Large Format,

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emily

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Just wondered if anyone using this site might know anything about large format photography.

I'd really like to get involved in it and want to know where I'd be able to source some equipment (well all equipment) second hand and on a tight budget.

Any help would be really good.
 
I used large format kit (7x5) on a night school course I did some years ago. I'm afraid the terms large format and tight budget are mutually exclusive. A friend of mine picked up a medium sized kit - camera, couple of lenses and 3or4 backs; set him back 2k and that was at an auction years ago.
 
The cost of feeding film to a large format camera, and processing are indeed prohibitive. Stunning image quality can be obtained, but be really sure you want to go this route. The tight budget bit doesn't really sound compatible with large format aspirations. :)
 
Large Format is something I would truely love to do but the shear cost of equipment makes it not possible for me. I think I would prefer to get a 1Ds mk2 and be happy with the reasonably large prints and the low/zero cost of shooting.
 
One alternative is to get on a college course that does large format photography, Part of my 2 year photography course has a section about large format, and we are doing studio and field photography with it.

Apart from a large ish budget to buy the equipment and process and print / scan. you need a lot of gear and some large tripods.

But saying that the detail from those negatives is superb. And we are lucky enough as to be able to combine large format cameras with Phase One Digital backs, and take 3 exposures with the Digital Back to cover the area of the negative, which results in a massive and very detailed Digital Image.
 
I use medium and large format (5x4) at college. It really is something that you have to be getting something back from in money terms because of film and developing costs. The quality is second to none, but to achieve it you are really made to work and your have to know how to use the camera properly. You will also need a darkroom or a room with NO light to load your film into your double darks. I don't want to sound bad but a good DSLR would probably be better for you if you were just using it as a hobby. I would love to own one aswell but the real life use and up keep would just not be worth it. I hope that helps. :)
 
Large Format is well worth the investment in time and money. If your subjects are not moving then no other way of shooting even comes close to the feeling of working a LF camera.

There are still a few places left selling used kit but 99% of the second hand market now seems to go through ebay. You can pick up a perfectly good camera for as little as £100 and as with all camera systems, lenses can be had from pennies right up to thousands for the top glass. You just need to pick for your budget and start somewhere.

Most LF users have moved from using darkslides to quickload film. This is where you buy a special kind of darkslide that takes pre loaded film in dispossable slides that go into the camera and off to the lab. No dark room or light tents needed any more.

Of course it's very expensive to shoot 5x4 film comapred to digital but there is nothing like working on a ground glass screen compared to a teeny tiny viewfinder. Also, you'll learn far far more than you will with any rigid bodied camera.

I have always loved shooting LF and for me it's the best camera system by miles and miles and miles. BUT... while it rules from on high in what it can do, there are plenty of things it just can't do. And that is where the SLR is sooooo great, it can turn it's hand to just about anything. :)
 
Ooooh, good find. I was looking on ebay earlier after a pm about another one on ebay and didn't see that.

Not perfect for landscape as the monorail cameras are a bit bulky to carry if you're trekking but very light weight for a camera with as much movement flexibility as that one. Could be quite a good lens too, although not very wide still really usable even if it was your only one.
 
I used large format to earn my living and had intended to keep it up as a hobby. But even having the kit I couldn't afford the running costs.

5X4 B/W negative film is expensive and if you are using the Ansel Adams Zone System - if not why not? - then chemicals are expensive even if you make your own developer as I used to.

The cheapest way in is by way of a field camera, sometimes called a view camera. Not as versatile as a monorail but much more useable outdoors.

The military used huge numbers of MPP field cameras and these can be had fairly cheaply if you can find one. I sold mine to an interior designer to use as a decorative object in an upmarket warehouse conversion. A sad end for a camera but he was willing to pay a LOT more than any camera user was and I neede the cash.


More or less any large format lens can be used on any camera as long as you change the mounting panel. Mounting panels can be made at home from plywood.


5X4 enlargers are HUGE, so you will need a fair bit of room.

I also used to use a 14X12 camera, also by MPP which produced the most amazing quality. I didn't bother with an enlarger - didn't have the room - just used to do contact prints.

It would be a good idea to have look for some books on the subject before lashing out on kit. I strongly recommend a set of 3 by Ansel Adams. The Camera, The Negative and The Print. Those books give a superb guide to B&W photography with special emphasis on large format.
 
I used 4x5 in the 70s for industrial photography but you really have to no watt you are doing you knead to you's professional photo finishers so if you are thinking of industrial its ok but today there are better ways for this sort of photography not many people are using large format as there is better methods now
 
The whole point of large format - besides the quality - is the opportunity to treat each exposure individually.

Most of my large format work was B&W so each negative was individually developed to ensure the result I wanted. When you get the hang of the zone system you can reliably get the exact tonal range you need. Professional D&P would process all the negs as a batch in a standard developer.

On the rare occasions I used colour it was always Ektachrome which did go off to Kodak for processing. I then produced the prints using what I still call Cibachrome to have some control over the final image.

I am interested that you think there are better ways available now. A large format camera with a moderate range of movement can correct converging verticals and give a huge depth of field - even at a wide aperture. Can you let me know how that can can be done without a large format camera as I would love to have that versatility again.
 
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