Linhof

Resurrecting a broken 50-year-old Linhof tripod with a little DIY repair

Jul 6, 2021 by John Aldred 2 Comments

There is a lot of old camera gear out there and I regularly see people showing off their “finds” on social media. Usually, though, it’s cameras or lenses. Often in decent working condition, too. Occasionally, though, they become repair projects, and following that process is fascinating. Less common, though, are anything photo-related that isn’t a camera or a lens… Like a tripod.

Well, Markus Hofstätter found himself in possession of a 50-year-old Linhof tripod that had apparently been involved in a bicycle accident and was in pretty rough shape. Being a big fan of really old camera gear and also being pretty good at repairing it, he decided to see if he could give this old Linhof tripod a new life.

Shooting a 300MP photo of a Hotrod – full frame digital vs large format film

Oct 3, 2016 by Markus Hofstätter 7 Comments

Recently, I was tasked with shooting a hotrod. It was exciting from the beginning, because these kinds of cars are pretty rare here. The owner also wanted his dog sitting on the fender. When you hear that (from a photographer’s point of view), it does not sound that difficult to do. But the picture also has to be huge – 100 megapixel are too few.

Three times of that is the minimum requirement for the print. A digital medium format camera gives you 100 Megapixel, maximum 200 in one shot. These are not that easy to rent and they are very expensive too.

My solution was to do a stitched panorama digitally with Canon 5D mkIII, Canon 100mm Macro and the Nodal ninja. Additionally, I shot with my large format camera, a Linhof Mastertechnika with a Kodak Portra 160 VC sheet film.

Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

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