For professionals, the ability to manipulate camera movement can make all the difference in sharpness and quality. With this in mind, Komamura Corporation, distributor of the Horseman line of professional products, today announced the Horseman LD Pro.

The LD Pro is a camera back accessory that is equipped with a slide-back mechanism to allow mounting of a high-end camera back to give full bellows functions, and allow you to convert the LD into a 4x5-inch film camera. The LD Pro takes high-end digital backs, such as Phase One, Leaf, Imacon and Sinar.

The Horseman LD Pro allows users to easily control depth of field, distortion, and lateral shift or being able to switch portrait/landscape with one-touch operation. The LD Pro has a four-way insert system for switching. It also has interchangeable camera mount system, which includes Hasselblad "V," Hasselblad "H" and Mamiya 645 plates.

Using camera movement to control depth of field, distortion, and lateral shift or being able to switch portrait/landscape in a one-touch operation may not be something the average user is concerned about, but for professionals and prosumers, being able to manipulate camera movement can make all the difference in sharpness and photo quality.

You can also control perspective distortion by tilting the back (focus plane) or, with a lateral shift; you can move the image and get larger image stitching. In addition, you can change format very quickly and smoothly.

The Horseman LD Pro has a unique ability to take advantage of camera movements, such as shift and tilt. It provides a swing/tilt of up to 360 degrees, a rise/fall of 30 mm each and a lateral shift of 30 mm left and right.

With a conventional view camera without the LD Pro's unique focus plane axis tilt, you get focus and image shifts, which require you to refocus and re-frame. No image or focus shift occurs when using the LD Pro's back tilt/swing. It allows you to control the "plane of focus" by tilting the lens. This tilt movement controls the plane of sharp image at wider aperture.

One of the most exciting features of the LD Pro is a unique "Main Frame Drive System" (MFD), which allows you to move the rear frame (sliding back) parallel to the focus ground (glass or film) plane from the center to 40mm above. This works as "additional" rise of the rear frame, but with using this you won't loose the focus since this movement is always parallel to the image plane. It also allows you to move the rear tilt axis and to stitch images vertically. Conventional rise/fall can only be used for vertical stitching when not tilt movement is applied, but with the MFD's focal plane rise, you can always stitch vertically.

Horseman LD Pro
Type	View Camera for Hi-end Digital Backs
Material	Die-cast and machined alminium alloy
Camera Back	Sliding Back with Detachable camera plate
Focusing	Rack and pinion drive
Lens Panel	140mm x 140mm
Rise / Fall	30mm+30mm rack and pinion
Lateral Shift	30mm+30mm rack and pinion
Focus Plane Rise	40mm
Swing	360°
Center Tilt	360°
Min. Frange Distance	35mm (w/20mm recessed panel)
Monorail	400mm
Tripod Block	Rack and pinion
External Dimentions	325mm (12.7") x 380mm (15") x 420mm (16.5")
Weight	4.4kg
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