What issues or concerns should I consider when using roll film backs?

I've used Graflex and the Cambo roll film backs and I've had good results with both. My reasons for using roll film backs on a 4x5 camera go back to my first days of portrait photography. I was cash poor, and Hasselblad and even a used RB67 were out of the mix. I did have a Kodak Commercial Ektar 8.5", a Wide Field Ektar, and a 135mm Graflex lens. Those focal lengths seemed good for 6x7, so I found a Cambo 6x7 roll film back used. It dawned on me that I could focus through the ground glass, and then insert the roll film holder. I took the time to remove the ground glass, and use Chart Pac tape to outline a 6x7 mask. It worked perfectly, and even later, when I could afford an RB67, I still used this set-up, especially on location. Folks really liked the idea of portrait photography with "an old fashion" camera.

The Ektar was just a tad sharp for a portrait lens. However, I made a mesh diffuser out of an old pair of nylon hose, stretched over a Series VI or VII slip-on adapter ring. The 135mm Graflex was great for a short telephoto effect, and the Wide Field Ektar made a perfect normal lens.

abruzzi said:

the dark slide method basically takes a spare dark slide a cuts off the top half of the slide material, so when it is inserted it covers the bottom half. If you want to center the lens you will have to use front rise, or rear fall. After that shot is taken, the other half is still blank, so that is shot with the modified dark slide flipped so it now covers the top, and in that case to center the lens, you need to lower the front. If the lens covers 4x5, then you don't really need to do the rise/fall thing unless you really want to use the center of the lens. That might be useful for wides to limit the fall-off inthe corners.

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Just digging back into this thread from a few months ago, after spending the evening looking at the price of 617 cameras ....

This sounds like a very quick and easy thing to achieve. Considering I use a Toyo 45A, with a rotating back, if I centre the lens to the frame (top/bottom, what ever), I shouldn't need to re-centre the lens for the next shot - just rotate the back and load from the other side!

This is sounding like a very cheap, easy and economical way of at least getting going.

hoffy said:

This sounds like a very quick and easy thing to achieve. Considering I use a Toyo 45A, with a rotating back, if I centre the lens to the frame (top/bottom, what ever), I shouldn't need to re-centre the lens for the next shot - just rotate the back and load from the other side!

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that sounds like it should work as long as your camera supports landscape in both orientations (some might not, don’t know the Toyos.). I’ve never actually done this, just thought about it. The only other suggestion is when you cut down the spare dark slide, make sure to leave a little more than half, so you get a small gap between your two negatives on the same sheet.

One more concern, which I don't think has been mentioned, is the cost of the roll-film holder along with its bulk and weight. I decided long ago that I'd rather crop my 4x5 negatives to get panoramas than carry the roll-film back along with more film in a different format. It was just more than I wanted to carry around.

4x5 is the maximum size I can shoot, but with that same negative I can crop to whatever format/aspect ratio I feel like. Yeah, I can't get the full length of 17cm that a 6x17 back/roll-film holder will, but with the roughly 12cm available in length from 4x5 film I can certainly get the same shot and aspect ration with just a bit less film area.

The only reason I ever used roll-film backs was when I didn't have access to a 4x5 enlarger. Once I had one, I put the roll-film holders in the drawer.

Best,

Doremus

A roll back makes little sense. Once one has decided to use a press camera with all its bulk why put on a roll back when a Hasselblad, Rollei slr or tlr or even a Holga will do the same job. That is like carrying around a dump truck so you can have two wheels of a bicycle.

Sirius Glass said:

Hasselblad, Rollei slr or tlr or even a Holga will do the same job.

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Those are not panoramic cameras. The only reason to have a roll back on 4x5 is to shoot panoramas

Sirius Glass said:

A roll back makes little sense. Once one has decided to use a press camera with all its bulk why put on a roll back when a Hasselblad, Rollei slr or tlr or even a Holga will do the same job. That is like carrying around a dump truck so you can have two wheels of a bicycle.

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As I mentioned in my earlier post, sometimes adaptation is necessary to fit budgetary or other constraints. You can get into LF with a used Speed Graphic from @ $300, and up. A good used Graflex roll film back can be had for @ $100. So for $400, you can have a lot of versatility. There are also the Calumet, etc, roll film backs which work perfectly in lieu of sheet film. With fewer and fewer shops doing LF development for print film, roll film maybe the only alternative. The last processor in the Detroit metro area, for E4 or C41 sheet film stopped developing them several years ago, leaving self-processing or mail order.

A decent used Hassy 500 C/M with an 80mm lens is going for @ $1,500+. Even a Yashica Matt 124G will set you back @ $400+. I bought both several years back when the market was still soft for medium format equipment. On the other side of the same coin, you can find a decent Mamiya Universal, or a Koni Omega for @ $300, maybe less. And prices for a Rolleiflex or Rolleicord TLR are also off the scale.

hoffy said:

Those are not panoramic cameras. The only reason to have a roll back on 4x5 is to shoot panoramas

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Yes, and panoramic backs for 4x5 usually start @ $500, and go up from there.

Dennis-B said:

As I mentioned in my earlier post, sometimes adaptation is necessary to fit budgetary or other constraints. You can get into LF with a used Speed Graphic from @ $300, and up. A good used Graflex roll film back can be had for @ $100. So for $400, you can have a lot of versatility. There are also the Calumet, etc, roll film backs which work perfectly in lieu of sheet film. With fewer and fewer shops doing LF development for print film, roll film maybe the only alternative. The last processor in the Detroit metro area, for E4 or C41 sheet film stopped developing them several years ago, leaving self-processing or mail order.

A decent used Hassy 500 C/M with an 80mm lens is going for @ $1,500+. Even a Yashica Matt 124G will set you back @ $400+. I bought both several years back when the market was still soft for medium format equipment. On the other side of the same coin, you can find a decent Mamiya Universal, or a Koni Omega for @ $300, maybe less. And prices for a Rolleiflex or Rolleicord TLR are also off the scale.

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Absolutely!