Is modern LF strictly the portrait format?

[KM-25]

No animosity, like I said I use 4x5, love it in the role of the right tool for the job. I was just echoing what Ko Fe said above, it seems in enough cases that weak photographers look *especially* weak in some of their LF landscape work, and there is a ton of it.

I realize the difference between Flickr, the LFF landscape thread and a 20x24 Ilford Warmtone printed via my 150mm F4 Apo-N to know when LF shines....it can be really a-maze-ing!

Nice images but yeah, they don't scream LF at that size so could have been shot with a Mamiya 7 or a D800 in looking at them on the web.

Why are you determining what value a format has by small Flickr images???
Flickr, in my opinion, has very low value in that regard - both due to size as well as their sharpening algorithms and simply the amount of junk posted there.

I guess I would say I am primarily a LF shooter, and landscape to boot. At least for me, I don't find the value of shooting landscapes in anything BUT 4x5. Not to mention my 4x5 hiking kit and a few lenses barely weigh more than my Pentax 67 and one lens!

It seems there is quite a bit of animosity or something towards the LF shooters though in this last post.

My good friend and mentor in photography just had a show a few months ago, all of which were images made along the Suwannee River here in GA/FL. Silver printed to 16x20. Most 4x5, some 6x7. Really gorgeous. The difference from the two formats might not matter to some. I love printing 4x5 images in the darkroom when I can and it enlarges so easy compared to smaller formats. My favorite size though by far is 24x30 and I've done 5-6 color images from 4x5 at this size for a show coming up and they are great. I don't think I'd have the same depth with a smaller negative, blowing up that big. It's a documentary project on a local cotton mill so not quite landscape but there is a lot of outdoor images of big skies and the systematic tearing down of this place.

Maybe these are just the kind of picture you don't like but they're the kind that I feel shines from LF. Of course it still is just a little tiny image.

 

[mooge]

Thomas Birke is a guy on flickr that does some pretty killer cityscapes with an 8x10 Sinar P2... but then again he's probably one of those guys that would take great photos anyways regardless of what camera he uses. Actually, some of his stuff on the flickr is done with a Canon 5D so, yeah.


I recently bought a Sinar F2 kit to go with a Sinar Vario rollfilm back that I was given. So far I'm pretty impressed - lots of movements, modularity is pretty cool, and the tilt/swing calculator dial is nice. I plan to use it in the field, which is a little sketch - it's quite heavy and doesn't really fold up nicely, especially with the bag bellows. Also it's going to be another Leica-sized money pit - wide lenses and polaroid backs aren't cheap...

 

[Ko.Fe.]

What does it mean 24/7 style (I'm italian; may be don't understand a jargon; I apologize for my English).
From my small experience, although fascinated by the movement chance a view camera offer, I think that Graflex is the better choice.
But 4x5 requires an enlargement and therefore an enlarger. Fortunately I found a Durst Laborator 1000 with Ilford Multigrade System included at a bargain price (450€).
In North America I know are popular Beseler and Omega.
Good luck and welcome in LF club.

I can only speak for my self. It is take a picture, process the picture, look at others pictures and try to learn something new every day.

So, it seems what hiking with something like Calumet CC-400 camera isn't going to work. Well, I have to sell my C33 and some other cameras I have tried and don't need before I could join the LF club. 🙂

Bargain here is between $100 and $250 for 4x5 enlarger, BTW.

For LF on the web done right, have a look at Song Chao's website. You can zoom in so that it's almost like looking at a poster sized print (depending on your screen of course).

http://www.songchao.cn/

Thank you for the link! True eye candy!

And something I grow up with and missing here due to outsourcing and globalization - the industrial proletariat! Those people are iconic to me.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Thomas Birke is a guy on flickr that does some pretty killer cityscapes with an 8x10 Sinar P2... but then again he's probably one of those guys that would take great photos anyways regardless of what camera he uses. Actually, some of his stuff on the flickr is done with a Canon 5D so, yeah.


I recently bought a Sinar F2 kit to go with a Sinar Vario rollfilm back that I was given. So far I'm pretty impressed - lots of movements, modularity is pretty cool, and the tilt/swing calculator dial is nice. I plan to use it in the field, which is a little sketch - it's quite heavy and doesn't really fold up nicely, especially with the bag bellows. Also it's going to be another Leica-sized money pit - wide lenses and polaroid backs aren't cheap...

Most likely I scrolled them down, because they look as bad as HDR is, but once I opened them, it is really eye opening.

Thanks to KM-25, thegman, smiling gecko and Corran, interesting to read, think about and understand!

 

[Corran]

Another thought is that depending on the situation, LF portraiture can be very, very hard, and not at all "casual" or fast - specifically most LF portraiture is more of a studio affair.

This is because you're focusing on the ground glass, then closing the lens, cocking the shutter, loading the film holder, pulling the darkslide, and only then shooting the photo. That means a tripod, and a model that is staying still, and if you want a little more leeway in depth of field, small apertures.

