5 x 4 Camera Research

So, I thought I'd update with a little bit of research on 5x4 cameras. We did get a hand out, but that is in my professional studies folder.
So, after typing 'the uses of 5x4 cameras' into Google, I found a site that had a very brief but accurate description of how they can be used.

5x4
"5x4 cameras as the name implies use film that measures 5"x4" (127mm x 102mm), give superlative quality, and are where our business name comes from. Rather than on a roll (as in 35mm or 120) the film comes in single sheets cut to size; so the film is often called cut film, and the cameras "cut film cameras."

The cameras consist of four main components:

• A frame to take a lens in a panel - known as the front standard
• An identical frame to take a ground glass viewing screen which also acts as a clamp to hold the film holder in place. This frame is called the rear standard.
• A rail on which the front and rear standards can slide.
• A set of light tight bellows to go between the standards.

Because of the single rail these are known as monorail cameras. (There are also flatbed cameras with a plate replacing the rail. Rarely used now, the press version of these can be seen in old movies showing press photographers in the 1930s and 40s).
The monorail camera is rather like an optical bench. The standards can be moved off axis - to the left or right (called shift), up and down (called rise and fall), swung aroung a vertical axis (swing) or a horizontal axis (tilt). These are collectively referred to as camera movements and can be used to manipulate the plane of focus, perspective and so on. All of which results in the large format camera being the most flexible and useful of tools, enabling superb quality images to be produced."

http://www.camera54.co.uk/Equipment.htm

This sort of camera is perfect for taking pictures of architecture. As both the lens at the front and the plate at the back can be raised and tilted backwards, it corrects the perspective of the building. This means that instead of the sides of the building being off centre, it keeps the sides straight without cutting off any of the top of the building.

However, as it takes slide film, and I do not have long to photograph the buildings, I think I will use my digital SLR and correct the perspective in Photoshop. This does seem like cheating, but it's quicker and cheaper!

I will now try and find a tutorial on how to correct perspective in Photoshop, again using search engines.