View camera

The view camera is a type of camera with a very long history (some modern examples are often mistaken for antiques), but they are still used today by professional and amateur photographers who want full control of their images. The view camera is basically a light-tight assembly comprised of a flexible mid-section, or bellows, attached to a device that holds a film sheet, photo plate or digital imager at one end (the rear standard) and a similar one that holds the lens at the other end (the front standard). The front and rear standards are not fixed relative to each other (unlike most cameras). Movement of the front and rear standards allows the photographer to move the lens and film plane independently for precise control of the image's focus, depth of field and perspective.

Types of view camera

Generally, view cameras are built for sheet film, one exposure for each sheet. These can be quite large, and are typically standardized to the following large film formats (measurements in inches): 4x5, 5x7, 4x10, 5x12, 8x10, 11x14, 7x17, 8x20, 12x20, 20x24, and 30x40. In Europe and Asia, the long side is often listed first when discussing sheet film size and the associated view camera equipment, albeit in inches rather than a metric measurement, ie. a 5x4 camera is identical to a 4x5 camera. Sometimes the closest equivalent in centimeters is used as well, ie. 9x12 or 12x9 for 4x5.

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Far and away the most popular formats are 4x5 and 8x10, with the majority of cameras and lenses designed for one or the other.

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Without modifying the camera (but with an inexpensive modification of the darkslide), a photographer can expose a half sheet of film at a time. While this could be useful for saving money, it's almost always instead a means of changing the format so that, for example, a 4x5 camera can take two 2x5 panoramic photos, an 8x10 can take two 4x10s etc. This is popular for landscape imagery, and in the past was common at banquets and similar functions.

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There are several varieties of view camera, engineered for different purposes and allowing different degrees of movement and portability. They include:

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• Monorail Camera - This is the most common type of studio view camera, with the front and rear standards being mounted to a single rail that is fixed to a camera support. This design allows the most movement and flexibility, with both front and rear standards able to tilt, shift, rise, fall and swing in similar proportion. These are generally made of metal with leather or synthetic bellows, and are difficult to pack for travel. Sinar and Toyo are popular manufacturers of monorail view camera systems. ARCA-Swiss produces monorail cameras for field use in addition to models for the more conventional studio applications.
• Field Camera - These have the front and rear standard mounted to sliding rails on a flat bed that is fixed to a camera support. These cameras are designed to fold up into a small box for portability, and can be made of wood as well as composites like carbon fiber. The trade off is that the standards are not as mobile or as adjustable as with a monorail design, especially the rear standard, which may even be fixed and offer no movement. Their light weight and ease of packing and set-up are popular with landscape photographers. Extremely large cameras of this type, using 11x14 film and larger, or panoramic film sizes such as 4x10 or 8x20, are sometimes referred to as Banquet Cameras. Such cameras were once used to photograph large, posed groups of people to mark an occasion, such as those attending a banquet. Studio and Salon Cameras are similar in construction, but do not fold up for portability. Wisner and Tachihara are popular examples of modern Field Cameras at either end of the price spectrum.
• Press and Technical Cameras - These are very portable, but often have the least amount of usable movement of the three main types of view camera. Originally made for news photographers before roll film became popular, they are designed to fold up, with the lensboard in place, in less than a second. Some are equipped with rangefinders and viewfinders for hand-held work, and some antique models have focal plane shutters. These are typically made of machined and stamped metal, designed for daily use by working newsmen, so they are usually very robust, but also very heavy. The Speed Graphic in its many incarnations was the camera of choice for the American photojournalist in the Golden Age of Hollywood and in the Second World War, and used examples are still popular with photography students. Modern examples of Technical and Press View Cameras are still in production by Horseman, Wista and Linhof.