A view camera is a large-format camera. View cameras were originally analog cameras in which the lens forms an inverted image on a ground-glass screen directly at the film plane. The image is viewed, composed, and focused, then the glass screen is replaced with the film to expose exactly the same image seen on the screen. In 2019, digital view cameras became available (see ).
This type of camera was developed during the era of the daguerreotypeStroebel, L. D. (1986). View Camera Technique, 5th ed., p. 212. Boston: Focal Press. (1840s–1850s) and is still in use, some using drive mechanisms for movement (rather than loosen-move-tighten), more scale markings, and/or more spirit levels. It comprises a flexible bellows that forms a light-tight seal between two adjustable standards, one of which holds a lens, and the other a ground glass or a photographic film holder or a digital back.Stroebel (1986). p. 2. There are three general types: the rail camera, the field camera, and those that don't fit into the other categories.
The bellows is a flexible, accordion-pleated box. It encloses the space between the lens and film, and flexes to accommodate the movements of the standards.Adams, A. (1980). The Camera. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. The front standard is a frame that holds the lensboard, to which the lens (perhaps with shutter) is attached.
At the other end of the bellows, the rear standard is a frame that holds a ground glass plate, used for focusing and composing the image before exposure—and is replaced by a holder containing the light-sensitive film, plate, or image sensor for exposure. The front and rear standards can move relative to each other, unlike most other camera types. Whereas most cameras control only the distance of the plane of focus from the camera, the view camera can also adjust the orientation of the plane of focus, and perspective control. The camera is normally used on a tripod support.
Types Several types of view cameras are used for different purposes, and provide different degrees of movement and portability. They include:
Rail camera – There are the smaller more maneuverable monorail camera and the large stable immovable multi-rail camera known as the process camera. The monorail camera is the most common type of studio view camera, with front and rear standards mounted to a single rail that is fixed to a camera support. This design gives the greatest range of movements 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. Many manufacturers also offer monorail extensions that move the front or rear standards farther away from each other to facilitate focusing on close objects (macrophotography). The stationary process camera is used for copying nearly flat artwork that is held to a copyboard located at the far end of the camera rails of horizontally mounted cameras, or at the base of vertical cameras. The work to be copied and the film are often held in place by vacuum and copying is usually at 1:1 magnification. They use various sizes of film depending upon what is needed for the specific job. Field camera – These have the front and rear standard mounted on sliding rails fixed to a hinged flat bed that can be attached to a camera support, such as a tripod. These cameras are usually made of wood, or sometimes lightweight and strong composites such as carbon fiber. With the bellows fully retracted, the flat bed folds up, reducing the camera to a relatively small, light, and portable box. The trade off for this portability is that the standards are not as mobile or as adjustable as on a monorail design. The rear standard in particular may be fixed and offer no movement. These large format but transportable cameras are popular with landscape photographers. Tachihara and Wisner are examples of modern field cameras at opposite ends of the price scale. Extremely large field cameras use 11×14 film and larger, or panoramic film sizes such as 4×10 or 8×20. These are sometimes called banquet cameras, and once were commonly used to photograph large, posed groups of people to mark occasions, such as banquets or weddings. Studio and salon cameras are similar to field cameras, but do not fold up for portability. Folding plate cameras with limited movements were often used. An example is the Goerz Taro-Tenax 9x12cm.Picture of C.P.Goerz Taro-Tenax 9x12 Press cameras that have a ground glass integral to the film-holder mechanism allow critical focus and use of available movements. More expensive examples had a wide array of movements, as well as focusing and composing aids like rangefinders and viewfinders. They are most often made of metal, designed to fold up quickly for portability, used by press photographers before and during the second world war. Some press cameras have more adjustment capabilities, including some ability to tilt the rear standard, and can be either hand-held or attached to a tripod for support. Other view cameras – Many unique view cameras have been built and used for special purposes or for general purpose.
View cameras use large format sheet film—one sheet per photograph. Standard sizes in inches are: 4×5, 5×7, 4×10, 5×12, 8×10, 11×14, 7×17, 8×20, 12×20, 20×24, and larger for process cameras. (It is usual to list the short side first in the Americas, and the long side in many other countries, thus 4×5 is the same as 5×4). A similar, but not identical, range of metric sizes is used in many countries; thus 9×12 cm is similar to, but not interchangeable with, 4×5 inches and 13×18 cm is similar to, but not interchangeable with, 5×7 inches. The most widely used format is 4×5, followed by 8×10.
