Novoflex BALPRO T/S adapter review: Part 2 – stability and accuracy
guest post by Nathan Wright (ohm-image.net)
In part 1 of this review, I discussed the design, operation, controls, and modularity of the Novoflex BALPRO T/S. In this part, I will focus on the stability and accuracy of the BALPRO T/S system for use in the studio.
Focus
Still life photography requires incredibly tight focus. It requires repeatable results. Just-about workmanship and focus can render simple jobs difficult, and lose clients. Most of my non-magazine work is spent nailing angles, lighting, and reflections. The actual taking of photographs is almost an afterthought. After all, when everything is ready, a photograph only requires the depressing of the exposure button. But at the end of a hard day of cleaning, placing, and endless adjusting, I need a camera system that does its job quickly and with as little fuss as possible.
Suffice it to say that when camera/stage angles are set, nothing must ever move. At macro distances, fine reflections can drastically change from the slightest sag of lens or camera.
This is the single biggest reason I prefer using geared equipment. As I mentioned in part 1, the BALPRO T/S has three geared controls:
1. front standard focus
2. front standard shift
3. rear standard shift
Each runs on metal teeth and gears, and is labelled to the millimetre. Measured and minute movements are easy to make. While no camera movement is labelled in increments smaller than 1mm, it is possible to set up good macro composites with the aid of muscle memory and a good eye, not to mention the proper use of a tape measure and those geometry lessons you had in secondary school.
Lateral shifts move with little pressure, and once set, never fall due to gravity. The focusing bolt on the front standard requires greater torque to turn, and it can be locked. As a result, it is a dream to use, and is far more accurate than the camera I used before, the 4×5 Horseman LD (pictured in part 1), which uses plastic focusing gears.
Of course, because the BALPRO T/S lacks a unified monorail, stacked focus, while accurate, is quick and dirty. If you are a capable mathematician, and very, very careful, you can achieve similar results with a good macro tilt/shift lens. The benefit to the BALPRO T/S is that every forward movement increases distance toward the subject in logarithmic, not exponential increments. That means a faster workflow. And a faster workflow means better dime for your time. And I’m not a mathematician.
I do miss the focusing monorail, but after completing four commercial shoots with the BALPRO T/S, I can say with unequivocal indemnity, that these compact bellows are most capable.
Stability
