Talk me out of this change!

Hi All,

Here’s the thing: I have been shooting MF for several years now and love the large negatives and the time in the darkroom with them. Now I have a chance to buy a nice Linhof Technika IV 4x5 kit at a great price, and it comes at a time when I have been thinking of moving a larger format. And I have an enlarger and the lens that will handle the 4x5 negatives.

But I hesitate. My MF negatives and prints seem pretty good in sizes up to 14x16. I have heard all the arguments for moving to 4x5. Why should I stay with MF? Can you talk me out of this move? I am a landscape photographer, and the bulk of a field camera is not a problem for me.

Onward,
Paul

No matter how slow the film (the) Spirit always stands still long enough for the photographer it has chosen.
--Minor White

Why talk you outta this! Add the Technika to your arsenal, another tool for you to choose from. It ain't no switch, it's an addition.
Go for it and best of luck - but most important... have fun with the new camera.

gene

If you don't handhold your camera, there is nothing to stop you from using the biggest one you can afford.

Why??? hahaha!

I think we need to go where we are led by ourselves! If I'd have resisted that lead I'd still be just shooting 35mm instead of walking the line between 35mm & MF.

So...go for it!

Don't forget the cost and availablity of film in larger formats. Otherwise I agree with Papagene, add it to the arsenal.
Ara

Talk you out of buying the Technika? OK, I'll give it a try.

Paul, buying the Technika would be a really stupid thing to do.

Unless, of course, you want even larger negatives and the ability to control both the geometry of the subject and the placement of the plane of sharp focus, not to mention the ease of development controls provided by sheet film.

Oops. I guess I waffled, and perhaps failed in your initial request. But, please also see my response in your other thread.

PRB said:

Hi All,


Can you talk me out of this move? I am a landscape photographer, and the bulk of a field camera is not a problem for me.

Click to expand...

Yes I can. Forget what I wrote on the other thread. Stick with MF. Just tell the person from whom you were going to buy the LF kit, that you have a buyer who'll take it off his hands for the same price you were going to pay minus a small additional 'referral' discount which I will reluctantly, but unwaveringly agree to accept. ;-)

Easy: forget the Technika - what you REALLY need is an 8x10....

You can enter the realm of contact printing with 4x5, opening the doors to platinum printing, etc. You could do it with MF, but it might not be so appealing.

Of course, that's a slippery slope, as Bob suggests. You start contacting 4x5, you'll really want to contact print an 8x10, no, 11x14! (Best I can do at talking you out of it...)

-chuck

Let's put it this way...

If the Tech is more then $700 (and there's no lenses included) pass. You can pickup a field camera that will weight less and I think have better movements. It may not have the strength of the Linhof, but will do just fine. In fact why not make a comparison over at http://www.cameraquest.com/classics.htm. Read where the RF cams are not standardized on this model if it is a Super model under 1963. They were ground for each individual lens. They were standarized after 1963. Also read where 90mm and under lenses are hard to use on the camera and the bellows are subject to pinholes. Well, that's per the article so make sure to read it. Personally I looked at these cameras a long time ago and passed. There's better values and lighter cameras around.

Now it has been mentioned about buying a 8x10. I'll tell you right now that if you like shooting a 4x5, an 8x10 (and above) will be on you mind all the time, and before you know it will be watching the ads religiously. First try 4x5 before you make an investment. It is a very different way of shooting and much much different than MF. My likes in LF are the cheap Shen Hao on the one end, and the Arca Discovery with the short rail extension. If you can figure out your favorite lenses, do so and buy a body and bellows that will accomplish what you need.

Jump, don't sit on the fence you won't regret it.

Given the second hand prices these days, it makes total sense to try out the larger format. But it makes just as much sense to hang on to all the old kit as well...

Thats what you wanted to hear wasn't it

Ian

I love my Tech V. If you get a Tech IV, it is very desirable if you have cammed lenses so that you can use the rangefinder. I use the rangefinder to shoot handheld press-camera style, and for portraits to check focus on the fly, and occasionally even with landscapes in low light, where it might be hard to interpret the groundglass.

Marflex will still grind cams for the Tech IV for about $200 a lens, but you have to send the whole camera to them, because unlike the Tech V and Master Tech, it does not have a zeroed groundglass. While this sounds like a real inconvenience, it isn't really, because they recommend that you send the camera in even if you have a Tech V or MT to check the groundglass calibration and set your infinity stops and focus scale accurately.

If it doesn't have cammed lenses, and you don't plan to use the rangefinder, Wayne makes a fair point. The Technika in general is a pleasure to work with, with all it's solid geared movements, but there are other excellent cameras that are easier to use for a comparable or lower price.

PRB said:

But I hesitate. My MF negatives and prints seem pretty good in sizes up to 14x16. I have heard all the arguments for moving to 4x5. Why should I stay with MF? Can you talk me out of this move? I am a landscape photographer, and the bulk of a field camera is not a problem for me.

Click to expand...

I'm almost exclusively 4x5 at the moment. I can't say enough about how much I like sheet film and the working method it involves.

WITH THAT SAID...

Shooting LF is definitely different than shooting MF. I would say that if you treat your MF in a slow and deliberate manner, you should have no problem adjusting to the larger camera. If on the other hand you like the ability of having a decent sized neg, but like to move around and do a lot of set ups and variations, I say... Why move to something else?

I know several photographers that for all intents and purposes should have loved LF, but instead found it just didn't "fit" how they worked. It's not a big deal either way, but if it's not for you... The cost of the new purchase could be lots of film and paper to continue your MF work.

Just some thoughts... Whatever you choose, have fun with it.

joe

Like the Nike commercial a few years ago...

Just DO it!


and I'll add...

............................cause its FUN, Silly!