Need help on first 4x5 camera purchase
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When i shoot 35mm, 20mm lens is fine for the widest. I am no pto at medium format 120 either. Just started that awhile ago as well. Mamiya 7
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Near allentown, bethlehem
Okay so roughly .5x to 2x "normal" focal length. For 4x5 that would be approximately 75mm-300mm. Keep in mind some people find there is a moderate adjustment to be made when jumping from small to large format regarding lens focal lengths... one way or the other.
The following lists assume moderate distances between focal lengths.
"MY" choices for 4x5 (if $ is of no concern and larger image circles are important)...
72mm SAXL
110mm SSXL
150mm Apo Symmar-L
210 Apo Symmar-L
300mm Fujinon-C
If lightweight and cost are more important...
75mm f/8 Nikkor-SW (but 65mm fits this series better)
90mm f/8 Nikkor-SW
135mm Fujinon-W
203mm Ektar
300mm Fujinon-C
Camera: I really like the Chamonix 045N-2... but it's a true field camera so it's a bit more fiddly than a Crown Graphic... but the Chamonix is more versatile.
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How about this?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/121555170231?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&fromMakeTrack=true
or this?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/111586209289?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&fromMakeTrack=true
or this?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Graflex-Pac...049?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c4d43c811
http://www.ebay.com/itm/121555170231?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&fromMakeTrack=true
or this?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/111586209289?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&fromMakeTrack=true
or this?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Graflex-Pac...049?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c4d43c811
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Hey, Mark. A few odds and ends you will need to pick up for yourself.
-You will need that focusing cloth. Makes things much easier when trying to focus.
-So would a good focusing loupe. From one who does not have but is soon to get one, that one piece of gear will make things pop sufficiently enough.
-Get a good one degree spot meter. I have an old Soligor and made my own Zone dial and taped it to the barrel for easy adjustments.
-Come up with a good process for determining exposure and weighing in filter and reciprocity factors as well as focal length. I have come up with something akin to what Saint Ansel has in the backs of some of his books and I make out about 50 index cards at a time for easy notes and reference.
-You will not know how your wide lens will focus until you mount it to the camera body you own. Be prepared to invest in a recessed lens board. I will need to the same for myself as my 90mm is on a small board that will not quite focus to infinity and I do not want to rely on hyperfocal length.
-Good sturdy tripod. I use an Assia three axis for a Calumet monorail and it holds it still just fine.
-A couple 'L' brackets, braided little flexible shutter cable extensions, come in very handy and make things much better. Only need to carry one shutter release cable that way.
-A small tape measure to easily determine bellows extension length.
Man, you are going to have a lot of fun. Where in PA? I am in Delaware but love driving a bit for good photography.
-You will need that focusing cloth. Makes things much easier when trying to focus.
-So would a good focusing loupe. From one who does not have but is soon to get one, that one piece of gear will make things pop sufficiently enough.
-Get a good one degree spot meter. I have an old Soligor and made my own Zone dial and taped it to the barrel for easy adjustments.
-Come up with a good process for determining exposure and weighing in filter and reciprocity factors as well as focal length. I have come up with something akin to what Saint Ansel has in the backs of some of his books and I make out about 50 index cards at a time for easy notes and reference.
-You will not know how your wide lens will focus until you mount it to the camera body you own. Be prepared to invest in a recessed lens board. I will need to the same for myself as my 90mm is on a small board that will not quite focus to infinity and I do not want to rely on hyperfocal length.
-Good sturdy tripod. I use an Assia three axis for a Calumet monorail and it holds it still just fine.
-A couple 'L' brackets, braided little flexible shutter cable extensions, come in very handy and make things much better. Only need to carry one shutter release cable that way.
-A small tape measure to easily determine bellows extension length.
Man, you are going to have a lot of fun. Where in PA? I am in Delaware but love driving a bit for good photography.
Gotcha. Disregard above last little bit. Duh. (Did a large format photographer just say 'Duh'?)
