Tricks of the Trade # 11-14

By Will Landon

Some quick tips, for those odd situations. These tips were passed on by various members, many are from Will Landon

• 11. Use the pilot silver marker pen to write your name, address and phone number on every lens cap that you own. If lost, a kind soul might just mail it to you. Also mark which lens it goes onto, so you don't have to guess. Use the same lens to mark an up arrow on large format lens boards at the top, on the backside so that orientation is very quick.

• 12. For the normal or far sighted person, the drugstore reading glass that comes in powers up to plus 4 diopter are extremely useful in composing and focusing on a ground glass.

• 13. A lighted magnifying glass called a Magnalite is extremely useful when setting camera controls or lens settings in poor lighting conditions. Try to keep one in the key outfits as well as one in a photographic belt pouch.

• 14. It is possible on some center filters to also use a polarizing filter on top of the center filter. For example, a Schneider Center Filter IV used on a 90mm super Angulon f 5.6 lends on 6x17 camera has an outer ring that accepts a 105mm polarizing filter. The double density of two filers does mean exposures of ½ sec at f 22 on ASA film, but the effect is well worth it in many cases.

  On other lenses without the outer thread or which if used would result in severe vignetting it is necessary to go to oversize polarizes that slip over the center filter as a slip-on filter. Because the fit won't be exact in most cases, it is necessary to wrap thin tape around the outer edge of the center filter to increase their diameter to the point that a fit is possible.

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Information published on the IAPP website at: http://http://www.panoramicassociation.org/.
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