boyooso said:
I might be silly for asking this question, but what makes a camera better for portraits than others? I use a zone vi 4x5 and a B&J 8x10 for portraits and think both work fine. I can't imagine why any other cameras would work better or worse? aside from length of bellows? I would love to know what makes a good portrait camera? CoreyPS. Isn't the camera basically a box to attach a lens?
A portrait camera is EXACTLY a box attached to a lens.
If you are doing fashion, i.e. portraiture that moves, you need a box that is portable and has basic movements that can be managed quickly without disturbing the camera.
A small camera is portable, good, but often one must be very careful using the movements so you don't move the whole camera. The smaller the knobs, the quicker the gearing, the harder to make fine movements without taking one's attention from the model. When you consider how much money a real model is paid, how much money a fashion shoot costs, and how much stress you are under, lovely little field cameras can be well hated on a shoot.
Think about having to shoot 12 different scenes in 10 minutes. Think about being 5'8 and shooting a 6 foot model. [ Gowlandflex= Death by ladder ]Imagine you have a single assistant to hold a reflector, and possibly handing you the film. Worry about makeup, loose hair, and the guy down the alley watching you in a menacing way.
Now, imagine using a cute little boutique 4x5 camera and how the big darkcloth fastens to the frame and hangs into the groundglass. How hard can you pull on the darkcloth before you displace the back standard ? Can you load film without getting it caught in the dark cloth ? Does the darkcloth always flip up over the lens when you're in a hurry ?
How long are your fingers ? Does loading the film quickly ( read: fast ) shake the camera ? Do you hit the front rail, or loosen a lock when you reach around the camera to cock the shutter ?
Cameras like the 8x10 Deardorff and 4x5 COLOR Linhof are well suited to this chaos. So is a Crown Graphic. So are the old Calumet 8x10s.