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Sounds good. I need lessons..lol
We'll be near Pittsburgh again soon, but I graduated from Moravian (and, yes, husband from Lehigh).
A crown is not a bad way to start.
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How about this crown graphic on ebay? I wonder how many sheets of film it can hold as is. they dont mention how many film holders, if any come with it...remember I may be clueless...here..lol...new to 4x5
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Graflex-Pac...x5-Camera-Optar-135mm-f4-7-Lens-/121555372049?
From what I read, I should get an optar or ektar lens and a graflok back.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Graflex-Pac...x5-Camera-Optar-135mm-f4-7-Lens-/121555372049?
From what I read, I should get an optar or ektar lens and a graflok back.
Attachments
Mark, as a tightwad tinkerer, I'd opt for the first one. Instructions on adjusting rangefinders are available online. The other two appear to be in much better than average condition, but at a premium price.
Cheap focusing cloth - Pay a visit to a fabric/curtain shop and purchase a yard or two of some black twill. Sew a dressmakers tape along one side and you're all set.
How about this crown graphic on ebay? I wonder how many sheets of film it can hold as is. they dont mention how many film holders, if any come with it...remember I may be clueless...here..lol...new to 4x5
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Graflex-Pac...x5-Camera-Optar-135mm-f4-7-Lens-/121555372049?
From what I read, I should get an optar or ektar lens and a graflok back.
Crown Graphics are great but at close to $500.00 I would rather add a couple hundred and put it towards a used Shen Hao or first generation Chamonix.
Crowns and Speeds are press cameras and were designed to be used hand held. They are not field cameras and lack any back movements and their front movements are limited. For backpacking I would much rather have a field camera.
I second Alan's opinion. I've been following the thread, which contains much sound advice, but wondered how the press cameras seemed to become a first choice, especially since you mentIoned light weight in the original post. For backpacking almost any of the wooden folders will be lighter and at the same time more versatile.
Thinking about this thread I took a quick look at KEH cameras site to see what they were selling used. Unfortunately it looks like they are phasing out of large format, the selection was a fraction of what it used to be. But one camera that caught my eye was a Sinar F2 in the $300s. I started with a Sinar F a very long time ago, and while it is not as convenient as a folder, it is a great starter camera because just about every Sinar part from every model is interchangeable, and parts are plentiful and fairly cheap. While I loved my little wooden Wista for carrying around, I also carried that Sinar around a lot, and if you don't go for a wooden folder, it is a model I think you should consider. (The Sinar Fx series was their lightest and most easily transportable model.)
Thinking about this thread I took a quick look at KEH cameras site to see what they were selling used. Unfortunately it looks like they are phasing out of large format, the selection was a fraction of what it used to be. But one camera that caught my eye was a Sinar F2 in the $300s. I started with a Sinar F a very long time ago, and while it is not as convenient as a folder, it is a great starter camera because just about every Sinar part from every model is interchangeable, and parts are plentiful and fairly cheap. While I loved my little wooden Wista for carrying around, I also carried that Sinar around a lot, and if you don't go for a wooden folder, it is a model I think you should consider. (The Sinar Fx series was their lightest and most easily transportable model.)
Definitely I would take a wooden folder over a press camera, and (personally) a metal folder over wooden. Don't opt for something with no movements, they're (to me) a critical reason to be shooting LF.
Another route you may want to consider is to dabble initially with a monorail (huge, heavy, not-portable but really cheap and with incredibly flexible movements) while you get used to LF. Shoot still life, portraits and the like, or take it out in your car and don't expect to walk more than 20m with the camera. That way, you can see if LF is for you with minimal investment and sell with no real loss when you either chuck it in or decide you want a field camera for hikes. LF indoors is awesome if you have access to big strobes.
