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how common is it for a lens shutter to have speed inaccuracies? I'm new to LF, and just got my first lens. It's a 125mm Fuji 5.6. immediately after opening the package I started looking at shutter speeds, because I heard that was the first thing to check on a lens. And of course they were all over the place, by a factor of 1.7 on average (so the shutter is 1.7 times slower than the marked speed on avg, i made a nice excel sheet with all the values). I'm not mad, I know that's part of the game. I just wish the ebay seller would've been more honest about this; nowhere in the ad did he say the shutter was slow. Anyways, my question is: how common is this? does everyone here have to deal with inaccurate shutter speeds or is there a trick to finding a lens that's still true to the marked speeds?

Very new to LF as well, sorry. Shutter timing problems are pretty common. Grease inside the mechanism oxidizes and becomes stiff. Springs streatch. Age happens. Some people are just selling lenses they inherited or came across. They haven't shot with them and just don't know. Some people are selling a lens that they haven't used in a few years. That said if you paid fully functional money for the lens talk to the seller to make up the difference. Common. Like a mechanical watch, it needs periodical cleaning and tuning. A ton of equipment is sold on eBay by sellers who have no idea (or understanding) of what they are selling. They buy estates, containers, or old stock from stores going out of business and resell them. It's impractical for these sellers to test and evaluate the items they sell. I have yet to find a used mechanical shutter that is dead-on balls accurate. The higher speeds especially are off in every example I've tried. You can either compensate for it by adjusting the aperture or shutter speed, or get it CLA'd. A CLA is not terribly expensive in most cases. How did you test the shutter speeds? Also do you like the 125mm length, do you find it decently wide? I read on some forum a while back of this ingenious way of testing large format mechanical shutters. The poster said to set the LF shutter to a certain speed, place it over the lens hood of your DSLR and set that DSLR to bulb mode while triggering the LF shutter. Then remove the LF lens and shoot the DSLR at approximately the same speed. If the exposure/histogram looks about the same, you should be good, but if it's off by a bit, then at least you'll have an idea of what it's shooting at (i.e. 1/400 fires at 1/250) All credit goes to whoever came up with this idea; I'm merely passing it on. I'll try to dig up that thread and link it here.

Yangtze River lens: anyone recognise it? Does it cover 4x5? .

Looks like a scaled up Tessar. Something like the Russian industar 210mm or 300mm A much larger version of my really excellent [schneider Xenar 180mm ƒ/4.5]( It is just a barrel lens - no shutter and if it's a 240mm ƒ/4.5 Tessar design it should cover 5x7 For $85 I'd probably pass. I got my Xenar that's also a barrel lens in nicer cosmetic condition for just under $50. Edit: it also does not have a rear flange to secure it to a lens board. You would have to find one or work something out. With it's size and weight you would want it secured. You can get big old Industars on lens boards for less.

Help keeping track of everything. I don't know why, but right now I am having troubles keeping track of everything when shooting large format. There are just so many little things to remember, and I find, lately, that every shot I am taking I am forgetting something. Sometimes I forget to set the fstop. other times I will forget that I have a filter on and need to take that into consideration when setting the shutter speed. sometimes I forget to set the shutter speed. sometimes I forget to close the lens before putting the holder in and taking out the dark slide rendering the picture overexposed and a waste. sometimes I forget to take into consideration the bellow extensions. sometimes it is a combination. And no matter how slow I go and take my time, I often forget one or more things. Does anyone else have that issue? I don't know if senility is setting in on me, but it has been happening a lot in the last month regardless of how hard I am concentrating. Any advise?

Yeah, that happens. I had a mental checklist going but I'd still forget sometimes. It might help to jot the steps on your hand or on an index card! Practice? I ruin sheets a lot less these days than I did a couple years ago. Try setting up and taking pictures in your house with empty holders, gets you more used to the process, making it almost muscle memory. You could make a little checklist to remember everything but that seems a little overboard. Solution: physical checklist! Try to make it as simple as possible for yourself by cutting out any extraneous steps. It should make sense. maybe that means not using a filter in the beginning and avoiding lens tilts until you have good control of the basics. I also agree with others' recommendations of making a physical checklist. This paper could also double down as a recording of settings for each photo that can be used as reference:).

Resource Recommendation. Hello everyone, As the title suggest I am looking for resource recommendations. Something that discusses movements and techniques in-depth with examples. Could be online or a book.

I’m not sure what sort of photography you do, but I’ve found Jack Dykinga’s “Large Format Nature Photography” book to be very helpful. Then there is also the famous “The Camera” by Ansel Adams, and “Using the View Camera” by Steve Simmons. I liked this guy's [short youtube video](. There’s a great Kodak book from the 1980s/early 90s that gives a great discussion of the basic considerations but isn’t overly technical. It clearly describes the differences between shooting LF and small format and has great explanations for the effects different movements makes. “Photography with Large Format Cameras” Publisher: Eastman Kodak Company ISBN-13: 978-0879854768, ISBN-10: 0879854766.

Do any of you got to a location for portraits, on a repeating basis? I'm debating starting a portrait series in our downtown area using my Intrepid 4x5 and Symmar-S 210. I've never done anything like this, but we have a fair amount of foot traffic at times - though it may get dark too fast here in a few weeks to make it possible. Looking for advice from those of you with previous experience in something similar. Thanks.

Sounds great. Would a small flash work if it is getting dark? What I would is set it up somewhere where you see a head/shoulder shot, like in your living room or something. Then measure EVERYTHING. Or keep the tripod as it is. Measure from center of tripod to where the subject is focused. Then measure everything on camera. So when you go out, you are 99% already done. Draw a line on the floor where you want someome to stand, micro focus if dark use a flashlight. You wouldn't be too far off if you marked the camera where it should be. Then boom, done! Take a shot. Yes, I'm doing almost exactly what you're doing, however I drive around and find people to photograph. I've found that up to 1 second exposures are *typically* ok for portraits on a tripod. If you have your camera set up and your desired portrait subject sees it, it's considerably easier to have them pose for a portrait. As stated above, having focus nearly set and exposure already calculated will make it much smoother. Also, I've convinced people by showing them a FP-100c print that they can take home with them right away, people love that. Fun project, post some results as they come if you don't mind.

Built my first pinhole LF. .

I'm slowly getting into large format photography. While I've been waiting for my new camera to get here, I looked at my already accumulated pile of stuff and decided I might as well make another camera! It was just meant to be something to do in between projects, but it ended up becoming a full blown project itself. 1/2" walnut and poplar accents and aluminum inlay. Main focus for me was trying to keep the corners sharp and doing a solid job with the grain wrapping and trying some inlays. I'm thrilled with the way the whole thing finished out. Camera specs out at 106mm focal length and f/321. Shooting 4x5 sheet film for the first time and its a blast. Camera is relatively sharp for a pinhole. Exp times are loooooong. The sample at the end of the gallery was 27 minutes. Beautiful camera. The first picture is stunning. Do you think inserting a level in the top would kill the aesthetic? If you need to take a horizontal picture is that tripod head able to hold the camera's weight at 90°? 45°? I notice it has some sort of lock. Is that locking mechanism strong enough for large format cameras? Outstanding, well done!

What spot meters do you like? I've been shooting 4x5 for around a year and have been thinking about spot meters for a while now. Initially, I was planning on getting a Pentax V, but after some recent issues with battery availability and wiring, I've shifted to thinking about newer equipment. I've read some good things about the Sekonic L-558 but not much in comparison to newer ones like the L-758DR aside from something like most of the current generation's added features are unnecessary for LF. I don't want to spend $500+ on a meter if I can get something that does just what I need for around half the price. What are your opinions and preferences? Any advice or guidance you could give would be greatly apricated :).

I use a Pentax Digital Spotmeter, and love it. I bought it used years ago, back when you could still buy photo gear from the bulletin board at your local lab. I actually have a Pentax V and love it. No battery issues at all, you just have to order the right one, like anything else. It’s a tank of a meter and has been flawlessly accurate. I also much prefer its design and the way it works to that of other meters. If you want to spend more you can get the Pentax Digital Spot Meter, it’s younger brother, which is somewhat similar in design. I use a Minolta Spotmeter F which I highly recommend. Reasonably cheap, small, light and precise (1/10 th stop measurements). I have the Sekonic L758DR and love it. I bought it practically unused from a post-grad photography student on Craigslist for $300, which is a steal. Love me my Minolta Spotmeter F. In a pinch I have gotten away with a free iPhone meter app. It's accurate, but not super precise in terms of angle of view. Still better than an incident meter. I'll vote for the 508. I love mine. Only complaint I'd have is that it's a bit of a battery gobbler. Keep spare AA batteries in the bag and it's a non issue. But it's caught me a few times in the field. Fwiw, make sure you're not buying the cine version. I jumped on a 'good deal' on fleabay only to find out it was a cine. Had to resell it and get the right model. I think the cine did t-stops instead of f-stops.

Saving film to develop later. So how do you unload film from a holder and store it until a later time to develop? I'm only working with 4 holders right now (and not too inclined to add a bunch of more holders) but I'm thinking about how to keep shooting on a road trip. Dark tent is easy enough to travel with but I'm not taking chemicals. So where do you guys store exposed but undeveloped sheets? I'd say the original film box, but I don't have any empty boxes yet. Always some creative ideas around here.

You got it, use the film box that you have. They usually have a cardboard inside, just remember to use that to separate the new with the exposed. And some boxes have film inside a plastic bag. Your box should be triple boxed so don't worry about putting it in a plastic bag inside. PM me your address and I'll throw a couple stamps on a 4x5 box and send it your way (presuming you're in the US).

