Can I even do Large Format?

yeknom02

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Hi all,

I'm wondering whether large format is even possible given my current life situation. I'm sure I could eventually afford a camera (and whatever parts are needed - I'm totally new to even thinking about LF) but my question is about the film itself.

35mm and 120 are not problems for me to develop since I have a changing bag and tanks by Paterson and Hewes. But is the only way to develop sheet film in non-daylight hanging tanks? I don't have the space for a darkroom at all, and my options are limited to what I can pull off in a changing bag or over my well-lit kitchen sink.

Should I totally abandon hopes for a Large Format camera until I can buy my own house and pump a load of money into making a darkroom?
 

Sirius Glass

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FreeStyle sells the Combi Plan T 4x5 Processing Tank with Lid for $85.99 which will allow you to daylight process 4x5 film. You can invert this tank for agitation which will avoid the streaking problems. It was highly recommended to me.

Product Details:
HP's Combi-Plan tank will hold both sheet film and glass plates , from 6.5 cm to 4"x5". Its adjustable carrier will hold up to six sheets, and can be used with wet and dry films. A locking retainer clip secures the film within the carrier, and the leak-proof lid allows for inverse agitation, like in 35mm tanks. It also comes with a loader for easy, foolproof loading in the dark.

CONTAINS: tank, light leak-proof lid, negative carrier, film loading guide, funnel, and 2 light-tight hose connectors.​

The Yankee Adjustable 4x5 Cut film Developing Tank
is limited in agitation directions so that the center of the negative develops correctly, but the edges over develop.


Steve
 

Kevin Caulfield

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I'm new to LF processing and am delighted with the Combi-Plan tank. It works basically exactly the same as any other daylight processing tank. Go on, you can do it too.
 

papagene

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I have the Combi Tank and can recommend it. I have only had a couple of (boneheaded) user problems. It can be used as an inversion tank or for semi-stand developing. If the Combi is affordable for you, don't be afraid of jumping into the LF waters.
 

Sirius Glass

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Yeah, it is that kind of attitude that has me drowning in formats, 35mm, 6x6 and 4x5, and many cameras!

Steve
 

David A. Goldfarb

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You can make it simple or as complex as you want it to be. If you want a daylight tank, the Combi Plan is one option, and if you look you can find a Nikor stainless steel tank (search for "nikor sheet film tank" and you should turn up a few threads on it, including one where I've posted the instruction sheet) that holds 12 sheets of any film up to 4x5" and works pretty much like a daylight tank for rollfilm. There's also a Jobo sheet film reel that holds six sheets and works much like the Nikor tank.

I'd avoid the Yankee tank.
 

grahamp

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If you don't have a darkroom, what do you do with your 35mm/120 negatives? Developing 5x4 is not that difficult - in fact a Paterson Universal tank with the column in and no spirals will develop 5x4 - search for the 'taco' method.

But unless you have a 5x4 scanner with a transparency lid you need some sort of darkroom. Unless you are doing colour transparencies?

Now, a 5x4 with a roll film back will give you the perspective control and still use the formats you already use. Not as nice as a 5x4 sheet, but good enough. There are 6x9 cm view cameras, but likely not at a budget.
 

bblhed

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If you really want to do it, you will find a way. If the only place I had to process film was a kitchen cabinet with broken glass in it, I would take out the shelves, toss in a few towels to sit on and climb in.

Sounds like you have the tank part covered, now you just have to figure out how to get it on paper.

There are a lot of good labs that can print for you, but there is nothing like being able to for (better or worse) decide how you want to print it.
 

BradS

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When I started shooting 4x5 I had a Crown Graphic, a few film holders, a changing bag and the Patterson System 4 tank that holds two 35mm reels...I metered with the Nikon FA that I already had. I developed the 4x5 sheet film in the Patterson tank (w/o reels) one sheet at a time. It can be done. It isn't hard, and it need not be very expensive.

You can do it!
 

Ian Grant

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You can load and unload 5x4 dark slides in a bath-room if there's no outside window, there's usually one room in a house or apartment suitable.

Someone in the UK makes a holder for the Paterson multi tanks that takes 4 sheets of 5x4, he sells via ebay the first went for just under £20 ($32). Combi or Yankee tanks can be foind quite cheaply second hand but they aren't as good or practical as the Jobo tanks.

A Jobo 2000 (pre motor base) hold 2 spirals of 6 sheets each and the later Jobo tanks can also be used for inversion agitation (like the Paterson).

As youir a Subscriber I'd place a wanted advet here on APUG, that's how I got my 2nd Jobo and also a Yankee tank.

