in LF and I intend to explore them all! :D
Very cool camera 👍. I owned a Gowland architectural with a Schneider 90mm back in the 90s. It was Peter Gowland’s interpretation of a boxy shift camera. Back then, I used it with readyloads and Polaroid, but I miss it 😢. The Silvestri looks like a lovely kit… thanks for covering it in your video.
Gowland made some bonkers cameras, would love to get to shoot an 8x10 Gowlandflex some day!
Those old 8x10 models are rare indeed. I currently shoot with a Gowland pocket view, but they’re getting very hard to find in the used market. Back in the 90s, I used to call Peter and set up an order for whatever I wanted.
What a cool camera. I’d never heard about shift cameras.
It was very cool to shoot, and making me want to play around more with funky LF cameras and wide aspect ratios!
This is a nice introduction to these type of shift cameras. Thanks for the entertaining look at the subject.
I have a Cambo 470 (the only lens I own a center filter for is the 47mm Super Angulon-XL.). I don’t use the camera as much as I had hoped, but when I do, I’m always really happy with the way I can very precisely dial in the compostion. I find the 47mm lens usually a bit too wide for my tastes on 4x5 but it’s ideal for 6x12. It’s one of those cameras that is only useful for a narrow range of shots, but when you need it, there’s no better camera design.
Thanks for the comment Lars and after running a bit of film through the Silvestri, I feel the same way about the 47mm! It's perfectly suited to the look of 6x12, but with 4x5 I think I would have been more comfortable with the 58mm (closer to my 121mm on 8x10).
Very Intresting to see what was built in LF camera sector 👍
Adapters? After relaunching my b/w lab and buying a "cheap" 5x7 Mentor field camera (has the largest curtain shutter that ever was built 😉) I am glad that I am an 3dprinter owner and able to design stuff. Before I could ever made the first exposure I made: an adapter for fidelity film holders, a new ground glass holder matching the new focal plane, a set back lens plate for 160 mm lens and many things more.
OK super wide angle will not work with the field camera because of the lens rail touching the view field. 😔
I'm always impressed what 3D printers and their designers are able to imagine and create!
very interesting, like the hassleblad flexbody, and the Alpha TC cameras, just without any handgrips, but more in the Phase One XT style of body.
I have the flexbody, but it seems to be impossible to sell it :(
one camera you also missed as a "of note" was the ebony, the RSW45 which was, as I understand a colab between Robert White photographic, and Ebony, was a simple non-folding camera, with shift /tilt only, designed as an entry-level architecture camera. this also was a wide specialist, but could also take some normal focal lengths ( with top-hat extension boards for these lenses).
I'm really jealous. Crazy stupid technical cameras are just so cool. (Practically I have a bag bellows version of the Cambo cadet monorail which would do much of the same stuff - but with only 10% of the precision, 10% of the coolness and probably at only 10% of the price!)
Roger you hit the nail on the head. This a track-ready luxury car that I'm driving to the grocery store. A well-3D-printed body could do this with enough savings to buy several hundred sheets/rolls of film. But where would the fun be?! ;)
I knew that working at a camera shop might have some advantages for someone like you … 😁
Interesting camera, but I'll stay with my Intrepid 4x5. I rather invest in film than in gear these days (and I'm nearly exclusively shooting C-41 - no money for gear left 🙄).
Cool video. Those Silvestri are on a very similar niche as Alpa MF cameras; none are cheap 😆 I would love to see you testing a Linhof Technika 3000 that can use the 38/47/58 lenses without adapters or helicoid.
Oh man a Linhof + 38mm, that would be ridiculous! :D
Don't forget tilt.
With a wide angle lens you can get front to back sharpness in landscapes.
Make sure your lens has enough coverage for tilt.
Lenses like the 135mm Schneider Xenar has very a limited area.
The Schneider Super Angulon lenses are the best, but expensive.
The only thing this kit is missing is tilt. Silvestri made a special tilt adapter for this, otherwise it's a fixed body relying on aperture for DoF.
Oh noooo Mat, what did you dooo?you are using shift camera, then why you still created converged perspective photos. It's very easy to correct the converging perspective using that camera, I supposed. Since I'm an architecture photographer, am a bit 'disturbed' by the converged perspective when it comes to architectural objects 😁. Anyway, love your content and all of your other videos. Btw, am wondering if you would do a video even more detail about the new reveni spot meter, since I already ordered one, the previous video was not clear enough to understand abt the spotmeter. Great job Mat, keep going! 😊 greeting from Jakarta, Indonesia
There was one on eBay. 2 lenses, in France, $4,894.00. I am glad that I don't need anymore gear (was that convincing? maybe just a little? I almost believe it. Sort of)
Now those are some famous last words I hear all too often at the camera shop!
Hi Matt!
Another fascinating presentation on Friday!! Always a great way to start my weekend.
A quick question....what do you use for a magnifying loupe for checking focus on your ground glass? My eyes are just getting weaker and weaker and I need all the help I can get.
Just curious what you're using...and any recommendations you might have.
TGIF!
CC
For this video I was using my trusty Horseman loupe, and not only because it matched the 6x12 back and ground glass of the camera! I've got a few loupes, but the Horseman is my favorite with my Rodenstock in a close second place.
@@MatMarrash thank you Mat, if you don’t mind a follow up, what magnifications are those loupes?
Again, thank you!!
@@chilecayenne Both are 6x loupes, the Horseman is a tad longer and the Rodenstock can be used equally as well on a lightbox.
Cool camera. But if I have to ask how much the camera/lenses cost, I can't afford them!
A big reason price tags were omitted from the video!
Hi Mat
Few questions, imagine that you have some experience with LF but you are not "attached" to specific workflow.
1. Would you prefer this type of camera over 4x5 with bellows? (if you forget about price and availability, I know this camera is more expensive and rare to find)
2. are there other brands that offer this type of camera? I know about Silvestri and Cambo, maybe the Sinar mentioned in first comment..
3. Are you able to use also longer lenses for portraits (around 200-250mm = around 70mm+- on 35mm full frame) either directly or through some kind of extension?
4. Can you get nice focus plane for that "3D" large format look or the photos are more "flat" ?
I am asking because I am getting into large format and I didn't know about this camera before and I really like how compact it is compared to those big heavy cameras with bellows. 90% of the time I shoot 24-28mm (on 35mm full frame) so wide lenses are my thing, but that 10% I like to shoot portraits (somewhere between 70-90mm on FF). At this moment I am not "used to" specific large format workflow, so I don't really care where do I start as long as it is easy to use.
Thank you
Long story short, this is a very, very niche camera and one that would be near the bottom of a list of recommended 4x5 cameras; due to the high price point and parts availability, as well as limited range of lenses it can use. Based on your shooting preferences, I would recommend looking into a folding field camera like those available from Intrepid, Chamonix, Wista, and Tachihara (to name a few).
your walk through of the camera holding the body unsupported was freaking me out for a good 5 minutes... normally people have it sitting (safely) on a tripod to explain the features.... xD
ive often wonderered for myself how necessary it is to have a full "4x5 camera" or one of these much smaller "technical cameras". at this point in time, MF probably has more options with rollfilm options and digital backs. unfortunately the cost of most of these tech cams are astronomical compared to typical 4x5 camera bodies.
This is a surprisingly well-made and hefty camera, after a bit of time with it, I was handling it about as casually as my Hasselblad! It is a pricey beast, but as long as it comes with all the needed accessories, I'd wager it will last longer than even the best wooden field cameras.
“Chrapi”!
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