A few rollfilm cameras have movements that make them as versatile as a sheet film view camera. Rollfilm and instant film backs are available to use in place of a sheetfilm holder on a single-film camera.
Movements Photographers use view cameras to control focus and convergence of parallel lines. Image control is done by moving the front and/or rear standards. Movements are the ways the front and rear standards can move to alter perspective and focus. The term can also refer to the mechanisms on the standards that control their position.
Not all cameras have all movements available to both front and rear standards, and some cameras have more movements available than others. Some cameras have mechanisms that facilitate intricate movement combinations.
Some limited view camera–type movements are possible with SLR cameras using various tilt/shift lenses. Also, as use of view cameras declines in favor of digital photography, these movements are simulated using computer software.
Rise and fall
Rise and fall are the movements of either the front or rear standard vertically along a line in a plane parallel to the film (or sensor) plane. Rise is a very important movement especially in architectural photography. Generally, the lens is moved vertically—either up or down—along the lens plane to change the portion of the image captured on the film. In the 35 mm format, special shift lenses (sometimes called perspective control lenses) emulate the rise or fall of view cameras.
The main effect of rise is to eliminate converging parallels when photographing tall buildings. If a camera without movements is pointed at a tall building, the top is off. If the camera is tilted upwards to get it all in, the film plane is not parallel to the building, and the building seems narrower at the top than the bottom: lines that are parallel in the object converge in the image.
To avoid this apparent distortion, a wide-angle lens gets more of the building in, but includes more of the foreground and alters the perspective. A camera with rising front lets a normal lens be raised to include the top of the building without tilting the camera.
This requires that the image circle of the lens be larger than is required to cover the film without use of movements. If the lens can produce a circular image just large enough to cover the film, it can't cover the bottom of the film as it rises. Consequently, lens coverage must be larger to accommodate rise (and fall, tilt and shift).
In Figure a) below (images are upside down, as a photographer would see them on the ground glass of a view camera), the lens has been shifted down (fall). Notice that much of the unwanted foreground is included, but not the top of the tower. In Figure b), the lens has been shifted up (rise): the top of the tower is now inside the area captured on film, at the sacrifice of unwanted green foreground.
Shift
Moving the front standard left or right from its normal position is called lens shift, or simply shift. This movement is similar to rise and fall, but moves the image horizontally rather than vertically. One use for shift is to remove the image of the camera from the final image when photographing a reflective surface.
Tilt
The axis of the lens is normally perpendicular to the film (or sensor). Changing the angle between axis and film by tilting the lens standard backwards or forwards is called lens tilt, or just tilt. Tilt is especially useful in landscape photography. By using the Scheimpflug principle, the “plane of sharp focus” can be changed so that any plane can be brought into sharp focus. When the film plane and lens plane are parallel as is the case for most 35 mm cameras, the plane of sharp focus is also parallel to these two planes. If, however, the lens plane is tilted with respect to the film plane, the plane of sharp focus is also tilted according to geometrical and optical properties. The three planes intersect in a line below the camera for downward lens tilt. The tilted plane of sharp focus is useful, in that this plane can be made to coincide with a near and far object. Thus, both near and far objects on the plane are in focus.
This effect is often incorrectly thought of as increasing the depth of field. Depth of field depends on the focal length, aperture, and subject distance. As long as the photographer wants sharpness in a plane that is parallel to the film, tilt is of no use. However, tilt has a strong effect on the depth of field by drastically altering its shape, making it asymmetrical. Without tilt, the limits of near and far acceptable focus are parallel to the plane of sharp focus as well as parallel to the film. With forward tilt, the plane of sharp focus tilts even more and the near and far limits of acceptable focus form a wedge shape (viewed from the side). Thus, the lens still sees a cone shaped portion of whatever is in front of it while the wedge of acceptable focus is now more closely aligned with this cone. Therefore, depending on the shape of the subject, a wider aperture can be used, lessening concerns about camera stability due to slow shutter speed and diffraction due to too-small aperture.