Ian
 

Yamaotoko

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To develop my sheet film, I just made up some little tubes, not too dissimilar to BTZ tubes. Just a length of PVC pipe, maybe 1 1/2" diameter (I'm away from home, or I'd go measure them) with an end cap, and a little light trap at the other end. I think it was on the LargeFormatPhotography forum that I first read about the idea. Works very well, costs next to nothing to buy the parts, takes no time to make up a few tubes. Each tube holds 200ml, so just perfect for my needs of Xtol @ 1:1.
 

Jeff Searust

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I will put my vote in for a yankee tank. -- Loading it in a bag made me learn new and interesting words, but the results the first time doing it made me very very happy...
 

Laurent

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I did the same wen I started LF : use a changing bag and a Combiplan, developed in the kitchen. Go for it, but be aware as LF is addictive !
 

timparkin

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Hi - If you have room for a Jobo CPE, they can be had off ebay for about $100 to $150 (at least in the UK they are). If you want to see how easy it is, have a look

http://www.timparkin.co.uk/blog/jobo-film-developing

You'll manage fine (the video was my very first solo attempt - I had watched someone else do it once before).

Tim
 

GeorgesGiralt

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Hi !
There are a lot of daylight tanks for you to use.
I've written a review of some of them here : http://www.galerie-photo.com/developpement-plan-films.html
It's in French but Google does a great job in translating.
If I were you, I'll try to find a Jobo tank or a Nikor. These are very good, durable, and if you, one day, get a real darkroom and process your color work with a Jobo processor, the tank will be usable (or you will be able to sell the Nikor for the price you paid for it ;-) )
It's only wotrh the 2 cents, but having done 4x5 dev. in hotels I can ascertain what I wrote....
 

Monophoto

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You can do LF without a darkroom. Film can be loaded and unloaded using a changing bag. There are daylight tanks for 4x5 film (the CombiPlan tank is the most common), and if you are prepared to make the investment, Jobo has a nice system.

That said, having a darkroom certainly is more convenient. Fumbling around with a changing bag is something that I'm willing to do under special circumstances (eg, while traveling), but it's pretty tedious and downright miserable in hot weather. The CombiPlan tank works fine, but it has a reputation for leaking, so you may find yourself processing in the bathtub. And eventually, the objective is to make prints, and that is not something that can conveniently be done without a darkroom.
 

bdial

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Processing the film has been pretty well covered here. Another thing to consider is a changing tent rather than a bag, it gives you more space to work in and is more comfortable (for your hands and the materials you're working with, not your whole body).

Aside from the processing film part, LF is about the simplest way of working with film photography. You can contact print with just a light bulb if you have some space like a bathroom you can make temporarily dark. For paper you can get away with a bit of light leaking that film couldn't tolerate.
 

Rick A

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Processing questions aside, its fairly inexpensive to get into 4x5 gear these days. Calumet cc-400 or cc-401 cameras are running less than $100(some even come with lenses for that price) and are capable of nearly everything a $1000 camera can do. Lenses aren't much money, add a handfull of film holders and a decent tripod, light meter and any little convenience gadget you desire, and it's still no more than a decent 35mm camera kit(and loads cheaper than a Hassy).
 

Thingy

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I live in a small, two-up-two-down house near London and live quite happily without a darkroom whilst pursuing LF photography. I send my QuickLoad film for processing but am starting to experiment with developing my own B&W sheet film in a secondhand Paterson Orbital Processor with motor. You can develop up to 4 sheets of 5x4 at a time and once loaded in a lightproof tent (such as the excellent Harrison) the remainder of the processing can be done in daylight.

The cost of starting out need not be high. Secondhand LF cameras are very affordable and even modern lenses such as some of the Nikkors can be bought for remarkably little, in good condition. The thing to remember is that the older lenses mean that you need to stop well down to get a sharp image over the whole film surface whereas a modern lens can be used, in the case of a Cooke PS945, at full aperture.
 

2F/2F

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The greatest hindrance that I see is that you say you do not have the space for a darkroom. However, if you have your negs lab printed or scanned, then you can certainly use large format to make your images in your current situation.
 

Sirius Glass

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OP, I just sent you an email that will give you a better path forward for processing both film and paper.

Steve
 

Christopher Walrath

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All I can say if the 35mm's have been sitting in the corner in their bag for more than a few months now. Once you go LF, you might never go back.
 

Sirius Glass

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Ah, but you left out that when you take off the cap to pour out one chemical for another, it must be done in the darkroom. OP does not have a darkroom.

Steve
 
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