What do you think about the vertical 645 format cameras?

[Philippe-Georges]

I have a very light weight 4x5 that one must unbolt the camera body from the standards to change from portrait to landscape (or back again), so it was easier to just flip the camera over using the tripod head. Even still -- whatever orientation I happen to have the camera on was the one I tended to use most. Rather odd to see how a simple thing like that affected my "vision".

Vaughn

PS...Philippe...yes square is better, but only if printed square!

Well, yes, I am so hooked on square (-format) that I put my nice, rectangular, Leica on the shelf. I know, it 's a pity but my old Hassy (1980) is a decent replacement, and square (in format), and I always do print square (format)...
My wife says that soon or later her eyes will turn square by looking at my pictures. But as long as I think that square rocks, I will be going on shooting square pictures, who cares!

No offence intended,

Philippe

 

[Vaughn]

Philippe, I began my photography journey with a Rolleiflex. The first photo class I took at university, I printed to fill the 11x14 or 8x10 pieces of paper. By my second photo class I realized my "error" and started to print what I saw instead (square), and stopped worrying about the "extra" photo paper. There is a visual movement within the image that is unique to the square format....a circular movement that, to me, is more natural than the hort. and/ and vert. movement usually occurring within a rectangle. But then I like making 4x10 images with my 8x10 camera, also! LOL!

Vaughn

 

[Vaughn]

Anyone mask 5x7 to 5x5 and print 5x5 square on a 4x5 enlarger? Me neither, I'm a rectangular framer.

I am going to cut an extra darkslide so that only a 8x8 portion of the 8x10 negative is exposed. I have already done so to get two 4x10 images on an 8x10 piece of film. As I noted above, I learned to see with a square image -- but it will take some thought to convert back to seeing square when using the 8x10, as I have been using a 4x5, 5x7 or the 8x10 for the past 28 years!

But there has already been a few times I have taken an 8x10, and wishing it was actually a 8x8.

Vaughn

PS...since I primarily do alt processes and contact print, that is why I prefer to mask off in-camera rather than after-the-fact.