I need advice on many things. I am looking into large format. I am looking to go into large format film photography. I want to photograph landscapes, landmarks, and wild flowers. I wanted four lenses at first but someone on Reddit told me that four was too many. I want a 35mm equivalent of 35, 50, and 100. This is based on the horizontal field of view. That translates to 120, 180, 240, and 360. The 360 mm will be used for 8x10 landscapes and 4x5 flowers. What is your advice? I plan on shooting 4x5 and 8x10. I will shoot flowers on 4x5. Landscapes and landmarks will be either depending on what is technically feasible. Do people make focal length reducers (known as tele compressors) for lenses made for large format cameras? If yes, do they work well? This is so I can use fewer lenses. For the film, I plan on using Fujifilm Velvia 100F, Provia 100F, Kodak Portra 400, and Fujifilm 160 NS. If I can still buy some from a foreign retailer in Japan (I live in the USA), I would do that. I want to use contrast control filters ([such as the ones on B&H]( to compress the dynamic range of the scene into the limits of Velvia 100F and Provia 100F. I want to lower highlights and raise shadows with these filters effectively but within reason. How should I adjust my exposure process when using a certain contrast control filter? How many stops closer to middle gray will shadows and highlights be? I plan on drum scanning the film at a 4000 dpi resolution. Only the good photos will be drum scanned. A drum scanner from the 90s will work just fine. Who should I turn to for drum scanning? I need the photo to be saved in PSB file format. I need to apply my own color profile for negatives. Most importantly, I want the drum scanning done right. Is it okay to use incident light metering? What zones do color positives cover outside of zone 5? What is a good lab for developing the film? What general advice do you have?

General advice? You're biting off a lot at once. 2 cameras, 4 lenses, 4 different films is a LOT. I can't know your amount of experience but based on what you've written, it sounds like not much. Get the 4x5, a lens, and a pack of film, and go shoot. One of the few questions I cant actually answer is about incident metering. It will work well for the wildflower pictures (though you know what they say about pictures of flowers) but only a small handful of landscapes. Take the money you didn't spend on the 8x10 and 3 lenses, and get a spot meter. Wow, you’re just jumping right in aren’t you? Seems like you’ve got a fair amount of experience with photography, but I still recommend starting small. Buy a basic kit- 4x5 with one or two lenses, and maybe some filters so you can start experimenting with your process. There are A LOT of moving pieces to get used to, and starting off as you describe is expensive and can be overwhelming. Get used to the process first, see how the methods you want to employ fit, then start building a larger kit. I’m a big fan of shooting what you want with what you have, and branching out for more gear if you consistently find you aren’t able to achieve with what you want. Shooting 4x5 is nothing like shooting roll film or digital. You have to find and build the image. It takes time. Shooting like you do for 35 or 120 will waste a lot of money and you won’t get much to show for it. Don’t bracket, but I do recommend using both sheets in a holder for a single shot- that is insurance against a gnarly scratch ruining that shot you just spent so much time setting up. Speaking of time, expect to spend 30 minutes or even hours on a single shot. Landscape photographers are notorious for spending an entire day in one spot waiting for the perfect light. And if they don’t get what they are looking for, they pack it up without tripping the shutter. You can use incident metering, or spot; either way, it’s how you employ your metering that is important. You mentioned zone system- incident doesn’t really work for that. But it will work in scenes where the light is even and you aren’t too concerned about your zones. Developing- Labs that use dip and dunk will usually have 4x5 holders. You don’t get the same control as if you were developing yourself, but it’s a good way to ease into the process. You’re biting off a lot. Let us know how it goes. *edited for fat fingers. It's worth repeating.. you're getting in pretty heavy, which in my experience will leave you feeling bewildered after a short time. At some point I started operating on the theory that I always started simple, mastered my equipment, and only added when it was actually necessary (ie. hit an actual limitation). If you start heavy, hitting the point where you feel a mastery of the equipment is going to be very difficult (even the differences between 4x5 and 8x10 are significant). In terms of satisfaction while shooting and with your work, being intimately in touch with a small amount of equipment is hands down better than having lots of gear without having that same level of comfort. Sorry for the ramble! Large format in general is awesome, but a different beast altogether from roll film. You posted the same thing a couple of months ago. I honestly don't mean to be negative but I think you need a little bit of blunt honesty here. To start, photography is already an over saturated market. The average consumer doesn't care if a photo is shot with a large format or an iPhone- they just see an image they like. Here is the rough part- your photography skills need a ton of work & you should get a lot more practice in before you dive into something like a storefront. In the past I got some harsh criticism from peers regarding my own photos & it definitely stung. BUT they were all valid points & once I swallowed some pride & went out shooting non-stop I saw a lot of progress. Photography has become a field where every other person that buys an dslr thinks of themselves as an instant professional, I'm not saying to abandon the dream, but just to go shoot out of love for the hobby, build up your own style, & see where it takes you. It's definitely not a means of easy money.

I have some things picked out and some things I still need advice on. For background, I made a previous post in this subreddit. I have dreamed about going into large format for 4 years. The things I want to photograph on large format include landscapes, wild flowers, and landmarks. I am an outdoors person. I already have a portfolio of my best photos. I strive to make my photos unique, beautiful, and professional grade. I have some details worked out and some that are not. The details that are worked out include: -The light meter will be the Gossen Sixtomat F2 Exposure Meter. The fancier ones from Sekonic are overkill. -I will use my navigational skills along with reading forecasts to figure out when to be where. -The camera will be from Intrepid. If I could use a 4x5 reduction back for the 8x10 camera, I would. I selected this brand because even the 8x10 camera is not that heavy. After all, what is the point of a fancy camera that is too much of a burden to take along? -I will look around the area for interesting things to photograph. Later on in the trip, I will return to the interesting place at well before the right time so I can setup the camera. I will wait patiently for the everything to be just right. -I will need a 150mm lens and a 300mm lens. The 300mm must be compatible with 8x10. Besides shooting 8x10 with the 300mm, I will use it as a telephoto lens for 4x5. I originally wanted 4 lenses but I made compromises. -Wild flowers will be captured on 4x5. The broad scenes that don't demand reduced exposure times will be shot on 8x10. Scenes with water may be shot on 4x5 instead of 8x10. -For color positives, I will bring the filters specified on their specs sheets. -My goal is to have a 3D look to a 2D medium. -I will drum scan only the good stuff; it will be at 4000dpi. -The prints should look high end to the viewers who are laymen. The photos should look amazing in general. -I will use Fujifilm Velvia 100F for the more moderate dynamic range scenes that benefit from high contrast (provided that I can still import the last of it from Japan). For moderate dynamic range scenes that benefit from more moderate contrast (such as flowers), I will use Fujifilm Provia 100F. For higher dynamic range scenes or scenes that benefit from intentional overexposure, I will use Fujifilm 160 NS. For scenes with those same characteristics and/or scenes that require an exposure time of less that 1 second, I will use Kodak Portra 400. The parts not confirmed include: -What book should I read for taking photos on large format? -What grad ND filters to use if I should use any? I have never used grad filters. -How many stops of dynamic range should I expect if I use the Tiffen Ultra Contrast filter to raise shadows and lower highlights to bring them closer to zone 5 (known as middle grey)? -What is a good high quality loupe for obtaining critical focus? -How do I find the right ICC profiles for inverting color negatives? I preferably want one for daylight white balance and one for cloudy white balance. I would like the white balance set manually in the scanning phase. I know that is a lot but I could use some advice. What should I do differently? What am I forgetting? How should I motivate myself to just get the stuff and do it? I have already been to great places and taken great photos. It is just a matter of doing it (I like the "now or never" mindset). What advice do you have for me in general?

You've sucked all the fun out of large format photography. If it works for you, great! For me, this would be like following standard operating procedures at work. [deleted]. I think you are set just need to go out and experiment. Large format is super rewarding but difficult.

2 Super helpful really awesome tips. The best way to check if there's film in the holder is to pull out the dark slide right before you put it in the camera. The best way to make sure your framing is perfect up to the last second is to leave the shutter open when you pull the dark slide. Sigh.

Hahaha I did both of these in my first week of shooting 4x5. Assuming you're new to the format, don't worry. You'll get into a rhythm pretty quick and mistakes like this go away as long as you're shooting somewhat regularly :D Plus when you go back to shooting 35mm or digital later on, it feels stupid easy. You know which ones always get me. Forgetting to add exposure compensation for bellow length and setting new ISO on light meter when switching film. I shot large format for over 10 years and probably loaded 10,000 pieces of film and shot over 5,000 Polaroids. I worked on catalogs back then. I’ve done both of those things more often that I’d like to admit. Getting good at this type of photography, like most things, is more about finding new ways to fail and learning from those failures than knowing what to do and doing it. If you want to get good quick, fail faster!

Portrait with a 5x4 camera. Thoughts would be great! .

Good picture, but I'm not sure what you focused on or why. His upper teeth are sharply focused, but his lower teeth aren't. His collar is in focus, but not the rest of his shirt. His nearest eye might be in focus, but you can't tell because of the unfortunate reflection. I dunno, it just looks super weird to me, like nothing I've ever seen before. Thanks! I'll take the Nothing I've ever seen as a compliment. It was my second time using a large format film camera! Can only get better with practise I guess. Thanks! You got in close. You have some life and expression. Isn't too much of a bokeh junkey picture. Good job. I think nomenclature is usually 4x5. What was the lighting set-up? [deleted]. 5x4 is the way they say it in the UK. I have some "online" friends on LF forum and they say it that way as well as 10x8. I think it's a great shot. I figure it was a 210 lens, that's a good portrait size lens for it. Good job!!

