Of course there are differences, Alan. Some sheet films once had a retouching "tooth" over-layer, which might affect scanning. Some current Kodak sheets have an overcoat they claim improves scanning. It does suppress Newton Rings a bit too. There are Ortho Litho sheet films like the current Arista product with a distinct texture to allow better drawdown under a vacuum blanket, which no doubt have some kind of effect. Then throw scanning fluid into the equation, and there's yet another variable, generally for the better.
If you get a contact printing frame, make sure it has Anti-Newton glass in it. You can develop small black & white film and prints using a simple "tray ladder" in a closet (hopefully with some ventilation). I did that briefly. Steiglitz made famous prints in that manner. Or a basic "slot processor" would work. I wouldn't develop color that way; not if you value your lungs.
Id say stick with medium format for the most part. Yes 4x5 will give you better tones and colors, and way less depth of field. But its so much easier to screw up a 4x5 shot then 6x7. I find large format almost overkill for most of todays needs really. Its fun, and it really slows you down, but the need for a negative that large today, is very little. 6x7 does most of what you'd need in most cases. 4x5 is the one format I have tons of film still for, yet rarely use. I tend to stick with 645 and 6x7 for most of my needs.
Paul Howell said:My question is why do want to shoot 4X5 and what are your expectations?
Couple of notes here- I looked up the DOF tables for the formats, f/stops and lenses you used in your test. At 20 feet, using an 80mm lens on a 6x6 camera at f8 the DOF is 15ft. A 240mm lens on a 4x5” camera at f16 at 20ft yields 1/2 that, 7.5ft. So it’s not surprising the background was less sharp.Looking at the negatives with a 10x loupe the 6x6 negative is extremely sharp and reveals even the the finest of details such as distant brick work. The 4x5 negative while still sharp and in focus, looks much softer by comparison. A given area of the negative lacks the same level of detail and crispness.
Couple of notes here- I looked up the DOF tables for the formats, f/stops and lenses you used in your test. At 20 feet, using an 80mm lens on a 6x6 camera at f8 the DOF is 15ft. A 240mm lens on a 4x5” camera at f16 at 20ft yields 1/2 that, 7.5ft. So it’s not surprising the background was less sharp.
Second, your 4x5 camera may not be perfectly set up, or your Fujinon may have an issue. On a view camera it is possible the groundglass and film are not on the same plane- the “T” distance may be off requiring adjustment.
I bring this up because I had never seen such extreme sharpness in my grain focuser until I ran some TMax though my Technika. There was no grain on which to focus, I had to use the subjects in the photo and find edges.
Couple of notes here- I looked up the DOF tables for the formats, f/stops and lenses you used in your test. At 20 feet, using an 80mm lens on a 6x6 camera at f8 the DOF is 15ft. A 240mm lens on a 4x5” camera at f16 at 20ft yields 1/2 that, 7.5ft. So it’s not surprising the background was less sharp.
Second, your 4x5 camera may not be perfectly set up, or your Fujinon may have an issue. On a view camera it is possible the groundglass and film are not on the same plane- the “T” distance may be off requiring adjustment.
I bring this up because I had never seen such extreme sharpness in my grain focuser until I ran some TMax though my Technika. There was no grain on which to focus, I had to use the subjects in the photo and find edges.
are there any books on LF that you’d recommend?
Hi All, this is a superb thread - I’ve recently joined the community after having watched it from afar for a while. I’m also looking into dabbing into 5x4 as very attracted to the possibilities of developing every negative individually! As a hobbyist I’m learning as I go along - are there any books on LF that you’d recommend? Thanks!!
I would suggest the best book is, "View Camera Technique" by Leslie Stroebel. ISBN 0-240-80345-0 (Focal Press) mine is dated 1999, so not that old, although it comes from a longish line of editions. Any of the editions would be good, I have the 7th Edition and it is superb.
While it is technical, sort of, it covers pretty much everything you would like to do and it will also give you some wonderful examples of techniques applicable to stretching the possibilities of view camera technique, as it's name implies. The text is written with simple English and wonderful pictures to show exactly what one can achieve using the controls of a view camera and not using the controls.
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