Large Format Digital Photography

SteveInNZ wrote:

I'm interested in doing the same thing, mostly to gain movements but having indexed tiling could be something to experiment with.

I was thinking of a Horseman 985 or VH as it has front and back movements but in a 6x9 field camera format. I'd be using a Sony A7s. I feel very much like I'm jumping in the deep end so I'd appreciate any catches you foresee with that setup.

For a number of reasons, neither of those would be my first choice, but whether they'll work for you depends upon a number of things.

For example, what focal length range of lenses do you prefer to use?  Without a bag bellows, you'll be lucky to be able to use wide-angle lenses of any kind, due to the longish flange-to-focal distance view cameras typically have.

Also, when capturing images with a small-format sensor, the range of movements used will be quite a bit smaller, so greater precision is required than it was back in the film days and geared movements are helpful, too.

Better, I think, to buy one of the five used Toyo VX23DS present available on eBay and start with that or buy a Cambo Actus and skip the DIY bits altogether.  <shrugs>

There's no doubt that cooling the sensor in an astro camera makes a lot of difference but you'd then have to control the camera with a laptop which starts to make it a bit more awkward. Perhaps a better option for you would be a cooled standard camera from a place like CentralDS if you can afford the loss in back focus.

Alas, those cameras aren't an option for me, as they would require me to use at least medium-format lenses and even the shortest one of those is too long for much of the subject matter I photograph.  And I'm not sure I need a laptop, either, as a tablet should be able to do the job, but we'll see...