How to determine lens board hole size. I have a Graphic View that came with two lenses that I have been using for a while now, but they're both rather wide (90 and 135). I just won an auction for a 210mm 5.6 Schneider-Kreuznach Symmar-S (can't wait for it to arrive) with a Copal #1 shutter. As the title suggests I am wondering how to determine the lensboard mounting hole size I need to mount this. And does the hole need to be _exact_ or can it be a little larger?

Ideally get a predrilled board but [here are the hole and thread sizes](. There ist a lip in the counter nut which screws on the shutter. Its outer diameter schould be the size of the bore. Depending on the overall diameter of the nut, the hole could be larger. I would guess a #1 hole would be +3mm max. The tighter, the better. Also, I would recommend to use the positioning screw if you can. E: As u/xnedski posted the sizes, you wouldn't need to measure anything.

Looking for unwanted exposed LF negatives (happy to pay :). Hi guys, I'm looking for exposed, colour large format negatives for some personal experiments, i'm a photographer myself. These can be test shots, poorly exposed shots, old unwanted negs or even blank ones. I'm happy to pay something for them, considering the condition and subject matter. The experiments are fairly destructive by the way so no need to worry about me using your work :) Thanks!

I have some weird stuff. Thought of you. Recovered "negs" from polaroid & fuji type 100 film. They are just shy of 4x5 in size. Some never got exposed. Some were over exposed. Some dried out before the got pulled through the camera. I recovered them with bleach even though I knew there was nothing on them. Give me money for a stamp I'll put them in a envelope. Appreciate your very creative work.

Suggestion for subreddit header. No idea how to go about that. .

I can take a look. Thanks! like, you want someone to make one? I would be happy to do so if wanted! What film is that the notch code for?

Grand Canyon North Rim Sunset (Graflex Speed Graphic 4x5, Ilford Delta 100, Calumet Caltar-W II 90mm f:8, Scan from darkroom print). .

That's a really nice shot, there's something about B&W of the Grand Canyon that is just awesome. I bet this would look awesome enlarged and framed.

A collection of LF negatives from the last 2 years. .

I went through a bit of a dry spell of no shooting for a while. I've put about 130 or so sheets of film through my camera in the last two years and these are some of my favorites. I'm not sold on color - I like to develop my own film and I just haven't been able to get any consistency like I can with BW. edit - Imgur is being a pest and keeps bugging out while I'm adding descriptions, so they aren't all there. All of the color film is Ektar 100 and the black and white is all either Tri-X 320 or Delta 100. Thank you for sharing. I like your color stuff. Especially 5 & 11. Nice work, but you have some issues with your development. Probably dirty reels, photoflo not washed off entirely? Edit: that it insufficient agitation. 16, 26 & 28 are my favs.

Being Shocked Through Flash Sync Cable. Hey I'm fairly new to LF photography and wanted to try hooking up to my (admittedly cheap and knock-off chinese) studio lights. I plugged my Acugon 90mm f/8 into the sync port of my flash, and immediately noticed that the metal elements on my lens were tingling my fingers. Do I have a grounding error in my cable or something? Anybody ever experienced this and have suggestions? Is this something wrong with my lens? Thanks for the help in advance.

Magic lens, please post some shots. I would try plugging in a much smaller flash, and see if it does the same thing. And by much smaller, I am talking a modern speedlight with a trigger voltage of like 12V. If you are unsure of you trigger voltage check [here]( Some older speedlights can still be up in the 200-300 volt range. If it does the same thing, try it with a different cord, then try it on a different camera. Just work through variables until you trace the problem. or put a wein "safe sync" between your strobes and the pc port on the lens. I hooked up a shutter cable and turned on the modeling lamp on the strobe and... it went away. Still kind of nervous about it but it seems to be working for now haha. We'll see if I get zapped later.

Trying out the Gibellini Proxima 4X5 3D printed LF. Hello guys, today I will order my first LF camera. It will be a Gibellini 4X5 camera. For whom does not know, Gibellini is an italian brand based in Modena (the same town Ferrari cars come from) which produces top quality LF cameras merging traditional design and top range modern materials such as high quality wood, aluminium and carbon. They came up recently with a new project: The Italian Camera. This series is composed by two LF camera models, a 4X5 and a 8X10. They are similiar to the 4X5 and 8X10 Gibellini cameras but the mechanisms are printed in 3D. The internal structures are printed using hard 3D honeycomb for a great resistance. The material using for the printing is PLA, so it's a green and sustainable project. The camera's materials have no deformations with water and resistance to -10°C/+40°C range temperatures have been tested. The camera weights 1.2 kilos. As you can see from the images, the camera has no compromises in movements and the great part is the price. It costs 299€. That's the perfect deal for who, as me, wants to understand the LF in all of its glory and mechanics without spending 2000/3000€ for a new camera or 1/4 of that for an heavy, old camera with a almost broken bellow and mechanisms. As soon as I'll get my hands on the one I've ordered (black bellow) I'll leave a full review here if you'd like to. Thanks a lot.

Seems very similar in price point/niche market to the Intrepid. I've been absolutely thrilled with my Intrepid. Best wishes for you with your new toy, I think you're going to love it. Cool. I've ordered it finally, a couple of days ago and they told me that the printing will start tomorrow. So... as soon as I get my hands on it I'll drop a review here. Meantime I asked to a couple of people that appeared to possess it (via Instagram posts) what were the first impressions and they both told me that they were seriously impressed by the sturdiness (they were expecting it to be way more flimsy) and the lightness. They both told me (they don't know each other) that all movements are fluid, the ground glass is satisfying (is the same mounted on the model that is sold for a couple of grands) and the general experience is very satisfying. So, I'll keep you tuned!

Holders iPhone App. I used to use a great app called Holders to keep track of my holders, film, and field notes. But I just got a new iPhone and went to download all my apps, and I see that the app is no longer in the iTunes store. Not sure if they author took it down. Is there another phone app that has similar functionality?

Sometimes I can find old apps by going into the previously purchased tab of the App Store. (Or something like that).

Advice: using 300mm lens on Horseman 45fa. Just looking for some advice, fairly new to large format but recently picked up a Horseman 45fa kit with 135mm and 210mm lenses. I’m finding that the 210mm isn’t quite long enough to get the look I am after in portraits so have been looking into 300mm lens options. From my own research it looks like this is a possible combination provided I get the right lens board. The lens I’m looking at purchasing is the Nikkor-m 300mm f9 which uses a copal#1 shutter. Any advice on what board I would need and where I might find one? By my understanding I need an extended board rather than the regular copal 1 board due to the longer focal length... If I buy a lens already mounted to a board is it easy enough to remove the board and mount to the required board?

Horseman recommended the 25654 80mm Extension Lens Panel to properly use the 300/9 Nikkor-M. They are no longer in production (as far as I know) so you will need to find a used or NOS one. [There is an extension set on eBay at the moment, which looks like it should do the trick and the price isn't unreasonable.]( LF lenses are usually system-agnostic and generally quite simple to remove from their lensboards and transplant onto a different board. (You'll just need a cheap spanner wrench.) One notable exception is the SinarDB system, in which the lenses were barrel-mounted to the lensboard and the shutter was in the camera body itself. [deleted]. There are also "Tele" designed lenses that have a longer FOV but don't require the full bellows pull. For example the Tele-Arton 270mm only requires about 152mm at infinity. and the 360mm Tele-Arton only needs 209mm bellows draw.

A few days ago, I got back from Death Valley. It made me want to recapture it and other places on large format film. I need advice. For background, I dreamed about shooting large format film since late 2013. I want to do it so I have better image quality than a $50,000 digital camera without taking multiple shots and blending them. Every since I went to Acadia National Park in summer of 2015, I started building a portfolio and longed for a large format camera along with knowledge of operation. I read The Camera and The Negative by Ansel Adams. I already learned what to do and what not to do. For example, incident light metering is not recommended. There is a big difference between opening the shutter and firing it. The Negative along with my Death Valley trip inspired me to look back into black and white film. I previously ruled it out. Examples of what I think looks good in black and white include Darwin Falls and Devils Golf Course. I liked the black and white better because it raised the attention and appreciation for the objects and their details. It is a frequently cited reason for black and white. The things that look better in color include things in which the color is the subject such as flowers and Artist Palette. I am debating with myself on whether or not to use Kodak TMax 400 black and white film. It is the only one I find appealing. Part of me says yes because it has equal or higher resolving power than Velvia. This film also allows me to alter the development of the film sheet to raise the contrast. The other part of me says no because black and white film has many variables not present in color negatives and positives. Some photos need to be in color even though the black and white is more pleasing. This includes a tower at my school. I thankfully don't believe in altering the tone values of colors. So this means no yellow filters. My ideal lenses would include a 135 mm and a 270 mm lens. The 270 mm needs to indicated for 8x10. Part of me says I should look into 8x10 film in addition to 4x5. This is so the scenes that would look better on 8x10 would look better. The other part of me says I should stick with 4x5. This is because there are things that can be captured on 4x5 that should not be captured on 8x10. Examples include scenes in which the lighting or wind can suddenly change at any time. The close ups of flowers and plants may not be enlarged enough to justify 8x10. The landscapes should ideally be wall sized. It is why I am looking into 8x10 in addition to 4x5. I am interested in Tiffen Contrast Control filters. This is to fit the scene into the dynamic range limits of color positives. An example is a tower at my school. The lamps on the tower create an extreme gap between bright and dark. I want to reduce it to bring the lamps on the tower into the range of the film. There are parts that are confirmed. I want to use Kodak Portra 400, Fujifilm Velia 100F (which I can still import the last of it from Japan), and Fujifilm Provia 100F. I will use the Intrepid large format camera. I picked out a good light meter.

