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Large Format Advice
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Cool, thanks for the suggestion John. Will add them to my list to check out. Do you have any samples of your contact prints from the camera online, out of curiosity ?
Damien
Damien – I am finding it great, but having said that I have been using it for one and only one purpose only, which is this project:
http://www.tracesofthereal.com” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;
It has been brilliant for this. Having the big neg in the darkroom is fantastic. Having the movements is great – though I have used no more than front drop. As you probably know, doing colour is pretty expensive though and I have mostly stayed away from that.
I answered an advert on gumtree.ie. I think I was pretty lucky. I was on there for ages while I hummed and hawed about it. I reckon if the seller had put it on adverts or here it would have gone in an instant. It came with a 90mm Super Angulon lens which, in itself, seems to be worth close to what I paid for the camera.
I don’t have anything online at the mo’. Renovating my home at the present and all things photo have to take a back seat. So far all my contacts from 5×7 have been on printing out paper, as I got some years ago a 5×7 split back frame and couple of boxes of pop from retro-photographic before they stopped making it. It’s handy as you don’t need a darkroom. Though hopefully I shall have some sort of darkroom before the years out. Good luck with your search.
Where in Ireland are you? If you’re ever in Galway, you’re welcome to try out my 5×7″ monorail.
Although you’re unlikely to buy the same camera (I’ve customised it a fair bit),
at least you’ll get an idea….I also have 4×5″ and 6x17cm backs for it.best,
CHugh, interesting project
John, thanks. I’m hoping do much the same, as regards contact printing. 8×10 would be great for contact prints, but 5×7 would appear to be the perfect compromise for me, in terms of the size of the resultant contact print, but more importantly the weight of the camera :)
FinePrint, thanks for the generous offer (as well as everyone else who offered use of a camera). Based in Dublin, so will see over the next few months what I really want in a large format camera. Large format is a curiosity mainly for me at the moment, but a direction I see myself exploring soon enough. The flexibility of some of the cameras I’ve been seeing is great,
Damien
5×7 is a good format-
nearly twice the size of 4×5, nearly half the size of 8×10-As you mentioned, probably the smallest size you can get a good contact print from, and nicely proportioned; nearly the same as a full frame 35mm-
However, your subject matter calls for a few different lenses, perhaps a few different lens types-
Architecture demands quite a lot of coverage- a large image circle- since you might find yourself using a lot of movements.
The same lenses can also be used for landscape, though depending on how serious you are about keeping weight to a minimum, you might find that smaller, lighter lenses, with less coverage, will be more appropriate.These lenses may be less suitable for portraits.
There are times when you can use a wide angle for portraits, and the discipline of using a single lens is a good one.
Something around 150mm – 180mm might work, covering everything, although it’ll be long for architecture, and short for portraits- but usable-The type of lens is another consideration- architecture usually requires high resolution, and zero distortion, sometimes landscape too. Portraits usually require less coverage, and less resolution- some subjects won’t thank you for showing every wrinkle in hundred megapixel detail. Larger film leads to finer grain and longer tonal gradations, and there are lenses for portraiture that can make the most of this.
Male portraiture can handle sharper lenses, if your sitter has a Cromwellian outlook;
ladies will seldom be grateful for that kind of attention.Just as with other formats, use of a single lens can be a liberation as much as a limitation.
If you need to experiment with camera movements, a standard, or longer lens, will make movements more apparent, and might be better for learning with.
It can still be useful for architecture, but you might find yourself concentrating on detail-Weight of the camera is only a starting point, there’s also the tripod, head, lenses, boards, darkcloth, loupe, meter, bag- to say nothing of the film holders.
Buying a used camera, you have no idea of how well everything locks down, although buying from a reputable source with an honest description is probably the best way.
Buying a folding camera, made of pretty wood, you have no idea how easy or difficult it is to set up or take down,
or how some movements share controls and lockdowns, and how easy it is for one movement to upset another.
Experience will make things easier, though choosing a camera with well laid out, separate, and intuitive controls will make the learning process faster, more enjoyable, and less frustrating.
Buying a camera from someone who has used it is by far the best approach, they should give honest answers if you can ask the right questions;
buying one from a shop, or the executor of someone’s estate, less good-I bought a B&J 5×7 back from a dealer in the US off ebay a few months ago with a view to putting it on the Arca-
it looked great, and was described as having been tested with a 5×7 holder,
but when it arrived, it was warped like a banana-
they hadn’t used it, so didn’t notice- I got a refund, minus postage, and kept the holder.
