Hello Hans,
I posed the question:
Bill says above :Can we return to Bild 146-1990-061 and NH69729 please? As A photogrammetrist are you able to say anything about the angle between the camera axis and the rail?
If the camera is almost directly perpendicular to the railing, and the railing is parallel to the centreline of PG and we are seeing Bismarck head-on, then Bismarck and PG are at right angles to one another.My sense of it, though, based on the numbers I've been able to work through quickly, and doing some graphic analysis, is that the angle between the stanchions and the observer is only a few degrees, perhaps two to five, meaning that the camera is pointed almost directly perpendicular to the railing.
Only these two pictures show Bismarck coming head -on straight down the camera axis and therefore perpendicular to PG's rail and were probably shot seconds apart. The other is the flash effect which I believe was taken a few moments later as Bismarck was about to pass PG's stern and Brinkmann's ship having crossed the flagship's bows, likely having turned through more than 90 degrees, prepares to swing hard back to port again to parallel the flagship, thus fouling her own range. I postulate this three frame sequence shows Bismarck and PG starting on courses at right angles moving to Bismarck being somewhere slightly abaft the starboard beam of PG with the muzzles of the midships 105mm in the edge of the shot and Bismarck seen from c 30 degrees on her starboard bow as seen in the Flash Effect. Very close.
Are you saying you believe the axis of the camera in Bild 146-1990-061 is actually at 50-60 degrees and not 90 to the railing? Can you see any foreshortening or differential blur across the frame to suggest this is true?
Kine Exacta/Leica: I believe it is likely the fastest lens, ie the one with the biggest aperture, would be the 50mm in both cases. There is increased chance of camera shake and blur when using a telephoto in the "action situation" and the standard lens allowing the fastest shutter speed is the safest option. If the shot is found to be sharp it can always be enlarged later to simulate the use of a telephoto. If the telephoto is used, not only will this slower lens require a slower shutter speed, but the magnification makes it harder to hold steady. With guns going off and shells flying around one's ears.
For the record I have never been confident in the distance postulated for NH69722. Or indeed that it depicts the first salvo at Denmark Straits.
All the best
wadinga