You don’t need advice on this stuff, you just need to jump in and do it. You’re spending a lot of time analyzing while you could be shooting. There is no magic bullet. That said, good luck and have fun! Big film is great. I've personally never had a want for film faster than ISO 100 in 4x5. I have used FP4+, Delta 100, and Foma 100. I standardized on Foma 100. The best tonality in a 100 ISO film in my opinion. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful film. LOVES Rodinal. It's not that the grain is offensive with 400 ISO film at this negative size (certainly not with a tight grained film like TMax 400), it's just that I can standardize on buying one film. One issue you may encounter, particularly with slide film, is that the faster shutter speeds on these older leaf shutters are often inaccurate by a stop or more in many cases. Another argument for using slower film in my opinion. I shot a little color 4x5, but I've always loved B&W more so I never bought more than one 10-sheet box of color film. I find the Fujinon-CW lenses are excellent large format performers. Some of them are quite inexpensive. I had a 135mm Fujinon that would almost cover 8x10. Excellent lens, regret selling it. Slower shutter speeds aren't an issue since large format is almost always used with a tripod. The only missing link in your plan is what happens after you shoot. How will you scan, print, share? If your plan includes a flatbed - all your research re: resolving power, contrast, etc., is all for naught I believe. I will say buying an Intrepid 4x5 was one of the best gear decisions I ever made. Best of luck!

There is a tower at my school I want to photograph on large format. I need advice. There is a tower at my college I want to capture on large format film. I have the camera, filters, shutter release cables, and lenses picked out. I don't have a light meter picked out yet. I want to use Provia 100F for the film. I ordered a Tiffen Ultra Contrast 5 filter. This is to compress the scene into the limits of color positives. I want to use instant film for test shots. The problem is that I can't find a way to install instant film into the camera. The film meant for large format requires manual processing; it defeats the purpose of instant film for me. I have looked into instant film cameras. The idea is to see if I can compress the scene into instant film so I ideally can use Provia 100F. What do you recommend I do if instant film is not a good idea? I know I cannot exceed two stops above middle grey or I get pure white. If I do use instant film, what should I do to get quick results? There are two light meters I am trying to decide between. There is the Gossen Sixtomat F2 Exposure Meter and the Sekonic Speedmaster L-858D-U. Do I need a spot meter or will a general reflective meter be good enough? Part of me wants the spot meter to check tiny areas just in case. Part of me wants a less fancy light meter to save money and lower complexity. What are your thoughts? There are two lenses I bought. They include a 150mm and 300mm, the second is designed for 8x10. Who have you used or recommend to test the shutters and calibrate them? They both use Copal shutters. My dream is to make and sell a 72" high metal print in the portrait position. I would like to sell it for several thousands of dollars. I would like to do a drum scan of the good film sheet. The link to the photo from my DSLR is below. I need to shoot from a different angle to keep those annoying distractions out. I lifted the shadows. Feedback and pointers are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Since you're just starting out, don't use instant for test shots. Use film for test shots. Take photos, develop photos, analyze mistakes, repeat. You will learn more by making mistakes than by trying to figure everything out ahead of time. Even if you plan everything in advance, you're still going to make mistakes. You can check your shutter speeds using your computer and a cheap microphone. Learn to do it yourself. Spoiler: they're all off, but if you know how off your shutter speeds are, you can compensate in the exposure. I see you post on this sub all the time with posts like this. Why not just experiment, rather than lay out exactly what you are going to do. Just have some fun. If you’re just starting out download the spot meter app for your phone. It’s decently accurate, and free. It’s about a 10° spot I think. Take test shots with a digital camera. Test shots with instant film will be pricy and will only give you accurate composition which you can get from the glass. Also just because it’s LF doesn’t mean you can sell it for “thousands”. You could probably rent a high mp digital camera and a tilt shift lens for a lot less the buying the LF equipment. I'm by no means an expert at 4x5, but if you're just now buying lens and even shutter cables it seems like you're just now starting 4x5, and what I'm gonna recommend is instead of buying a pack of Provia and going out get a pack of Shanghai film (found on eBay for really cheap) and shooting that first to get accommodated to 4x5 shooting. I've seen a lot of people ruin sheets by pulling the darkslide too early, or forgetting to close the lens, or even loading it wrong, and those errors are gonna be a lot more painful when it's ~8$ per sheet.

Color negative users of Reddit, what software do you use to invert color negatives? I also have concerns about one solution. I currently shoot digital. I am looking to shoot Kodak Portra 400 and Kodak TMax 400. Portra is color negative while TMax is black and white negative. I found different solutions for rendering color negatives. I want to do my own rendering of color and black and white negatives. I will use CCD scanning for all of the negatives and send the very few good ones to a drum scanning facility. One Reddit user recommended Color Perfect. I have some serious concerns though. The software requires scanning and saving as a positive unedited; I am okay with that. The software requires a linear gamma curve. The problem that one drum scanner facility warned is that some scanners can only do logarithmic gamma curves. Another problem is an input gamma of 1.0 will make it too difficult to capture the entire density of the film. I need drum scanning for extracting everything out of the good film. A linear input gamma may defeat the purpose of drum scanning. If I should use Color Perfect, what should I do to go around this problem? This is so I can extract details from all density ranges and have control over the rendering. If Color Perfect is not the right solution for me, how should I go about obtaining LUTs and ICC profiles to render color negatives? I prefer a solution that allows me to take the raw negative values, render them, adjust color balance all with little guesswork. I know what LUTs and ICC profiles are. On my digital camera, I shoot in RAW. I use a Lightroom to render and edit the pictures. I select the Camera Standard profile to render the photos. It works well. I adjust white balance, contrast, and exposure level then move on. I often use exposing to the right then darkening in post. What is a software or solution that works similar to this for color and black and white negatives? What is a good CCD scanner for color and black and white negatives? I start with 4x5 film. Thanks in advance.

There's no right or wrong way about this. You are constantly making posts like this where you don't seem to understand that in essence photography is a subjective matter. Not only that but you never seem to contribute back to the sub. However, if you really want info like this then Reddit is not the place to ask. Go to Photrio or the large format forum for real information.

Şanlıurfa, Eastern Turkey [4x5, 90mm, Kodak Portra 160]. .

A few years ago I carried my Arca Swiss around Turkey in my backpack for a month. I have since realized that that's crazy, so it doesn't go on many big adventures any more.

Shooting / Developing / Editing. .

I don't really know what prompted me to video the process this time, but I can say one thing for sure. I _hate_ video work! Hopefully its enjoyed by you guys. Thank you for showing all that. That was extremely informative. Scanning with the Epson 850 that was a wet mount?

Callalily 4x5 on FP4+. .

The image that I processed in the video I recently uploaded. * Intrepid45 * Schneider 8/90 * Ilford FP4+ shot at box speed * 1/2s @f/22 * Developed in DD-X 11 minutes. It’s a very nice image, and I just wanted to say thank you for uploading a quality larger file. I always see people sharing tiny low res files of their photography, especially in large format, and I have to wonder why they bother because we can’t see any of the quality in those. This one I was able to zoom in pretty far and pan around to take in the details and even see the film grain. Nice! 👍🏻 I also work with the Intrepid cameras (I have 3!), and love them. Keep up the nice work!

Advice on Lightmeters for a Beginner. Hello there! I'm an absolute beginner when it comes to large format photography- but I'm finally starting to get to the point where I might be able to begin taking photos. I have a 4x5 camera, lens, back, film, and more, and I'm working my way through some informative books so I can have some inkling of what I'm doing. However, one area I'm still very unsure on is lightmeters. Seems like they are used quite a lot- should I get one before properly starting out? I've heard of people just using a digital camera as a lightmeter, which has the added benefit of being able to do some test shoots- as I already have a pretty good digital camera, is this a viable option? Did people only use lightmeters because digital cameras and stuff weren't available, or do they still have some unique benefit(s) nowadays that I'll want to have? I would appreciate any advice on this matter. I think a lightmeter is the last piece of somewhat expensive/technical kit I might need, so hopefully once I've got this figured out I can actually move towards taking photos! Thanks for any advice you can give, and please let me know if I've made any errors in posting this here and, if you could, let me know where I should post it instead for better results.

Digital cameras are pretty reasonable spot meters and you shouldn't have any issues taking photos using those exposure values. Having said that the one thing that has improved my photography the most was switching to a incident light meter. It really helps out when you want to expose for X light falling on object Y from direction Z. Something just clicked for me and I feel like I'm in much better control of the light. YMMV Edit: [here]( is a previous thread on this topic. If you can get ahold of one, the Minolta Autometer V is the best one I ever owned. It’s lovely as an incident meter and is dead on accurate. A light meter is a tool. And a pretty useful tool; but it is not a necessity - remember that "Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico" was shot without any meter at all. That being said, a light meter (especially with a good spot meter) helps a lot in understanding what it is you are doing. A dslr with a zoom lens works, but it isn't as accurate. How a light meter can be used? Because you are shooting sheets of film, you can get really creative in how sheets are individually exposed and developed. (I'm referring to my understanding of the zone system) You can use a incident meter, or the matrix meter in your camera; and that will get you pretty darn close. Those give a pretty general idea of what zone V (Zone 5) is going to be. So imagine a typical landscape. Trees, water, mountains, sky. Shooting for the shadows, the trees are placed in zone 3. Putting the Mountains in Zone 5; and your sky in Zone 9. But, since you know all of these things, you can develop with a shorter development time and bring that sky down to Zone 7 and get back a bit of cloud detail. There are many other things you could have done with exposure and development to get a variety of results. This is made possible with a spot meter. The difference between a Camera spot meter and a dedicated meter is the accuracy. A camera spot meter takes a reading from a larger area (5 degrees usually) You can improve upon it by using a longer lens, but it can't compete with a 1 degree spot meter found in a real meter. I've used a digital camera, [cell phone app]( and a Sekonic L308. All worked fine though the Sekonic wins for ease of use. I still use my digital camera for test shots if I'm shooting with strobes. The Sekonic can do flash metering if you do some mental math but I like seeing a preview before I commit it to film. Since you have a digital camera already, go with that. Large format is a lot less scary once you get those first few shots under your belt. I have a Polaris digital light meter. Here's a random one on eBay for $65: It's a great meter, I use it for flash, large format, medium format, everything.

