Large Format choice

John Kasaian · Feb 11, 2010

This is too tempting not to chime in. jbbooks "top of the line" 8x10 list is good but I'll submit the following opinionated changes:

Filters: B+W or Tiffin

Film Holder: Lisco Regal (not Regal II) or Kodak Graflex

Film b&w: Kodak TMY, Ilford FP-4+, Fuji

Tripod: Ries

Loupe: Silvestri 6x tilting

Dark cloth: Have your bride sew one custom for you---just the way you want it
to be! This might take several tries to get it "right." and most importantly:

Humility: For when you see a photo taken with a beat up and patched wobbly gray B&J mounted on a cobbled up surveyors tripod and a Turner Reich triple convertible (with the requisite balsam seperation) barrel lens with a hat for a shutter and on dated film from God knows where stuffed in an old wooden Ansco holder, louped with an plastic Agfa (and a meter? What meter?) and it beats the pants off the best you've done.

This is because photographs have no concept of the money spent to produce them nor respect the brand names that make photographers get all warm and fuzzy inside.
Get out there and take photos!

Martin Aislabie · Feb 11, 2010

A sturdy geared Tripod Head is a good idea - IMO the nicest one is the Manfrotto MN400 which can handle 10Kg - comfortably more than a 10x8 - http://www.manfrotto.com/Jahia/site/manfrotto/pid/2346?livid=80&lsf=80&child=4

A Carbon Fibre or Baslat Tripod might be a good idea in the UAE - they get less uncomfotable hot to hold in the summer - http://www.gitzo.com/cms/site/gitzo...onid=112AEE8B0749BC68856EB7CA41DB77F9.worker1

A Silver finished darkcloth is a must - although it will still get extreamly hot under there - the most swanky one is the Ebony one (with a price to match) - http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/product.asp?P_ID=1020&PT_ID=163

Ebony make some of the nicest wooden field cameras at a price to match - Dead Link Removed

Before you choose a camera you need to decide what you are most likely to take with it - as the choice of focal lenght of lenses will affect your camera choice.

Also, you need to think how far are you likely to want to carry it - they are seriously heavy pieces of kit with all the paraphenalia needed.

Martin

paulie · Feb 11, 2010

John Kasaian

now heres some great advice, i personally subscribe to the black hat and flash durations shutter.

cheap older the better lenses in barrels preferably with damage and fogging

even cheaper old style film, era, shangers, foma

foamcore and tape construction

if it aint cheap then it aint mine lol

TareqPhoto · Feb 11, 2010

I have Gitzo Tripods from series 1 up tp series 5 which can hold up to 25kg, is that enough?
So surprise that the most three LF brands i was looking at are: Ebony,, Toyo, and that from Richard Ritter [which i said before about customized LF, i was meaning him].
Once i will decide on which one i will go then definitely i will choose a lens, film holder, loupe, dark cloth,....
I have Sekonic L-758DR, is it a good light meter to be used with film cameras?

nick mulder · Feb 11, 2010

Yup, the L-758DR will work very well - set up a camera profile for your new camera...

2F/2F · Feb 11, 2010

New 8x10 cameras are expensive. New lenses for them are expensive. The cameras are big. The other equipment you need to use them is also big. The negative is big too...but think about how big you really need it to be to get what you want...and how much money you want to spend to get the pix you want.

I would start in LF with a used 4x5 kit, personally...for a plethora of reasons which have been discussed at length in previous threads. Most importantly, it is the most common, equipment- and supply-wise, the cheapest, and even this relatively small sheet film format will give you enough quality to knock the socks off of almost anyone.

...and before that, let us remember that you have never even shot film. I would at least learn the basics of film photography on a smaller camera, such as a manual, meterless 35mm or medium-format SLR. Making all the beginning mistakes you will make will be much cheaper this way, as will your initial investment.

P.S. FYI, a Sinar F travels extremely well; arguably better than any other monorail camera. They are now so cheap that it is hard to ever recommend anything else to someone who is serious about learning 4x5 and using it into the future. They are cheap, they are arguably the best all-around view camera ever made, they are easy to use, to handle, and to pack, the system is extensive (to say the least), and the backward-and-forward parts compatibility is also a huge plus.

TareqPhoto · Feb 11, 2010

nick mulder said:
Yup, the L-758DR will work very well - set up a camera profile for your new camera...

Too bad i don't know how to setup a profile.
my problem is that with all those tutorials in English i take long time to find out the meaning of the words long time so that i don't continue to read, and i think i didn't see any full video for profiling the camera with Sekonic light meter.

TareqPhoto · Feb 11, 2010

2F/2F said:
New 8x10 cameras are expensive. New lenses for them are expensive. The cameras are big. The other equipment you need to use them is also big. The negative is big too...but think about how big you really need it to be to get what you want...and how much money you want to spend to get the pix you want.

I would start in LF with a used 4x5 kit, personally...for a plethora of reasons which have been discussed at length in previous threads. Most importantly, it is the most common, equipment- and supply-wise, the cheapest, and even this relatively small sheet film format will give you enough quality to knock the socks off of almost anyone.

...and before that, let us remember that you have never even shot film. I would at least learn the basics of film photography on a smaller camera, such as a manual, meterless 35mm or medium-format SLR. Making all the beginning mistakes you will make will be much cheaper this way, as will your initial investment.

P.S. FYI, a Sinar F travels extremely well; arguably better than any other monorail camera. They are now so cheap that it is hard to ever recommend anything else to someone who is serious about learning 4x5 and using it into the future. They are cheap, they are arguably the best all-around view camera ever made, they are easy to use, to handle, and to pack, the system is extensive (to say the least), and the backward-and-forward parts compatibility is also a huge plus.

I will buy a LF after i break my medium format film bodies of shots [will finish all the film rolls i have to see what i have achieved so far], later on i can decide on a LF, who knows, i may forget about LF after a while with film MF.

nick mulder · Feb 11, 2010

TareqPhoto said:
Too bad i don't know how to setup a profile.
my problem is that with all those tutorials in English i take long time to find out the meaning of the words long time so that i don't continue to read, and i think i didn't see any full video for profiling the camera with Sekonic light meter.

I didn't mean those full on film DR things you have to use the USB cable with, seemed more digital oriented anyway - just one of the 3 (?) camera presets - with mine, I have two 'cameras' set up in cine mode with appropriate shutter angles and prism compensation (I have the cine version) and the third set up really vanilla for the Sinars and Mamiya here ...

And again you'd do well to note that the Sinar F has come up again is conversation here (2F/2F)

TareqPhoto · Feb 11, 2010

nick mulder said:
I didn't mean those full on film DR things you have to use the USB cable with, seemed more digital oriented anyway - just one of the 3 (?) camera presets - with mine, I have two 'cameras' set up in cine mode with appropriate shutter angles and prism compensation (I have the cine version) and the third set up really vanilla for the Sinars and Mamiya here ...

And again you'd do well to note that the Sinar F has come up again is conversation here (2F/2F)

OK, i will check out that
Thanks!

Large Format choice

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