Newbie to LF Chromes

W

wlewisiii

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So in a fit of utter insanity, I bought a box of 10 4x5 sheets of Velvia 50 today. This is utter insanity because I have _never_ shot slide film before. Ever. :bang: OTOH at least I bought it before fall color hits here :angel:

I'm planning to use it with my 127/4.7 as that shutter is reasonably close to accurate, though I'll wait until a shutter speed tester a friend is building is done so that I can actually know what my real world speeds are. A big plus is that the RF and bed scale are for that lens.

Other than that, is there any kind of tips & tricks or FAQ file out there for shooting LF transparencies? This is also the slowest film I've shot in a very long time as well.

:bang: :bang: :bang:

I probably wouldn't mind the learning curve as much if I wasn't looking at $2.30 for each sheet and $2.25 at the local lab to dunk them in the E6 magic brew. Then again I need to just give it a try anyway.

Any hints will be gratefully accepted.

William
 
Good for you. I still can't decide whether I'm going to shoot 120 or 4x5 slide film for the fall colours. I'll be the 1st time for me too.

I have a 4x5 Anniversary Speed Graphics, a Baby Speed and Moskva's 2 & 5 for 6x9's.
 
What a great opportunity. It will be soooo fun regardless of the results. To respond to your query:
1. Narrow exposure range; almost as bad as digital. Thus, photograph scenes lower in contrast.
2. Use a spot meter that has a fresh battery and is unwaveringly accurate
3. Shoot at ISO 40
4. Aside from actually photographing hopefully beautiful things (of course with Velvia that doesn't include people) enjoy where you are because, since you can't afford to bracket exposures like with 35mm slide film, you might end up with some bad transparencies and it would be a pity to have not enjoyed the scenery independent of its photographic value.
5. Get prepared for transparencies that will seem like priceless jewels. Holding a LF transparency is like nothing else. Too vivid for words. The only thing better (at least IMHO is making a Cibachrome print from such a transparency).
 
KL, mines an anniversary as well. 1942 (EM on the lens) and I believe it's origional to the body, but no dataplate has survived. I've got a Moskva 5 w/mask and I'll admit to a passing fancy of shooting some in it at 6x6 and 6x9, but I need to get through this first momentary lack of reason first :D

Brett? Imagine a great big raspberry in your direction... :angel:

William
 
julianphotoart - Thank you. Those are the kind of practical tips I hoped to gather. I am in the "try the shot" school. It's better to make hash of a shot than not even try it. Even this film is cheap when compared to later regrets.

William
 
wlewisiii said:
KL, mines an anniversary as well. 1942 (EM on the lens) and I believe it's origional to the body, but no dataplate has survived. I've got a Moskva 5 w/mask and I'll admit to a passing fancy of shooting some in it at 6x6 and 6x9, but I need to get through this first momentary lack of reason first :D
Click to expand...

Mine came without a lense, so I have a CZJ 135/4.5 Tessar in there. Shot some paper negs so far, but haven't dev'd it yet. There's a box of 4x5 Tri-X in the freezer also.

I also just picked up a 3.5" EXWA Wollansak f12.5 that covers 4x5.... it was cheap, only $51-.
 
Kin Lau said:
Mine came without a lense, so I have a CZJ 135/4.5 Tessar in there. Shot some paper negs so far, but haven't dev'd it yet. There's a box of 4x5 Tri-X in the freezer also.
Click to expand...

Yummy lens there. I keep hoping to find one cheap enough. I've got a box of Tri-X on order and a nice box of Arista.Edu Ultra branded Fomapan 100 in the fridge right now. Looks to be a real nice traditional emulsion - reminds me alot of Plus-X in 120. (Grumble. I _so_ wish that was still available in sheet film. If I win the lotto I'll pay Kodak for a full run... :eek: )

I also just picked up a 3.5" EXWA Wollansak f12.5 that covers 4x5.... it was cheap, only $51-.
Click to expand...

88mm? Now _that_ should be an interesting focal length... Do you know what formula? No matter, I'll still be very interested in seeing what you get out of that.

William
 
PS, 12.5 will be a major b***h to focus on the ground glass... I've recently been reminded of just how much difference there is between 4.7 and 6.3 for that purpose :D

William
 
wlewisiii said:
Yummy lens there.

88mm? Now _that_ should be an interesting focal length... Do you know what formula? No matter, I'll still be very interested in seeing what you get out of that.

William
Click to expand...

The CZJ Tessar was actually cheaper. US$29- on the Bay, no other bids either.

I'd love to actually find some info on the Wollansak, but nothing substantial so far. It's a neat lense, since the aperture scale starts at f12.5, but it actually opens up _way_ bigger, about f4.5 for focusing. I still have to makeup a board for it.
 
As for no other bids, I obviously missed that auction... ! No real info in the Wollie, have you tried to find a copy of the Lens Collector's Vade Mecum? I've heard really great things about the book though I still haven't found a copy.

re: lens board - Send a PM to greyhoundman. He made the one my Tessar is mounted on and he's chomping at the bit for more interesting challenges... :D

William
 
Wlewisiii, I hope you too won't tell me to get lost. Expense is a consideration of which you have spoken. For me, it has always been one -- at least in principle. If I were you, I'd first check the accuracy of your 4x5 camera's shutter with, say, three exposures made on any film of any speed. No problem "translating" to Velvia 50. I'd use an incident light meter for your principal subject. Since I've never had one of those, I've used the poor man's substitute: taking a reflected light reading off my palm and giving the appropriately greater exposure. You could also use white paper (open up more) or an 18 per cent grey card. The Kodak site has information on all this. The hand method is perhaps not the best when taking pictures of a tiger's molars, but in most other situations I have found it to work perfectly. Agfa ASA 50, Ekta 64, etc. There are situations in which getting the picture is all that matters and cost of materials is secondary. Yours does not seem to be one of those.
 
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