Contact Printing - A Revelation

John McCallum said:

Ahuh - so you guys don't miss enlarging / or having large prints then? (assuming you don't have monster enlarger .

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John, I still do some enlarging because I have a few prints from smaller formats that I still like. But, going back to the enlarger after contact printing makes me appreciate how easy and pleasurable contact printing is.

My mistake was going to 4x5 before 8x10. That little excursion caused be to get a LF enlarger and produce a few 4x5 negs that are some of my best. If I had it to do over again, I would just jump right in to 8x10. I also found that the 8x10 is easier to work with than any other camera I've used. Sure, it weighs more and takes up more room, but I don't have to squint down to see the image. I can look at it with both eyes open and at a more natural viewing distance.

Alex you make a very interesting case.

Argghhhh - wife's going to kill me!!! Mind you, bought her a really nice pair of shoes for her birthday yesterday. :rolleyes: ... and we *are* going to get the Flaming Chicken at the Thai Classic on Sat night!!!!

Yup fair trade! I will start thinking about it seriously.

John.

boy somone can get in trouble hanging 'round this place....

John McCallum said:

Alex you make a very interesting case.

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Just to prod you a little more John, 8x10 is not much more expensive than 4x5. Film and film holders cost more, Azo paper costs more per box, but one needs fewer sheets of paper to get a good print than with enlarging paper. As an example, just yesterday, I blew probably 10 sheets trying to get the print I wanted on an enlargement. With Azo, its never been more than five sheets, typically only three or four.

Second prod: another big benefit of the 8x10, IMO, is that the effects of the view camera movements are much easier to see than with 4x5.

Good luck with the Better Half!

Alex Hawley said:

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Second prod: another big benefit of the 8x10, IMO, is that the effects of the view camera movements are much easier to see than with 4x5.

Good luck with the Better Half!

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Really!? You mean selective focusing and that sort of thing?

John.

Argh stop it! stop it!

John McCallum said:

Really!? You mean selective focusing and that sort of thing?

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That too, but I was thinking more about focusing all around the ground glass and perspective control.

Jorge said:

I dont miss enlarging at all, and after my tests with JandC 400 I think I will be packing my enlarger for good.

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What, you still have enlarging equipment? Surely they are covered in dust by now.