This is as opposed to any sort of TTL viewing / RF on 35mm/120 cameras. You can sidestep this by shooting a LF rangefinder, but your options there include:

Crown/Speed Graphic - the standard lens (127mm / 135mm) equates to a normal/slight wide, so if you want a traditional portrait with a longer lens (240-300mm), you have to recalibrate the RF (for the Kalart side RF) or find the very rare RF cam on top-mounted rangefinders. This is not a simple calibration either. Separate viewfinder/rangefinder can be cumbersome and inaccurate.

Converted Polaroid - can have a really nice combined view/rangefinder but generally you are limited to normal-range lenses. I think 180mm at best, but most get 135 or 150mm lenses. And you can't focus very closely. But it's really compact and a superb option...

Linhof Technika - the most versatile option but also the most expensive, and still has separate view/rangefinder windows. But the Linhof is pretty much the only option where you can quickly switch from, say, a 150mm to a 270mm lens and cam for focusing and keep shooting. It's also heavy.

Horseman VHR (and others) 6x9 w/ 4x5 back - I've not used this but supposedly this is out there? Probably exceedingly rare and cumbersome.

And I don't mean to dissuade you at all from this! I have and use a Speed Graphic, converted Polaroid 900, and a Linhof Technika setup, and they are all incredibly fun and capable of shooting portraits, even casually. I hope you don't mind, but here are some examples of the results:

Linhof Technika w/ 150mm f/2.8 Xenotar, taken at Anime Weekend Atlanta:

Here is a shot from the converted Polaroid 900, equipped with a 135mm f/3.5 Xenotar, at a protest/demonstration:

Obviously I like 3/4 or full body portraits (especially with LF). I have a 250mm for my Technika but didn't have any closer headshot-type images handy. I haven't used it for that much, but I need to!!

Anyway, I think everyone should try 4x5 if they can. It's a lot of fun! 🙂

Now of course you could certainly shoot these images with, say, a Pentax 67 and 105mm f/2.4, or Mamiya 7 and 80mm f/4, or even a (D)SLR and 50mm f/1.4. They might have somewhat similar depth of field but they will still have a different feel.

 

[Oren Grad]

Another thought is that depending on the situation, LF portraiture can be very, very hard, and not at all "casual" or fast - specifically most LF portraiture is more of a studio affair.

This is because you're focusing on the ground glass, then closing the lens, cocking the shutter, loading the film holder, pulling the darkslide, and only then shooting the photo. That means a tripod, and a model that is staying still, and if you want a little more leeway in depth of field, small apertures.... etc.

What Corran said.

Also: forget the enlarger, for now. Start by getting an inexpensive 4x5 camera and making contact prints. See whether those have any magic for you.

 

[Roger Hicks]

If the movements are what interest you, don't go near press cameras such as Graphics.

Cheers,

R.

 

[DamenS]

Apart from the Super Graphic, which has OK movements for a field camera.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Apart from the Super Graphic, which has OK movements for a field camera.

Hmmmm.... I'd have said "OK for a press camera", which is, in my book, the same as saying "inadequate for many purposes". Tiny front cross; no front swing (only tilt); no back movements at all. An MPP Micro-Tech is a LOT more versatile.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Well, shipping costs of these cameras seems to be too expensive to justify it for used camera. Local market is limited, but some working cameras are available periodically between $250-500 price range including lens. I'm going to sell my C33 and bunch of another cameras I have to let go. First working LF camera available for my budged locally, I will take it.
I have large family right at home to help me to practice with, plus another close families.
Plus some cool landscapes locations nearby. I'll try contact prints and I'll ask one photog nearby with 4x5 enlarger to try it in his darkroom.
It will keep me busy enough to decide if I need different camera from what I'll get first or if LF isn't for me.

Thank you, for all of replies, I'll use them as guidance.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Update:

I have entered the LF world with two affordable cameras. Both costs me under $400 USD.

First was Speed Graphic Anniversary. With uncoated lens. I won it As Is, with reasonable shipping.
Have to clean it inside out, re-glue leatherette, clean the lens inside out, make RF working and re-calibrate it, service viewfinder and make 1/1000 works again. Very good camera to service 🙂. Enjoying it handheld.

Yesterday, mysterious way, Calumet 4x5 view camera came to me. Locally, not so far from home.
It appears, the previous owner is not only in same industry as I'm, but he is in the same company my boss and our sales guys used to work. He mentioned the original owner to be from Kawartha Lakes and this is where I was driving through today. Small world!

After taking camera, on the way back home, I stopped near the road and tried it for very first time. Mosquitoes were eating me, can't see much on the ground glass without cloth, didn't know how to get into some movements. Sun was dropping fast. I gave it 4 sec at f16, after I measured light with the red filter I used in front of iPhone camera where I have light meter app. Red Filter went on the lens before I took on the film.

Have to edit and crop the scan.

I'm using V500 (two scans) and stitching two TIFFs in Microsoft ICE.
Haven't tried contact prints, yet. Developing by tortilla method in my regular tank.

Loading film not a problem. My biggest challenge so far is to avoid the double exposure 🙂