After recently purchasing a large format pinhole camera I find myself wanting to dive into 4x5 large format photography. I'd like to learn more about what the bellows extension does, what the heck a recessed lens board does, and to just generally familiarize myself with the parts and pieces of what large format is. Can anybody point me in the right direction for a website or book that I can purchase which may explain all these things to me? I'll likely end up purchasing a large format this coming Christmas, likely something new, but I want to make sure that the camera I buy is more suited to my shooting style and is able to do everything I would want it to do.
Oh, dear. I don't want to denigrate Photrio but it really isn't the best place to look for help with LF. http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum is much better. Its parent http://www.largeformatphotography.info even has articles and FAQs.
This list of links to useful information http://www.largeformatphotography.i...to-look-for-information-on-LF-(mainly)-lenses lives there. It reports on the books most often recommended to beginning LF photographers.
Also, search youtube.com for large format photography tutorials.
I watched one of his videos (view camera movements) and it's very interesting. One thing I noted is the affect tilt/shift had on the amount of light reaching the ground glass. Using tilt/shift must affect your exposure. Are there rules for adding stops of light based on how far you've tilted/shifted?Speaking of which, Fred Newman has some very nicely done tutorials on subjects like rise and fall, tilt and shift. Check this out:
1. The bellows, in essence, permits the lens to move forward and back for focusing. In smaller format cameras this is usually done with a helical mount--rotating the front of the lens moves the lens back and forth for focusing.
2. A recessed lensboard moves the lens closer to the film. With short focal length lenses, they are useful to permit the bellows to flex up, down, left, and right because if the lensboard is too close to the fiilm, the bellows are compressed enough to limit that motion. Those motions are used to control the field of focus and image placement. This is useful for perspective control.
Ansel Adams "The Camera" is a good place to start with the basic functions and parts of a view camera. Probably any book on view cameras will be fine--the information is basic and there aren't any secrets that one writer will have that others won't.
I've watched quite a few but I'm finding a real lack of info on lenses/lensboards/compatability.Also, search youtube.com for large format photography tutorials.
Bookmarked those sites. I'll start pouring through them today.Oh, dear. I don't want to denigrate Photrio but it really isn't the best place to look for help with LF. http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum is much better. Its parent http://www.largeformatphotography.info even has articles and FAQs.
This list of links to useful information http://www.largeformatphotography.i...to-look-for-information-on-LF-(mainly)-lenses lives there. It reports on the books most often recommended to beginning LF photographers.
No. How far the bellows are extended beyond infinity focus can effect your exposure times. This is called “bellows compensation”. But for tilts and shifts, you generally don’t have to worry about that because you’re not moving the lensboard all that far in comparison to when you focus. The angle you view on the ground glass can sometimes give you the illusion of certain areas being brighter than others, especially if there’s a fresnel lens attached. Once you get the camera, spend some time with these movements viewing them on the ground glass to familiarize yourself with how it all works.I watched one of his videos (view camera movements) and it's very interesting. One thing I noted is the affect tilt/shift had on the amount of light reaching the ground glass. Using tilt/shift must affect your exposure. Are there rules for adding stops of light based on how far you've tilted/shifted?
No. How far the bellows are extended beyond infinity focus can effect your exposure times. This is called “bellows compensation”. But for tilts and shifts, you generally don’t have to worry about that because you’re not moving the lensboard all that far in comparison to when you focus. The angle you view on the ground glass can sometimes give you the illusion of certain areas being brighter than others, especially if there’s a fresnel lens attached. Once you get the camera, spend some time with these movements viewing them on the ground glass to familiarize yourself with how it all works.
One thing I had problems with when I first began with large format was loading the film holders. The first two times I did it, I did it wrong. On the first time, I didn’t seat them down far enough, so after pulling the dark slide to make an exposure, I couldn’t get it back in without popping the film out. The second time, I loaded all of the film in backwards. Eventually, I figured it out. It might be worth it to sacrifice one sheet of film so you can practice loading it in the daylight before having to do it blind.
Another problem I’ve had is not closing the shutter before inserting the film. You have to open the shutter to compose and focus your shot, and then close it back down before pulling the dark slide or Elise you’ll get super long exposure times. Also, you have to close the aperture before taking your shot. You need it wide open to focus (usually) but don’t often shoot that way. The whole process is very slow, so take your time. I’d practice at home without film a bunch before actually taking your shots to get used to the process, so you don’t skip a step and waste film.
Lastly, take a notepad out with you and lots of notes. Mine has stuff like actual shutter speeds of various shutters (the old ones can be off by a good bit), bellows compensation charts, filter factors, and anything else I might need in the field. It also has room for taking notes of the shots I’m taking for later use. I also always have a dry erase marker with me. I write down any important information on each film holder for later use. It’s often stuff like if I need to add or subtract development times to this shot, and what kind of film is in it. Plus I label each film holder with a number in case I find a light leak appearing in my shots. It makes narrowing down the source much easier.
Nah.OP, I see that you're in Canada. If you're a well-behaved Canadian you can at least read French.
I will likely be spending the money and buying something new. I've been looking at walker cameras but I think their rear standards don't move and frankly if I'm going to spend the money I'd prefer to have every possible movement available to me. I've emailed Mike there to get a little more information on their 4x5 wide xl though, just to make sure I understand things properly. I know there are tons of old cameras that are perfectly serviceable but I think I'd like to have new for no particularly good reason other than to improve the odds that it'll last my lifetime.
I may have to buy a used lens though, and I know they are the more mechanical part of the camera.
Currently I'm thinking of something around the 100mm range, just roughly about a 35mm lens on a 35mm camera. Wide angle but not insanely so. Do you think this would be a good place to start?
I like to take landscape photos but just as often I go out with an 80-100mm lens on my 35mm cameras but I figure I can just crop the image given the resolution you get from 4x5. Logical assumption?
...and frankly if I'm going to spend the money I'd prefer to have every possible movement available to me.
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