A Few Viso/Bellows Questions

[remik]

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Hi All,

 

I'm starting to play around with the Viso I and bellows that I just acquired for my IIIf. At this stage, I only have my Summitar to mess around with, but will pick up a 135mm Hector in the near future. I have a few basic questions which despite reading many posts/ and the manuals for the Viso and the bellows I'm still a bit unclear on.

 

In no particular order:

 

1. When people say lenses on a Viso won't focus to infinity, does that mean that no focus on any point is possible with the lens on the infinity setting, or does it mean that it is not possible to focus on objects in the far distance? I presume the former, as with my Summitar on the Viso I can only focus on very near objects (ie 10cm or so).

 

2. Does what you see through the magnifier on the Viso correspond to the field of view projected onto the negative? If so, what is the purpose of the accessory finders available for longer lenses such as the Telyts?

 

3. When using the extendable bellows, there is a scale for exposure compensation in red for both the Hector, and also for 50mm lenses. Does 4x mean 4 stops, or 4x exposure (ie 2 stops)?

 

4. My Summitar can screw directly into the bellows attachment, for use with the lens extended. I have also found a dedicated Summitar bellows adapter that screws directly into the bellows, and has a bayonet fitting for attaching the lens collapsed (just like my Nooky-Hesum). Which is preferable?

 

I know these may be very basic questions, but would appreciate clarification!

 

Thanks

 

Remi

[tobey bilek]

The bellows and viso take up so much length, only the 135 optical head in the proper adapter will focus on infinity. Do not use the whole lens.

 

View is same as recorded on film like a reflex camera

 

2x is one stop, 4x is two, 8x is three

 

Makes no difference. They are only spacing tools.

[zeitz]

The 200mm and 400mm Teylt finders are used to avoid waiting for the mirror to move up and avoid the blackout period when the mirror is up. They are frame finders, not optical finders. The downside is you still have to use reflex viewing to focus. So for sports or wildlife, the most likely applications, you have to trap focus (set the focus and take the picture when the object is at that point) and can't pan unless the movement is purely lateral motion.