DSLR to 4x5 adaptation: Has anyone tried or been successful at adapting a DSLR to a 4x5? I've got a beautiful Calumet folding wood field camera that I absolutely love. I would love to...

GreenReaper

Has anyone tried or been successful at adapting a DSLR to a 4x5? I've got a beautiful Calumet folding wood field camera that I absolutely love. I would love to put it back in service. Right now it sits on a shelf on display. I do not nor do I anticipate being able to process B&W film again. I've been looking at various options and right now the only viable one is an adapter from Fotodiox, but I don't know if it will work. I've sent an inquiry and am waiting for a reply. Like I said, just wondering if anyone has tried this. Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks!! :)

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

GreenReaper wrote:

Has anyone tried or been successful at adapting a ... (show quote)

I had one of these come into my store used one time. Played with it for a few days before selling it. It was fun, but not very practical due to the extreme crop it caused to the DSLR image area.

https://www.adorama.com/fdsnya4x5pro.html?origterm=dslr+to+4x5+adapter&searchredirect=true

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

MT Shooter wrote:

I had one of these come into my store used one time. Played with it for a few days before selling it. It was fun, but not very practical due to the extreme crop it caused to the DSLR image area.

https://www.adorama.com/fdsnya4x5pro.html?origterm=dslr+to+4x5+adapter&searchredirect=true

I’ve been looking at one of these mtshooter. What size is the final image after merging?

Andy

Keen

So you can put a 35mm, or APS-C, sized image on a 4x5" glass plate, or piece of film? What would be the point? If you look hard enough-and spend enough money-you should be able to find a 4x5" sensored digital back to attach to a 4x5" body.

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AndyH wrote:

I’ve been looking at one of these mtshooter. What size is the final image after merging?

Andy

Looks like one of the few good reasons to
set your image quality to about 12MP !

If you shoot 4 rows across and 3 vertical
columns thaz 144MP, or 3X the file size of
a 50MP straight camera shot.

Acoarst the merged image of 4 across and
3 vertical rows requires shooting about 7
frames per row across, and 5 frames per
column vertically pre-merge.

Using an APSC body, your image is like a
3x4 inch sheet film shot. I'm unsure if this
is workable for FF SLRs given the diameter
of the body flange and the angular view to
the corners from the lens of a 4x5 camera.
The lens flange is bigger relative to APSC
sensors vs FF sensors.

Looks like a great accessory for the newest
liveview bodies with extra wide lens flanges.

$199 ... have fun !

.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

AndyH wrote:

I’ve been looking at one of these mtshooter. What size is the final image after merging?

Andy

That all depends upon the sensor in the camera used and how many total images taken for the pano. I tried up to 20 images with my D850 and it severely taxed my computer generating the final image which ended up well over 2 GB in net size.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

I shoot DX crop - with a 24MP sensor D7100. I’ve got a fast computer but I don’t think it would take kindly to 2GB files in LR.

It looks like you can adjust the increments any way you prefer, but I’m not sure how much of the 4x5 image you can cover completely.

Andy

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

AndyH wrote:

I shoot DX crop - with a 24MP sensor D7100. I’ve got a fast computer but I don’t think it would take kindly to 2GB files in LR.

It looks like you can adjust the increments any way you prefer, but I’m not sure how much of the 4x5 image you can cover completely.

Andy

You can cover at least 80% of it with a FF camera, less with a crop sensor obviously.

Keen

There may be adaptors which let you use 4x5" format lenses on a DSLR body, but that would still give you 35mm, or APS-C, sized images....perhaps sharper than the images from the DSLR lenses, but probably not. Manufacturers tend to make lenses to get the best out of the cameras they are designed for. To expect better images form a different lens, in a different system, from a different manufacturer, does not seem sensible. Can Rodenstock really make a better lens for the Nikon D810 than Nikon can make? Old Rodenstock, Fuji, etc, lenses made decades ago, for 4x5" film systems, won't be as well designed, ground, or coated, as modern DSLR lenses...will they?

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Keen wrote:

So you can put a 35mm, or APS-C, sized
image on a 4x5" glass plate, or piece of film?
What would be the point? .......

You didn't read the linked info ?

,

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

MT Shooter wrote:

You can cover at least 80% of it with a FF camera, less with a crop sensor obviously.

Are you sure? From what I've read from Fotodiox you can overlap images pretty much at will, overriding their "marks". If you do so, I don't see what difference it would make which size sensor you use, you'd just need more images to combine in PP, no? My question is whether the inherent limits of the back keep you from going edge to edge.

Andy

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MT Shooter wrote:

You can cover at least 80% of it with a FF
camera, less with a crop sensor obviously.

"Obviously" ? LOL.

.

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AndyH wrote:

..........
From what I've read from Fotodiox you
can overlap images pretty much at will,
overriding their "marks". .... My question
is whether the inherent limits of the back
keep you from going edge to edge.

Andy

Since it's a matter of projecting thru
the body flange from a distance, it's
gonna vary with different FLs. Thaz
why I used 3x4 instead of 4x5 in my
example scenario.

.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

AndyH wrote:

Are you sure? From what I've read from Fotodiox you can overlap images pretty much at will, overriding their "marks". If you do so, I don't see what difference it would make which size sensor you use, you'd just need more images to combine in PP, no? My question is whether the inherent limits of the back keep you from going edge to edge.

Andy

The crop sensor occupies less space inside the camera, so no matter which of the 4 sides you come up against the crop sensor will not reach as far to the edge as the larger FF sensor can. That is where the coverage loss comes into play. The lens mount itself will cover the same area as both mounts are identical.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

MT Shooter wrote:

The crop sensor occupies less space inside the camera, so no matter which of the 4 sides you come up against the crop sensor will not reach as far to the edge as the larger FF sensor can. That is where the coverage loss comes into play. The lens mount itself will cover the same area as both mounts are identical.

Got it. Thanks! I'm assuming something like 3 1/4 by 4 1/4 would still make a nice quality image.

I'm thinking it may be worth trying. But I will have to put it somewhere down on the list. Too many higher priorities right now. Appreciate your knowledgeable feedback, as always.

Andy