View camera

The view camera is a type of camera with a long pedigree which is still used today by professional and amateur photographers who want full control of their images. The view camera is basically a light-tight box with attached bellows, with a film sheet or plate at one end(the rear standard) and a lens at the other (the front standard). The image is composed and focused on a ground glass plate. As the ground glass image is sometimes difficult to view, the photographer may use a cloth to cover their head and the rear of the camera to assist in composition. To take the picture the glass is replaced with a sheet of film in a film holder.

The lens and film standards are not fixed relative to each other (unlike most cameras), this allows movements of the lens and film plane in respect to each other.

Generally view cameras are built for large film formats: 4x5 inches or more.

The advantages of view cameras are :

• Large film format allows a very detailed picture.
• The ability to manipulate the front and rear standards to alter the plane of sharp focus.

The drawbacks of view cameras are :

• Lack of automation
• Size, weight
• Time to set-up and compose