LF is more than just bigger film. There is so much more to think about and go wrong that a spot of cheap, low-risk learning first before investing heavily is IMHO a good idea. For example, buy and use a couple boxes of the cheap Arista (rebranded Foma) sheet film while you're practising; it's great except for its terrible reciprocity failure so just don't use it at dusk or with continuous lights on humans.
You're not going to get a good field kit for $500, but you could probably do it with a monorail: $100 for a ugly/functional body, $150 for a lens, $50 for a handful of film holders, $200 for accessories (dark cloth, spot meter, loupe). And of course there's developing stuff which I'll assume you have covered already; if you include a CPP2+3010 in your LF budget it looks a little uglier
$500 is probably a reasonable budget for a used folding field camera body in good condition and by the time you have 3 decent lenses, you'll have spent about $1500 for a quality field-folder kit not including tripod or camera bag.
Another route you may want to consider is to dabble initially with a monorail (huge, heavy, not-portable but really cheap and with incredibly flexible movements) while you get used to LF. Shoot still life, portraits and the like, or take it out in your car and don't expect to walk more than 20m with the camera. That way, you can see if LF is for you with minimal investment and sell with no real loss when you either chuck it in or decide you want a field camera for hikes. LF indoors is awesome if you have access to big strobes.
LF is more than just bigger film. There is so much more to think about and go wrong that a spot of cheap, low-risk learning first before investing heavily is IMHO a good idea. For example, buy and use a couple boxes of the cheap Arista (rebranded Foma) sheet film while you're practising; it's great except for its terrible reciprocity failure so just don't use it at dusk or with continuous lights on humans.
You're not going to get a good field kit for $500, but you could probably do it with a monorail: $100 for a ugly/functional body, $150 for a lens, $50 for a handful of film holders, $200 for accessories (dark cloth, spot meter, loupe). And of course there's developing stuff which I'll assume you have covered already; if you include a CPP2+3010 in your LF budget it looks a little uglier
$500 is probably a reasonable budget for a used folding field camera body in good condition and by the time you have 3 decent lenses, you'll have spent about $1500 for a quality field-folder kit not including tripod or camera bag.
A bit dated but, I found this site helpful for making a decision... budget for proper accessories too:
Dead Link Removed
Dead Link Removed
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IMO the $500 cameras are priced out of line for what they are.
Anyway all 4X5's use film holders. One at a time, two sheets per holder. Limited only by how much you can carry. Of course you can carry a changing bag and load them in the field. You would also need an extra film box to put the exposed film into if
you do this.
MANY cameras can't take 65/75mm lenses without recessed boards, even then they're not practical.. Since you like wide
a 28mm equivalent is close to the 90mm +/- a bit\. 20mm will be around 70-75.
The formats don't equate directly but these values are for horizontal angle of coverage and are approximate.
There will be some comments following that say you can't have a direct equivalent because the ratio of the negatives are
so different. Someone above mentioned using about .5X for WA and 2X for longer than normal. Excellent rule of thumb.
If you think you can live without movements check out the Travelwide Wanderlust. Rugged & compact. Cheap too, $150
without lens. Uses a 90 Angulon and they run $100-$200. A link:https://wanderlustcameras.com/
Anyway all 4X5's use film holders. One at a time, two sheets per holder. Limited only by how much you can carry. Of course you can carry a changing bag and load them in the field. You would also need an extra film box to put the exposed film into if
you do this.
MANY cameras can't take 65/75mm lenses without recessed boards, even then they're not practical.. Since you like wide
a 28mm equivalent is close to the 90mm +/- a bit\. 20mm will be around 70-75.
The formats don't equate directly but these values are for horizontal angle of coverage and are approximate.
There will be some comments following that say you can't have a direct equivalent because the ratio of the negatives are
so different. Someone above mentioned using about .5X for WA and 2X for longer than normal. Excellent rule of thumb.
If you think you can live without movements check out the Travelwide Wanderlust. Rugged & compact. Cheap too, $150
without lens. Uses a 90 Angulon and they run $100-$200. A link:https://wanderlustcameras.com/
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