Toyo 45A Compendium Shade. Does anyone know where to find a compendium shade for the Toyo 45A? Are there any other brands that are compatible? What I'm finding on eBay isn't compatible with that model. I recently bought a Toyo View compendium shade, thinking I could mod it to use on my 45A. I've decided there are too many fundamental issues to try to mod it, I'm better off selling it for a few dollars profit.

Are you looking for the one that attached to what looks like a hotshoe?

shot a couple sheets on a new camera while at Lake Tahoe! (Chamonix 045n-2, 135mm, Ilford FP4 125). .

not my best, technique wise. I loaded these holders who knows when, and they’ve been through a lot since then. So has the film that was in them in the first place. I also developed these sheets (and a few others) using a tank and metal holders, which I’ve never done before (in the past I’ve always used that Patterson tank insert of the taco method). I’m not 100% happy with the results, but it could be worse. I was also drunk when I shot these in the first place, but I can imagine that was a factor. Regardless, it’s been fun experimenting with landscapes a little bit! They aren’t typically my wheelhouse, but this camera is so light it’d be a shame not to take it hiking. I see nothing to apologize for (or excuse) here. With this, the film tells your tale. I tend to be drawn to rougher images, so I’m enjoying the light leaks and the vignetting. That courseness, though, doesn’t match the image quality of the image. I would think by cropping the courseness and burning in the background you would have something to hang. And at least you’re shooting. I’ve had my “new” Toyo for about a year and have only a handful of images for myself; it’s too easy for me to make photography-my love- a lower priority to life. Thanks for sharing! Nice. How do you like the Chamonix? I’ve just ordered one of those myself to replace my old speed graphic.

My Old Rig (x-post r/4x5). [deleted].

^(Hi, I'm a bot for linking direct images of albums with only 1 image) ** ^^[Source]( ^^| ^^[Why?]( ^^| ^^[Creator]( ^^| ^^[ignoreme]( ^^| ^^[deletthis](. Between 15-20 years ago, a friend-of-a-friend called asking if I wanted her boyfriend's old wooden camera. It was about to get thrown out because it was old, clunky, had a nasty scar on the lens, and he had a new one. I didn't care- OF COURSE I WANTED IT! I cleaned it up, got it working again, and used it to learn how to shoot 4x5. This thing is a beast- been patched and repaired so many times it's apparent how much I love this thing. A couple years ago, I forgot to take it out of it's soft pack. The brass rails were bent while moving. Now, it' been replaced by a Toyo 45A, and sits proudly in my house as an objet d/art.

My Old Rig. .

^(Hi, I'm a bot for linking direct images of albums with only 1 image) ** ^^[Source]( ^^| ^^[Why?]( ^^| ^^[Creator]( ^^| ^^[ignoreme]( ^^| ^^[deletthis](. Here is a list of threads in other subreddits about the same content: |Title|Subreddit|Author|Time|Karma| |---|---|---|---|---| |[My Old Rig]( 19:53:49|1| ---- I am a bot [FAQ]( user (op only)]( from subreddit (mods only)]( Now you can remove the comment by replying delete! (op only). **x-post r/4x5** Forgive me, first time cross-posting. About 15-20 year ago, I got a call from a friend-of-a-friend. Her boyfriend was about to throw out this old wooden flatbed. It was old, clunky, needed love, and had a nasty scar on the lens. OF COURSE I WANTED IT! I took it in, showed it love, and used it to learn 4x5. I would go through spurts of using it consistently, mostly while I worked at a lab with BW dip-and-dunk. I've patched and repaired it more times than I know. About two years ago, I forgot to take it out of it's soft case while we were moving. The brass rails ended up bent and unrepairable. Doing cursory searches for new rails, I realized this was an opportunity to upgrade. I replaced it with a Toyo 45A, and this wooden beast now sits as an object d'art and point of pride in my house.

Looking for a solution for cutting tiled wallpaper. We have Onyx and we print a lot of wallpapers. We then want to be able to use our esko cutter to trim them down. Is there a way to set reg marks in Onyx for each tile rather than the whole image?

I think you might be in the wrong sub pal, this is large format photography, not large format printing. Sorry!

Cost Effective Way to advertise your Brand with Roll up Banner Stand. .

Unfortunately I think you’ve mistaken large format for a forum discussing large format printing, where this is, at least mostly, a place to discuss large format photography. In other words film based photography with film sizes of 4X5 inches or larger, utilizing view cameras. As a guy who’s into advertising photography and who has shot for lots of large format advertising, I appreciate both. But it’s likely why there’s not a lot of interest in your post. Just FYI. Good luck though!

[UPDATED] Trying out the Gibellini Proxima 4X5 3D printed LF. Hello guys, finally the camera arrived. Since I have to make two university exams in two weeks I still have no time to try it out properly but I can write down a couple of lines about the first feelings of it. You can find here some images from the unboxing First impressions are of a sturdy camera, very very light. The feeling of the weight is seriously incredible, cause it is not too light nor too heavy, it's just the right weight you would like to get from this object and this is pretty satisfying. The sturdiness with this camera is a serious thing, I have pushed the mechanisms just to try it out (I was sweating in fear) and it has a good stress resistance. It really appears to be 3D made in the little details of materials (signs of printer's work and tracks are visible), and some part are roughly refined but I don't know how, this is just increasing the general feeling of a really good camera. The bellow is very strong, elastic and has the typical feel of a brand new bellow. The ground glass is brighter then I hoped and I'm glad about this. I'm very happy with this purchase and I cannot wait to take it our for the first time. Keep you updated, in the meanwhile feel free to ask me anything. Thanks.

Looks cool. I'd love to see how this compares to the Intrepid. I absolutely love my Intrepid, but I'm curious about this. Thanks for posting this, I had no idea these existed. I’m happy with my Toyo 4x5 but the €699 8x10 sure caught my eye.

Great deal on some 4x5 ektachrome. I'm not sure if this is allowed here but I found [this]( great deal on ebay. Personally I can't afford it but I thought there might be some here who could. Just to clarify, I'm not the seller.

5/95... Wow. That's a serious 300$ gamble. I’m not sure this is such a great deal. I’m always on the lookout for some 4x5 Ektachrome, and last year I bought 50 sheets for about $0.91 each, let’s say $50 total. This comes out to $2.99/sheet!

What do I need to use my roll film adapter. I found a rather cheap "23" Graphic 6x9 roll film adapter on ebay. It came and to my surprise there's no logical way to mount it to my graphic spring back. After looking at videos and photos, I realize my roll film adapter is missing the base plate, or whatever it's called. Mine looks like this: It's missing the base plate seen here: So obviously now I need to track down one of these plates, which explains why the ebay listing was so cheap. Can anyone tell me what they're called exactly? Edit: I realize I may have bought a roll film adapter for a 2x3 camera and not a 4x5 camera :/.

That is exactly what you did. Sorry. almost worth picking up a fun 2x3 camera.

Shimming ground glass. I have a Graphic View II 4x5 and while my shots have not been terribly blurry, they haven't been terribly sharp either. I decided to measure the difference between the ground glass and film plane with a film holder installed, and was shocked to see that the ground glass needed to be shimmed back by a full 1mm! After reading about the topic I found that some cameras require the fresnel lens to be in front of the ground glass (closest to the lens), whereas some cameras require the fresnel to be behind the GG (closest to the photographer). My camera was set up so that the fresnel was behind the lens, and the fresnel is roughly 1mm (maybe a bit more) in depth. I am wondering perhaps if the previous owner of my camera had the fresnel/GG installed incorrectly. Does it make sense that the ~1mm difference would be attributed to the fact that the fresnel should have been placed in front? I guess I have some test shots to make but I just wanted to ask around first.

Interesting post. I bought a used 4x5 camera and wondered about the ground glass, because it looked suspicious to me. Indeed, the dimensions between a film holder and the glass did not match, so I corrected it, and yup... sharp shots. But parts I thought should be there were missing, and I never figured out which side the fresnel lens should be on. There is so little documentation for this stuff, even cameras that are still being manufactured. As far as I am aware, the fresnel is meant to be in front of the ground glass. Certainly sounds like you've pretty much solved the problem yourself. Kudos on that point btw. I'd say flip the orientation of the two pieces of glass. Run a test shot, and you'll probably be back in business.

Came across some E6 8x10 and some polaroid 690 and 4x5. Need help/opinions. I recently stored the film haul of a life time prior to my 4x5 arriving and I'm curious what I could sell the 8x10 ektachrome 100 exp 98 50 sheet pack for along with 3 boxes of 4x5 and 10 boxes 690. It's been refrigerated and not frozen and also was kept flat. I don't want to get use to instant film due the lack of availability and 8x10 slide isnt in my budget.

Cool find! I'm not sure about all of the film, but i looked up the 8x10 on ebay. Looks like a similar pack sold recently for $70. If you are interested in selling the box you found, I'd be willing to buy it for that same price. If you have a Paypal account, I could pay you pretty quick. If you're interested, let me know. Congrats!

Experimenting with x-ray film. Over the past couple of weeks I have been shooting a lot of [x-ray film]( cut down from 8x10 sheets) around my house, and I thought I'd share it here. So far I've had the best results with HC-110, but D76 seems to work well too. The main issues are scratching, which I've managed to minimize (slightly) by cutting the film smaller than you would first expect, and wearing gloves whenever handling it. Even with that, its double-sided emulsion is so scratch-prone that the images are always covered. At only about 15c a shot though, its easy to experiment.

