Is it harder to hand hold MF folders at low shutter speeds?

Keith

Keith

The best camera is one that still works!
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I'm a little puzzled ... I have a Super Ikonta A 6x4.5 from the mid thirties and decided to use it yesterday for something totally different to shoot the computer students I'm currently bothering on a regular basis for a six week photographic project. I loaded it with HP5 and in fact used two rolls to do some candid portraits during the day. It's a nice little camera but quite fiddly to use with the left hand shutter release and a viewfinder that's a little like looking through a shower curtain ... but I figured the uncoated 75mm Tessar lens might give me the look I was searching for so it would hopefully be worth the effort ... which it was!

There's not a lot of light in the area I was shooting in so I was down to f 3.5 and 1/25 sec and was a bit dismayed when I scanned the negs this morning to discover some shots (a lot in fact) have motion blur. I can hand hold a 35mm rangefinder down to 1/8 sec no problem and if I get blur it's usually because the subject is moving. I don't know if it's the left hand shutter release, which although unfamiliar is very smooth in it's action, or is MF (particularly an old folder) just harder to achieve decent hand held results with at really low shutter speeds.

It's not a complete disaster because I have plenty of keepers out of the two rolls and the lens definitely gave me what I was looking for ... but I'm curious about other people's opinions and experiences when using these old folders with their quirky handling.
 
Hi Keith,
I would think the problem is the left hand shutter release, your left hand is just not use to it.

Ever tried using your left foot on the brakes of your car?
If your foot is use to a heavy clutch it can be fun.:eek:
 
Try screwing in a shutter release cable and taping it to the right side or back of the camera.

My MF folder has a right-hand shutter release (Iskra) but I still find it harder to hold steady than my 35mm RFs.
 
Sam N said:
Try screwing in a shutter release cable and taping it to the right side or back of the camera.

My MF folder has a right-hand shutter release (Iskra) but I still find it harder to hold steady than my 35mm RFs.
Click to expand...


What a great idea ... thanks. I have a very short cable release which would be ideal ... that's so logical!

And I agree about the oddness of using the left foot to brake ... the first time you try it you almost send yourself through the windshield! :p
 
Just a thought; My Super Ikonta had a slightly loose front standard when it was not extended properly. The front standard was a little quirky that way until I noticed the problem. It was fixable.
When I used the shutter release the lens/shutter would move a bit (not a lot). Some of my shots were a little blurred because of it.
 
I find that the form factor on these is such that I do not brace the camera as effectively as I do a nice ol' Leica, or even an evil SLR.
 
I have the same camera, Keith -- and the same problem. It actually takes lovely photos, but I find it awkward to use and hard to keep still when pressing the shutter. I did think of a cable release or a tripod, but that sort of defeats the purpose of this camera, doesn't it? After lots of blurry pictures, I am just keeping it on display for now. It IS very pretty.
 
For me it depends entirely on the camera - the Moskva 5 is pretty difficult to hand hold at lower speeds, wheres my Iskra I can usually get away with 1/15. The Moskva is a leftie with a hard shtter release, whereas the Iskra is a buttery smooth, gentle release and easy to hold.

I can't handhold the Iskra to quite the ridiculously slow speeds I could manage with my Minox 35, but I don't find it any worse than other 35mm cameras.
 
I can't speak for older MF folders, but none those I have used - Fuji GS645S, Polaroid 180 (MF film size at least), and the Plaubel Makina 67 - were particularly hard to hand hold at slow speeds, apart from maybe the 67, which was a bit of an ergonomic disaster zone for me.
 
Try a mini-soft release button. I use one with my Agfa Record III and the Super Isolette.

These cameras have a longer amount of travel before the shutter releases. The soft release button seems to help your finger feel where the shutter release as it travels downward and I do emphasize the word feel.
 
I've found that folders with the doors that open downward easier to hold and keep still, like the Agafa Super Isolette, Iskra. Folders with doors opening sideways (Bessa RF, Agfa Record) are a little more difficult for me to keep still. I will try them using shutter release cable.
 
The releases on my folders are no where near as smooth as a modern camera. I use softies and take extra care to brace myself where possible.
 
since you are going for an old school/vintage look with the shots from this old folder, and you are in low light, try some tri-x400 in diafine, which lets you rate it at 1250-1600 iso.
 
The releases on MF Folders are really worth a special chapter in each book.
The release doesn't release the shutter, but activates some gears that finallly releases the button......I can only compare it with a flintlock gun right at the moment. So speedwise cameras like the Moskva seem to be made for the two fastset speeds. Right now I am using a Bessa 66 from the 50's that does not have a release button on the top plate but a release lever on the standart (the left handside part ) that has to be pressed completely down, otherwise film transport blocks. Although it's rather thin for an MF Folder it' still difficult to hold it stable
 
It never occurred to me to use a soft-release on my Mess-Ikonta, and I was just thinking last week that the shutter release could be smoother.
 
The only advice not given so far is to practice without film in the camera. Find a comfortable way to hold the camera, use a softie, practice finding the release point and then releasing. Very similar to fondling...
 
Yup, a mini soft-release release (one I bought for my R3a, but hated it) is the business. Much, much better. Feels like a couple of stops better.
 
Not bad advice, but it won't work (@ least easily) w/some cameras like the Agfa Super Isolette, that require film (or rather movement of the film rollers) to work.

VictorM. said:
The only advice not given so far is to practice without film in the camera. Find a comfortable way to hold the camera, use a softie, practice finding the release point and then releasing. Very similar to fondling...
Click to expand...
 
I think a lot depends on the folder. All of mine (Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta B & IV, Agfa Super Isolette) have shutter releases that are as smooth as any 35mm rangefinder, modern or vintage, & present no problem @ slow shutter speeds; to the contrary, because of their leaf shutters & relatively large mass (something they share w/TLRs), they're actually easier to handhold @ slow shutter speeds than some 35mm RFs w/focal-plane shutters (e.g., Leica). E.g., this was @ 1/4th sec. while leaning against a pylon:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=39785

dazedgonebye said:
The releases on my folders are no where near as smooth as a modern camera. I use softies and take extra care to brace myself where possible.
Click to expand...
 
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Used my Bessa's (1936 and the 1951) always on a tripod ever since I got many blurred photos when handheld the first time.
 
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