Another project on the long finger…
Wood moves, so be careful to buy something that hasn’t been exposed to too much humidity or moisture over the course of its life…My 8×10 weighs 4.1kg in its lightest configuration. 5 double dark slides weigh 3kg. (although I’m working on that)
Some 5×7 cameras will be lighter, some heavier.
5×7 dark slides will be lighter; lenses, well, it’s down to whatever you choose to use-
faster lenses are heavier, and more lenses are heavier.
Lens length has little to do with weight, one of my lightest lenses is a 300mm f/9, one of my heaviest is 72mm f/5.6. Both cover 5×7, by the way- as well as 4×5, and the 300mm covers 8×10 too-I have an old (150 yo) 5×7 portrait lens that’s 10″ long, 5″ diameter, and weighs 2.5kg.
Camera choice is a consideration, but lenses make the pictures, and should be considered too-
there’s no point in buying a camera with a Linhof board if you expect to be using larger lenses- they just won’t fit-Some cameras offer generous movements with wider lenses, some are more restricted.
Cameras can restrict your lens choices at the long and the short end, also if you’d like to use faster lenses, your camera might not allow it.And before you ask, I have no experience of anything but Arca, Sinar, and Linhof-
and none of those come in wood- well, except my one.
in fact, I’ve never even used a folding wooden camera, so sorry, not much help there…Join the Large Format Photographic Forum, the for sale section opens up to you after you’ve been a member for a month,
and their archives contain some of the best information on photography on the internet-joseph
Joseph,
Many thanks for the comprehensive post and information. As I digest what you’ve said, can I ask you about your 10×8 setup. I’d pretty much ruled out 10×8 sheerly due to weight, but your setup doesn’t sound TOO bad, bulk-wise, and wonder what your setup comprises and how it works for what you shoot,
Damien
The camera is described in this post- viewtopic.php?f=83&t=25732
also some info on transportation and processing, but there isn’t much info on lenses there.
Lenses can be shared between formats, but it can be complicated to describe-
far easier to do-I use it mostly for portraits, although I do take it out from time to time too-
I’ve been distracted by other stuff recently, so it hasn’t been used too much.
Even with 4×5, I’m more likely to bring out the Plank than the Arca-I ran a box of Colour negative film through it a while ago,
and I’ve got a few boxes of transparency lined up for when the urge takes me again.5×7 is an attractive format, I might have to do something with that back at some point,
though it’s a long way down the line- too many other things on right now-Film is half the size, so half the price, which can be a consideration, especially using colour-
Joseph, how could I have forgotten that thread! If I could afford to commission you, I would :)
8×10 is a very attractive format for the negative, but phew, the price of 8×10 film really is something else! About €4 a sheet, from my quick googling,
Damien
More like €1.20 a sheet, 5×7 slightly less than half that, if you can handle the reciprocity characteristics of Fomapan-
other than that, it’s a good film- http://www.fomafoto.com/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=35&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1″ onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;Kodak and Ilford are expensive, though there’s a big difference between the prices here (Europe) and in the US.
Kodak recently launched a new 4×5 and 8×10 film, Ektar, and the differences are huge-$92 for 10 sheets here- http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/679021-USA/Kodak_8877516_8_x_10_Ektar.html” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;
€154.64 here- http://www.macodirect.de/kodak-ektar-100br203x254cm-8×1010-sheet-p-1987.html” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;
That’s more than double the price, €15.46 a sheet.
It’s worse in the UK, £135.13 for a box of Portra in Silverprint.
5×7 should be less than half the price, useful especially for colour-
but there aren’t the same range of emulsions available-Apart from the odd box of 4×5, you won’t be buying too many sheet films in this country, so it pays to shop around…
There are some bargains to be had on ebay from time to time too-
Wow, that’s a huge difference between the Fomapan & the others. Had looked at the Ilford range on Silverprint, where I had come up with the €4 a sheet prices. Kodak is pricey alright, even in the US for non-colour films.
I’d shoot b&w solely should I shoot some large format, so I guess that’s a help.
Range of emulsions interesting too. I know 5×7 is not as inured as 5×4 or 10×8 these days, but I guess it could be worth experimenting with cutting 10×8 down to size, if it was a real issue.. :)
Anywho, thanks for the feedback. 10×8 is a real possibility, especially if I was just to use it for portrait work,
Damien
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