Any details on what film you're using (why so cheap)? ISO rating/developing details? I developed my last batch in plastic zip bags and had very few scratches. Curious to try this...grabbed a cheap 100 sheets and will report once i cut down a few. HC110 1:80 20 min at 20C? will try---I'm in tank so i'll have to experiment and just trust.

Bellows extension question. Hi I have a 13x18inch (more like 30x40cm) camera similar to [this]( one. It can have a maximum bellow extension of around 50cm. Now my question: I need a portrait lens to make 1:1 portraits (with the head filling the 30x40cm format). I have a Lomo RF-3 (300mm) but this lens is way to wide-angle. Meaning I would sub-optimal portraits (big nose, no ears, ... you know). I have a good offer for a Rodenstock Apo Ronar 600mm. But will I be able to focus my subject with this lens? ... what film-lens distance does this lens need. It is a 1:1 repro-lens so does this mean it needs roughly 600mm for infinity? Does this mean I would need to use a wide-angle lens for my portraits due to the bellow extension or are there some 500mm+ lenses with lesser extension than normal? Hope my question makes sense. Thanks.

A 1:1 repro-lens was designed to reproduce objects at a one to one scale. They are not going to be optimized for focusing at infinity. They can be used at infinity, but if used at infinity it is better to stop them down a lot. According to this [website]( the rear focus of that lens would be 561mm which would be beyond the limit of your camera for infinity focus. There are telephoto lenses for large format that will give you a longer focal length without needing an equal amount of bellows extension, but one that will cover your format size is going to be prohibitively (at least for my budget) expensive. If you do not "need" to shoot at one to one I would use the lens you have.

Advice on Selling a Large Format Setup. Hi all, I think I've found a good deal on a large format setup. I have experience in small and medium format, and want to give large format a try. However, I'm not sure yet if it will be for me and I'm wondering, if I don't like it, if I'll be able to sell it for my money back. The package includes: * '422.21' 12” rail with caps * '424.21' 18” rail extension * '421.21' 6” rail extension * '421.22' rail clamp * '431.51' P2 front standard * '437.61' multipurpose standards x 2 * '462.16' P2 metering back standard * '461.76' fresnel lens for back standard * '454.11' multipurpose bellows x 3 * '533.21' bellows hood mask 12 * '531.12' binocular reflex magnifier * '531.51' binocular light hood * '473.31' bellows holder * '472.61' short rod * Sinar lens board * 4x5 Polaroid back and 18 4x5 Lisco & Toya film holders * 300 mm Rodenstock * 210mm Schneider * 150mm Nikkor (apertures not listed for lenses but I am waiting on photos. I would be paying about $650USD for this. So my questions to anyone who might be kind enough to answer are these: am I getting a good deal on this kit? If I decided that large format is too much of a hassle for me, will I be able to sell this easily for what I paid for it, or am I going to be sitting on it forever? Thanks Kindly!

If the bellows and lenses are in good condition that sounds like a solid deal. Be sure to check the tripod mount as you might need a heavier duty tripod than you already have. What do you plan to use this camera for? The Sinar P2 is an excellent camera, and the lenses from Nikon, Rodenstock, and Schneider are great quality lenses as long as they have been taken care of. The bellows is easily replaceable if they happen to not be in the best shape. The price sounds like a really good deal for that setup assuming the lens shutters are all good and everything else is in good usable condition. Just keep in mind that the P2 is a beast, and is not really a travel camera if you stray too far from your car. The F series is similar but much lighter in weight. As others have said, this is a good deal so long as the hardware is in good shape. Sinar was the best of the best in the world of 4X5 when I was shooting in the 90’s. The lenses you have included are worth the cost by themselves. Nice! Yup, you could get that back. The lenses and film holders are 650+. r/largeformat approves! But in all seriousness, go for it. The setup looks like it'll be worth more than $650 granted most of it is in decent order. Actually, if you decide you don’t need the 300mm let me know. I just bought my wife a 4X5 setup and am looking for a 300 for portraits!

Where do I start. So I have only ever shot on full frame DSLR's and I have been looking for a way to slow down and go back to basics to encourage myself to learn a lot more about the art of photography instead of just snapping away mindlessly. I really want to get into film, and the more I looked into it, large format has been calling my name. But, all the resources available over the internet seem a little confusing and sporadic, there doesn't seem to be one place to gather the information I need to get started. So I'm asking any of you what your thoughts are on just starting out. What should I be looking into? I specifically want to be into landscape photography as that is my favorite with full frame digital. And where should I be looking to buy gear, and what exactly? I really appreciate any help!

It's a great time to get into Large Format, and I could write pages and pages about how great it is. For brevity's sake, I'll say this: Seriously consider starting with a 35mm SLR before jumping feet first into large format. The skills you have learned on your DSLR will translate pretty well, and you'll get the hang of developing film (if you plan to develop your own) before it costs $1 every time you trip the shutter. Yes, 35mm film is lower resolution than you're used to, and obviously lower resolution than 4x5. But doing your entire learning curve and making all the inevitable mistakes (*ahem, _learning experiences_) all using large format film will be very expensive compared to getting it all out on 35mm. That being said, as far as cameras go, I highly recommend the Intrepid 4x5. I've had mine for about a year now and I'm loving it. It's very inexpensive, compact, extremely lightweight, and has an excellent range of front standard movements. If you're shooting nature and landscapes, rear standard movements aren't nearly as important. I really consider it the best 4x5 available for a backpacker. There are a few books I'd recommend. The Camera, The Negative, and The Print are by Ansel Adams and considered classics. They detail the Zone System very well, with emphasis on the idea that you visualize what you want your final print to look like before you even decide on an exposure. This visualized destination will inform your exposure, development, filtration, etc. Of course you don't have to use the Zone System, but I have found personally that the quality of my work skyrocketed once I dialed it in. I would also check out Bruce Barnbaum's "The Art of Photography." Honestly I think it's the best photography book I ever read. It contains further refinements to working in the Zone System and a lot of excellent "advanced" darkroom information. But it also contains some of the best advice I have ever received on art, why we do art, and how to know what you're really after with your photography. This has informed my decisions ever since I read it, and photography has never been more fulfilling for me. This book also contains an incredible lecture on composition that really elevated my game beyond "use the rule of thirds." Finally, you may want to check out the Film Photography Handbook by Chris Marqhardt. He runs a weekly photography podcast that I really enjoy called Tips from the Top Floor, it's been running for over a decade. His book contains a really comprehensive "beginners guide" to film. It was written just a couple of years ago, so it has current and valid information on films available, hybrid workflows for scanning negatives, and color film as opposed to only black & white. 4x5 is a rabbit hole. In my opinion if you're going to take the plunge and claw your way up the learning curve, it's worth learning how to darkroom print at the same time. Just my $0.02. But nothing in digital or hybrid photography will ever be as exciting to me as watching an insanely detailed 4x5 print come to life in the tray. 4x5 enlargers are stupid inexpensive these days. I literally bought a Beseler 45 MXT (a $2000 enlarger) for $30 on Craigslist, in perfect condition this past year. Keep an eye out, it's never been less expensive to get into film and darkroom work. Best of luck! Another vote for ‘what they said’, though I’d also say medium format is a good bridging point also. You can buy TLRs for very little, and they’ll provide a slice of that big negative resolution and full manual slower process at a much lower cost than large format. Welcome to the family! All of the other responses are expertly worded and give a step by step breakdown of how you can begin shooting LF and the such. However, a years ago I, too was a DSLR only shooter, snapping thousands of pictures at every event I attended. Mindlessly holding the shutter button while relying on my 3D auto focus and advanced metering system resulted in some great shots but I felt that there was something missing from my photography. I decided to move to film and started out with a 35mm Minolta, moving to a TLR Yashicamat and finally a Graflex Speed Graphic LF. In the process I learned to develop and print photos and assembled my own darkroom (with a Beseler 45MXT, yay!). Retrospectively, it was one of the best decisions I've made in regards to photography. There is nothing like the magic of seeing images come to life in the dim red light. It truly is amazing. Shopping list. Yippie * Camera - 4x5 is the most accessible. what ever you can find; look for something that uses a lnhof board because they are the most common and easiest to find. Intrepid is a good choice, but you may also find something second hand for a good price. I would also look for a camera that has lots of movements; it will give you more freedom to experiment with the flexibility of large format. That said, with more movements, you are going to get more bulk. There is a balance somewhere. For me, it was the shen hao when I began a long time ago. Lots of movements, and folds down pretty well. It use to be cheap, but i think they have raised their prices in the past couple of years. Today, Im wishing for a Wista RF which would give me sturdiness, sacrifice a bit of movements (i ended up not using it as much as I thought. it was still very fun to experiment with) and gives me the option to hand hold with the rangefinder built in. * lens; start with a lens with a similar focal length that you used for your dslr. Ie. 50mm on a dslr is a 150mm with 4x5; 21mm is a 90mm; My personal favourites are the 120mm and 180mm. you will need a len board that fits the camera and lens. some lenses have it included. * film holders * lightmeter * loupe - 4x is good, but any ol loupe will be useful. * dark cloth (and get some butterfly clips) the clips are useful to attach the dark cloth to the camera. *development: Get the tall pattersom 3 reel tank, and the mod54 adapter. It is the easiest way to develop at home. If you are going to shoot only in colour, you may need to find a lab also given your limited development experience, it might be a good idea to get use to developing with 35mm first. It'll be less expensive when you make a mistake. (it has happened to all of us. I once lost a box of 4x5 film when I forgot to close the box after loading my film.) Favourite book on the subject: the practical zone system. website: largeformatphotography.info. Okay, so I got an outpouring of advice and input. I am overwhelmingly appreciative of everything that has been said!! This is an amazing community, and I'm glad to be joining in the near future. That being said, I think my steps to move forward will be to first acquire a nikon 35mm to learn the film process first. Possibly then move to a more Manual medium format system, and then eventually move on to large format when I am in a better headspace. I now believe jumping head first into LF without knowing any film knowledge would be a very expensive and steep learning curve. So I'll start with some baby steps. I hope to see you all in the near future sharing some of my first LF exposures!!!! if you're into podcasts check out the film photography podcast. good bunch of jokesters and very informative about film for new filmsters. they go over everything from 35mm SLRs to sun miniature "spy camera" formats to 8x10 view cameras. each co-host brings their own special interests to the discussion. fun times. careful with that GAS though. That sounds fantastic! Thank you. I do love podcasts because of my commute to work!! If you would like to start getting in the mindset of a large format photographer, you can start with the digital equipment you already have. Add a tripod and a manual/digital cable release and use a fixed focal length lens. Also use an external light meter to find your exposure. Limit your image taking to one or two frames per location and a total of 12-14 frames before you are done for the afternoon. I generally bring 6-7 film holders on an afternoon outing, so that is a max of 14 photos during the shooting session. I usually shoot 1 film holder per location, usually bracketing a half stop or so on the second shot. This means only 2 negatives per location. Set up your camera and tripod. Use your external light meter to find your exposure. Focus the camera and set your shutter speed and aperture. Make sure the image is exactly what you want and make an exposure by tripping your cable release. Bracket and shoot a second frame. Pack up and move on. In large format, it is about slowing down and really paying attention to your composition and lighting to get the best possible single image out of a location. I enjoy it greatly, and find it to be one of the most satisfying and relaxing forms of photography.

