Can someone explain this to me?

[ChrisTX]

Two "professionals" discussing an upcoming wedding shoot over their entry level Canon and kit lens. One says to the other, "you need to get a filter so you can use chapstick". So, I usually carry chapstick around, and I have plenty of filters, but I never knew I had to buy one in order to use the other. Can someone tell me what I'm missing?

[SCone]

Found this reference via Google....

"Older lenses made for film cameras did not have that UV coating, which is why photographers could use vaseline or chap stick to create a vignette on their lens with no damage, which you cannot do on modern lenses….."

[ChrisTX]

I couldn't find anything in a search. It makes sense on older film cameras. I know people had to get all kinds of creative with them, but I see absolutely no relevance to a modern digital needing that treatment. I guess those people will soon find out when they ruin good filters.

[Howard Barlow]

If you were good, I mean really good, you could spread it thin enough for soft focus. I found it easier to buy Softars for my Hassys.

[brad]

Probably cheaper yet to purchase Topaz Lens Effects and get the vignette exactly where you want it in post...

[Howard Barlow]

Yeah, but ya couldn't used to do that, Brad.

[stephenpinn]

Howard, I use to work for the guy who invented the soft fous system for hassys, big bellows contraption I hated when he wanted to use it, he on the other hand made a bunch of money selling it to the Hassy distributor at the time and doing the lecture circuit. For vignetting we use to put this piece of flimsy plastics cut into a sawtooth pattern on the bottom third of a expanding lens hood.

Oh those wre the days! (glad they are behind us!!)

[brad]

Originally Posted by Howard Barlow

Yeah, but ya couldn't used to do that, Brad.

Yes. And I did use everything from vaseline to cheese cloth to get cool in camera effects... but to need to do that still...

[pbyd]

Stephen,
The system you are describing was being used long before the Hasselblad came into use, the bellows with saw tooth pattern vignette cards was used on view cameras before medium format was popular. Not only did Hasselblad offer a bellows shade that would hold cards but Lindahl offered the Bell-O-Shade and many other companies like Mamiya offered shades. I bought my first Hasselblad shade in the late 60’s and it was made for the Hasselblad 1000 series back in the 50’s. During the 70’s I used them on all studio work and it is the way we got a high key fade out to white, along with the way we got the image to have a dark vignette. You can still buy these but with digital what would be the need for such. Call me sometime, I love to talk about the days I was a younger photographer.

Wayne
Photography by Design

[stephenpinn]

Originally Posted by Howard Barlow

If you were good, I mean really good, you could spread it thin enough for soft focus. I found it easier to buy Softars for my Hassys.

Remember that? Spending a fortune on a 135mm sonnar, so sharp you could cut yourself with it, then spending more money to soften it up (I believe 3 "softness's" were available)!

[stephenpinn]

Wayne, I came across this article Soft Focus: Large Format and Photoshop… [Archive] - Large Format Photography Forum

I worked for Tibor Horvath in Toronto for about 3-4 years, Tibor was the guy who did the soft focus bellows for Hasselblad. With that attachment on then an expanding lens hoos the stupid camera looked like a caterpillar.

I too used a RB67 (before i bought into the Hasselblad dynasty), we use to do double exposures with them all the time, pull the dark slide out 2/3 of the way, take your shot, pull the slide, recompose, shoot the other half of the image (double exposure of brides was the in thing back then :)).

Cant remember what we did to the film back to let us shoot with the dark slide in place, but I do remember a couple of terrifying situations of finishing a roll of film only to discover that I had forgotten to pull the slide out. It's that totally sick feeling when you pee a little in your pants!

[ngoduyviet]

Reminds me of a Simpsons episode where Homer tried to get some erotic shots for Marge. The tog had to smear vaseline on her lens :)

[ChrisTX]

So did any of you old film guys have cameras with a picatinny rail for all your attachments?

I'm so glad I took up this hobby when I did.

[Howard Barlow]

Stephen,

Long, long ago, in a galaxy far away...

I started with Mamiya 645's for weddings and an RB67 for portraits. I used the Lindahl bellows lens shade, with the extension bellows, and I think it may have been Leon Kennamer's saw tooth inserts, maybe Lindahl's, not sure. Cricchio made clear ones from that bubble plastic car seat cover material for a clear soft edge.

I attended a seminar with Tibor. That began my love affair with the Imagon lens. I bought the one you could replace the Mamiya 180 element with. Loved that lens. Also bought one made for a view camera and used it on my Wista 4x5 cherry wood field camera. I ended up selling both when I went with Hassy, as I was not going to buy the bellows to use it on the Hassy.

[Howard Barlow]

Originally Posted by ChrisTX

So did any of you old film guys have cameras with a picatinny rail for all your attachments?

I'm so glad I took up this hobby when I did.

Well, with the bellows shade and extension, it need one, as it was about 10-12" long. Worked great for about 150mm+. Shorter than that, you had to pull the extension back all the way and the main about half.