Looked at "Blue Hole" while writing this (always a pleasure to see your print), so I know there are things you can do (and have done) only with 4x5... No worries Roger, I'll still shoot and appreciate 4x5.
I never* had problem with lack of movements in 35mm. And I can be contemplative in a crowd.
Even with roll film I keep development under sensitometric control. I just sacrifice a few frames at the beginning of a roll for a test strip... And I get a curve of what Contrast Index I actually develop that roll to. I find sensitometry just as valuable to know where you are (so you can knowingly develop more or less next time)... as it is to tailor each shot to the specific lighting.
*Of course there were occasional thoughts of buying a shift lens but I never shelled out for one.
Thanks for that. I was going by memory on several tests from different sources and also wanted to be conservative in my claim. Of course, perfect conditions don't exist in the field, anyway.
Agfaortho 25 is not an "ordinary" film, but still, very impressive.
At Zeiss, we use photographic techniques similar to normal pictorial photography including commonly available cameras with Zeiss camera lenses and achieve the same resolving power figures. So the resolving power, as stated by the film manufacturers under lab conditions, is not just of some theoretical value, but it can be achieved and utilized in real world photography.
As we keep testing new film types as they appear on the market in order to find those that are best capable of recording the rich details that can be imaged with Zeiss lenses, we find a trend among the leading film manufacturers towards higher resolving powers combined with increasing film speed. Today, it is possible to resolve 150 lp/mm with 160 ISO color negative films. In black & white, the same resolution can now be had at a speed level of 400 ISO!
....
So it comes round full circle... Maybe I should have given 35mm 100TMAX a chance in 1987
...
That we are comparing 20 square inches of pretty sharp film to one or a couple square inches of really sharp film is something to consider. Inch for inch my 4x5 may not produce the same sharpness as a really good 35 set up, but then again, it doesn't really have to. With my 4x5 or 8x10 if I'm doing things right I don't need to think about sharpness, and I get to concentrate on other things that are more important to me than eeking out everything I can get from an emulsion.
Stone,
Stay safe and dry... I guess your photo serves as an example of what kills DSLR's that film cameras typically can survive...
Among my regrets is not offering to buy a waterproof housing for a Rolleiflex that I saw at a garage sale. Beautiful hunk of what I can only describe as a deep-sea diver's bell helmet.
Jason,
I fully understand your view. For me, it isn't difficult to get satisfying print quality from any format, and while I am discerning about print quality, none of the extra work is ever allowed to stand in the way of making the picture.
Additionally, I feel that I end up with better prints from 35mm often, because the small negative makes me work harder, and in my opinion it shows in the prints.
I do like putting a 4x5 negative in the enlarger, however, but I do not enjoy spotting the print, something I rarely have to do with 35mm, even in 16x20 prints.
That we are comparing 20 square inches of pretty sharp film to one or a couple square inches of really sharp film is something to consider. Inch for inch my 4x5 may not produce the same sharpness as a really good 35 set up, but then again, it doesn't really have to. With my 4x5 or 8x10 if I'm doing things right I don't need to think about sharpness, and I get to concentrate on other things that are more important to me than eeking out everything I can get from an emulsion.
I don't get the thing about spotting, unless you are talking about dealing with black spots from dust on sheet film. Dealing with those other than digitally is enough to make a grown man weep no matter which of a few difficult techniques you use.
But with clean film, I have fewer regular white dust specks from dust on negatives when printing from 4x5 than I do from smaller formats or, more accurately perhaps, the smaller magnifications make them unnoticeable. I just don't have a problem with dust in printing.
Dust on sheet film at exposure, well I've gone from it being rare to ruining more shots than not, depending on method, environment, and luck.
Similar question for those who are apparently successfully "spotting" black spots on prints from sheet film negatives that had dust on exposure. The ways I am familiar with, none of which I've had success with:
1. Spot the negative so that the spot prints white, then spot in the usual way. The problem with this is that one must be EXTREMELY careful or you end up with an absolutely gigantic and almost impossible to successfully spot white spot on the print. Also, I'm not sure of the material to use for this. Something used to be recommended, something red I think, but I can't recall the name. At any rate, I could never find the stuff.
One thing I like when I use my TLR is all the interesting people you get to meet on the street who ask you questions.
In two outings I think I was stopped by 5 people, including a man dressed as Ronald Macdonald!
Karl
New Coccine. PM me and I'll mail you a pinch of the stuff. Then pick up a copy of Lootens and all the instructions how to use it are there. Another trick is opaque. Yes absolutely gigantic gobs of it. Well on 4x5 it's only a pinpoint. You do have to spot it back to gray on the print. But here, you have a chance to make it gray (instead of full on black). And the trick often works 100%. Most of the time it works 80% and that's good enough to keep the spot from detracting.
And the third trick is literally a pinpoint. Rough up the base behind the speck, and it will disappear (visually) on the print. On close inspection you will still have a gray dot with a light halo. But done right, it's well camoflaged.
I don't often use 2. and 3. though I have the Farmer's Reducer and Homer knife. I find the etching knife always leaves a dull spot even when done properly.
Spotting is best done digitally. That's the unfortunate truth
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