Getting back into Large Format after 20 years and bought this. How did I do? Been a while but I think I remember most of it. I bought this as a divorce present to myself. I think I did well on the price. After shipping the total was $244. The Schneider lens is a plus and if I remember, that Calumet was a built like a tank when it comes to ruggedness.

Asking how you did after you bought is sort of worthless, right? If you're happy that's all that matters. I actually bought the same camera with the same lens off eBay about 7 years ago. It's what I used to learn to shoot large format. It's a pain to haul around, but I have taken some (in my opinion) lovely photos with it. I am kind of curious about digital backs for large format and whether they are of any use. What advantages they might have (other than the obvious). I didn't see any photos of the bellows, and there was no mention of their condition in the description, so you may want to look up replacement/repair service in case they're toast. The Calumet CC-400s were indeed built like tanks, although they seemed to weigh as much as one as well! Not very versatile, though, and accessories are rather limited due to a lack of a Graflok back and just generally not being a popular camera. Be sure to check for light leaks, the bellows condition is unknown and the seals are probably factory originals. That said, can you stick some film in it and go take great shots? You bet your ass you can. The lens should be a fine shooter provided the shutter works well. It's a convertible so you've got some added flexibility there provided you're OK with a greatly reduced aperture when used as a 370mm. Looks like you did pretty good to me. I bought the same camera on ebay about a year ago for $140 shipped. But it had no film holder and no lens. These bodies start around $110 shipped in garbage condition. So yeah, with that lens and film holder, you got a sweet deal, as long as the bellows is good.

Intrepid 4x5. Looking into buying my first LF kit. I was at first considering a Crown Graphic, but have read that it has next to no movements, so now I’m looking at the intrepid. I like that it’s very light, versatile, and on the low end of the spectrum price-wise. Does anyone have any experience with the Intrepid? Because it’s new and purposely cheap, I’m not as confident buying one as I would be one of the old brands. I expect I’d be mostly using it for landscapes. Any advice/suggestions would be appreciated!

Couldn't be happier with mine. I have my Intrepid 4x5 as well as a Toyo View monorail. The Toyo View feels like a luxury camera. All movements are geared, huge range of both front and rear standard movements, all adjustments are buttery smooth, etc. Unfortunately the thing weighs 800 pounds and never leaves the house. The Intrepid feels rougher by comparison. And it should. It is 2 pounds of birch plywood. But by no means is the comparative roughness a detriment. The ground glass is serviceable. I find it tricky to use at 90mm or shorter focal lengths, but doable (especially since I added a DIY fresnell lens to it). At 150mm and longer, the ground glass is great for anything but demanding low light work. The front standard movements are flexible enough to max out all my lenses (90mm, 150mm, 210mm). The rear standard doesn't really have movements per se, although you can fake a bit of rear tilt by partially folding the camera down. There are also tricks to use front standard movements to simulate rear standard movements if you need them. I shoot primarily nature so I rarely need anything more than a bit of rise/fall and some front tilt, although I use the front swing semi-regularly as well. I treat my camera well and it treats me well. Having shot it for over a year now, I have no concerns about its durability over time. I can't get over how lightweight it is, and am still tickled about being able to take a 4x5 camera somewhere that I would think twice about even bringing my DSLR. 10/10 would buy again, and 10/10 would recommend on Reddit often enough that people probably think I work for Intrepid. I’ve heard, read, and watched many great things about the Intrepid, but I *personally* would be lost without my Speed Graphic. I like not having to worry about too many movements haha. In the end, make whatever choice you want! Different things work for different people. Edit: Check out Ben Horne’s channel. He has a review of the intrepid 4x5 and he’s a great all around resource for LF stuff. For Graflex I like the Super Graphic. It's got more movements than the other models and as long as you can mount a lens in a board, you'll have tons of options. Instead of the Intrepid you may want to look around at used Tachiharas. I wouldn't stress about movements, the bomb proof nature of press cams mean they get used much more often. I use my technika 3 almost as much as my 35mm. Better deals can be found for monorails on ebay. I got a Toyo 45 for $50 with only a few pinholes in the bellows. However, it does weigh quite a lot so if weight is more of a concern than price then I would go for the Intrepid or that Italian company that makes 3D printed LF cameras. Big shout out to the Graflex cameras. I agree with Wheresluigi22690. I too would be lost without my Speed Graphic. It is the most fun camera I think I have ever owned. I love the ability to stick barrel lenses on it and mess around. Another hurrah for Speed Graphic! I opted for one because of the track record and foldable design. I wanted to be able to pack it into my hiking pack and take it out on long adventures. Yes, it does weigh a considerable amount more than your run of the mill 35 or even 120/220 film camera, but the pros greatly outweigh the cons. There are also modifications that can be done to increase the flexibility of the front standard. If you're really trying to slim down, take a look at a crown graphic. They are essentially the same thing without the rear shutter. If I remember correctly, it shaves off about a pound. I also have an Intrepid 4x5. I’m yet to find a situation that my abilities have outstripped the camera’s. It’s weight is amazing and the build quality is fine. People who compare the quality against cameras costing 10x as much are missing the point. It’s not designed to meet that point of the market. It’s an entry level camera that does that role excellently. The front standard movements are more than sufficient and I’ve not found the lack of rear movements to be an issue. To chime in here, I've been incredibly happy with my Intrepids, and have been using them exclusively for all my work since the 1st Gen 4x5 came out a couple of years back. I now have 4 of them (two 4x5s and two 8x10s)! They are unbeatable when it comes to weight, size, cost, and simplicity of use. Of course, as others have mentioned they make certain compromises to cut weight and cost, but those are intentional and integral to the design of the camera, not faults. Overall my cameras have held up to 5-day off-trail wilderness backpacking trips, being blown over by the wind, and being crammed in the bottom of a backpack buried under 45 pounds of gear and lugged for many miles. I've produced a ton of prints and a couple of printed zines using the images I've made with them, and continue to be happy with them. The features are all you should really need for the vast majority of applications, and they work great with lenses from 65-300mm. I've personally been using 90-300mm lenses extensively with good results for years. Let me know if you have any questions I can answer. I may be more responsive on IG as I get those messages faster than here. You can see my Intrepid cameras in use [on YouTube]( and view some of the work I've created with them [on Instagram]( or [at my portfolio site](.

Landscape photographers of r/largeformat, what state parks in Texas do you like best for capturing fall foliage? Do you have photos you can share of it? What is your advice? For background, I am slowly getting towards large format film photography. I acquired a 150mm and 300mm lens. Those are the only two I need. The 150mm is for 4x5. The 300mm is for 8x10. There are three lines of color film I want to try. They include Kodak Portra 400, Fujifilm Provia 100F, and Fujifilm Velvia 100F (I know a good retailer from Japan I can still import the film from). I need a good miniature freezer to freeze the film. I also need to acquire the camera itself. I need a good spot meter. This summer, I will save up money to acquire what I need. Following the acquisition, I will do test runs to get practice. This is so I am prepared when I go capture the fall foliage in October. I tried the Tiffen Ultra Contrast filters on my digital camera. They made the scene look flat without softening the highlights; I returned them. I am looking into the soft contrast filters to soften the highlights. I want to try them out on the digital camera then on the test runs with color positives. How many film holders total do you recommend I buy? What is the best state park in Texas for photographing fall foliage? The most important part is making sure it does not look cliché but it looks unique. Others include getting away from areas where people obstruct the subject (such as people in the water). I am patient and believe setting up the camera then waiting patiently for the scene to be perfect. I would prefer to avoid scenes that have constant wind (come and go wind is tolerable). What general advice do you have? Thanks in advance.

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I am thinking about selling the 2 lenses I have in exchange for 2 others. I also want a reliable software for color negative rendering. What are your thoughts? I am slowly making moves towards large format film photography. I acquired a 150mm lens and 300mm lens. The 300mm is designed for 8x10. I have not stepped into large format yet. I still need to acquire the camera, a mini freezer, and the film itself. I am thinking about selling my 2 lenses in exchange for a 120mm and 240mm. The 240mm will be for 8x10 film. I am considering this because I took photos on my crop frame DSLR in which 28mm (42mm on full frame) provided too narrow of a field of view. Some scenes like The Big Tree at Goose Island state park won't allow me to step back far enough with that focal length. For color negative rendering, I am looking into SilverFast. I ruled out Color Perfect because it requires linear scans. Linear scans defeat the purpose of drum scanning film. Part of good drum scanning includes using logarithmic A/D conversion to extract all important densities. Can this software also help unflatten flat scans of color positives? I will send only the best of the best a drum scan center. The rest will be CCD scanned. The facility uses the Aztek Premiere 8000. I want 4000 dpi scans of 8x10 film. It sounds crazy but my computer is powerful and I will sell photo wallpapers. Did you have good experience with SilverFast? If yes, how should I go around the fact that SilverFast was not straight up designed for the Aztek scanner? I don't want someone to use the Heidelberg scanner because it cannot do 4000 dpi scans of 8x10. If you don't like SilverFast, what is another standalone software you like for rendering negatives? Thanks in advance.

Buy a wider lens to take the picture of the tree?? I think trying to have lenses that work well on both 8x10 and 4x5 is best accomplished by just buying lenses for the 8x10. If it works well on an 8x10 it should be great on a 4x5, if slightly bulkier than necessary. IMO 150 and 300 are really great starting lenses, better than 120 and 240. The 150 would be roughly equivalent to a 24mm on 8x10. It sounds like you have a 150 designed for 4x5 coverage though; you will need a 150 that can cover 8x10 and that will likely be quite expensive. 150 is of course "normal" for 4x5 as well, so a very useful focal length. I can't comment on your scanning questions. I use Vuescan, but I really only do B&W film, and frankly if I like a photo enough to do anything with it, I'm printing in the darkroom rather than scanning anyway. Silverfast came with my scanner. It has a lot of bells and whistles but I honestly can't definitively say that spending time playing with them yields better results. It is all too opaque for me; selecting "TMax 100" instead of "Ilford Delta 100" yields subjectively worse scans of TMax 100... and there should be no reason for that... the films are very very similar. But whoever designed one preset has different preferences than the person that designed the other preset, so it ends up boiling down to "random adjustments that person A likes" and "random adjustments that person B likes" instead of having any objective relationship to the film. Anyway, I reformatted my computer and lost the license code so I just use the Epson utility and the results are also fine. When scanning C-41, Silverfast removes the orange mask admirably The Epson utility also removes the orange mask admirably. I doubt I could tell the difference. It's not rocket science, after all, a lot of C-41 film has been scanned by the human race and we're pretty good at it at this point. (That said, I have had very little luck photographing negatives with a digital camera and removing the orange mask in Photoshop. User error no doubt, but the scanning utility certainly adds value there in having the right parameters programmed in.) Some of Silverfast's advanced features like doing two scans at different exposures to extract more dynamic range appeal to me... but I don't really see any amazing difference in the result. I am pretty anal about exposure and development and rarely have difficult negatives. (Honestly, it's probably not my technique, it's just that film is _really good_ these days and you really have to go out of your way to get a terrible negative.) I think your needs are pretty different than what is typically desired by the average person scanning film. If I were going for 4000dpi scans with specialized equipment and wanted to be very sure that I was getting the maximum dynamic range from said equipment, I'd probably write my own software to do that. But that's a luxury I can afford because I'm a software engineer; I don't have any useful advice for people that just want to make art. Honestly, build one kit at a time. You've got two lenses for two cameras you don't even have yet, you haven't shot a photo yet, and you're already trying to trade stuff around before you even get started, based on one possible shot of a tree? Sell the 300, put the money towards a 4x5 camera setup. I don't think you realize just how much money one kit will cost, much less a 4x5 and an 8x10 setup. Forget the mini-freezer, just shove the ice cream to the side in your kitchen, use the money for your kit. You're gonna have a bunch of necessary equipment to buy before you can even take a photograph. A freezer is the last of your worries. As far as lens lengths go - the 150mm is the standard for 4x5 and you can't go wrong with it. For most people, it will be used in more situations than the 120mm. Worry about scanning when you have negatives to scan. You need to think first about the exposure/development process, which is going to be much more important to the final image than what software to use.

I am trying to decide between three large format camera models. I also want to cut 8x10 film sheets into two 5x7 sheets properly. I need advice. I am looking into large format film photography. I will photograph landscapes, landmarks (like outdoor architecture), and close ups of wildflowers. I am looking for the right view camera. I want to shoot 4x5, 5x7, and 8x10. The camera bodies I'm looking at are either the Intrepid 8x10, the Svedovsky 8x10W, or the Svedovsky 8x10. My concern with the Intrepid is that the ground glass may not be bright enough. I am concerned that the use of bungees on the Intrepid may lower the durability. My concern with the Svedovsky 8x10W is whether or not it is appropriate for close ups of wildflowers. This is because the area behind the flowers will be out of focus for aesthetics. I need to get what is nearby in focus. The longest focal length I will use is 240mm. The closest I will get to the flowers is 0.21 meters. The bellow extension on the Svedovsky 8x10W can go up to 400mm. If I get the Svedovsky 8x10W, I will also get the reduction back for 4x5 and 5x7. I want a 120mm, a 180mm (for 5x7), and the 240mm (for 8x10). I will repurpose the longer lenses for the flowers on 4x5 and 5x7. The other thing is I want to know how much front tilt and swing I can safely use when shooting 8x10 with a 240mm lens specifically indicated for 8x10. I want to prevent light falloff. I am looking into a guillotine cutter for cutting an 8x10 film sheet into two 5x7 sheets. What is a way to cut with that type of cutter **without** damaging the film. It will be cut in the dark for obvious reasons. I am asking because I want to use color positives from Fujifilm. They don't make 5x7. I can still obtain 4x5 and 8x10. Thanks in advance.

Have you ever handled film? You can use nearly anything to cut it as long as it's a clean cut. You should at least try 120 or 35mm to learn how to dev. I have a strong feeling you're gonna be very disappointed with your results in LF.... No camera or lens or film is perfect, and the best compromise is an individual decision. As for cutting film, it's not difficult. The hardened gelatin is quite durable. My only advice would be to wear gloves while handling it, although that should have been obvious. you want to do it right? Rotatrim mastercut. You have been asking this same question for months on this sub and others. Just buy a darn camera, any camera, shoot a $150 Crown Graphic and the lens it comes with \(fungus and all\) is all you need to make 40x60 prints of these subjects, and learn how to use it. You will use very little swing and tilt with these subjects, even when I was doing product photography in the studio I can only think of once or twice that I maxed out my lens or camera's movement capability. You have analysis paralysis.

105mm microfilm. Has anyone here tried shooting [this]( stuff? It can be cut down into 4x5 for about 20c per sheet and has a resolution of 1200 lines per mm (18 gigapixels for a 4x5 sheet). I'm interested in buying some and was looking for some sample shots. Thanks.

The DD in the product name stands for direct duplication--ie. it creates a positive image. Since you're talking about the resolution in gigapixels, perhaps your end goal is to scan your images and the fact that this is direct positive film doesn't matter to you. You should also know though that it is an ortho film (mostly sensitive to UVA and blue with sensitivity falling off dramatically through green to almost zero in red) with a very slow speed (most microfilm films have a single digit ISO speed) and low Dmax (~log 1.5). You can see all of this in the [datasheet]( Of course you could cut it down and make it work, but personally I think the drawbacks I listed above outweigh any cost savings.

Rail problems. I need help. I bought what I believe is a Toyo View Deluxe 45M on eBay. The camera only shipped with a 250mm extension rail. I bought another 250mm extension rail but it's useless because they won't mate to each other. [Picture for reference]( I'm not sure what to do. Should I keep the camera? It's useless to me as it is and it seems like parts are rare. Is there somewhere I can get a standard rail for this camera?

It looks like the camera is already on an extension rail, and that won't mate with another extension, so what you need is the normal, middle rail that the camera would have come with. I think a lot of the Toyo monorails use the same type of rail, but I could be mistaken.

Used tripods for 4x5. Helllo, I am looking for suggestions for brands and models of older tripods to use with my 4x5 in a studio setting (overall weight is not a concern). One brand I already know about is Majestic. Thank you!

Ries wooden tripods are among the best for Large Format. BERLEBACH is another famous brand. One example on eBay: These are wooden types but there are many metal as well. Here is an old discussion on the topic:. If you can get one, and it may be fairly expensive even so, I use a Gitzo 410. It’s substantial enough to take a heavy rail camera like my horseman LE. You need a good head for it though. I have found that unless you’re using a light weight field camera you need something really sturdy. OP Update: preference is for a metal tripod, more interested in durability and longevity than an antique look. Also looking for ability to swap heads. * Manfrotto 055CLB legs * Manfrotto 498RC2 head * Manfrotto 555B levelling column I've also added leg spikes, a strap, and leg warmers. I've been using this tripod for about 15 years, and use it for everything from pinhole, 35mm, medium format, and 4x5. Manfrotto 190 (any version) legs and 3-way head. If you wanna get taller Manfrotto 055 anything and 3-way head. Newer versions have better quick release receptacles. Don't need to go for carbon fiber legs. I find that not extending the last of the three leg segments is pretty stable. The 190 and 55 tripods can kick out 90 and you can use that to get real low or do some top down photography if you want. Three way heads are boring but careful and are usually rated 17-22lbs. Geared heads are usually rated 22lbs+. I use the same setup for my 4x5 stuff that I use for my digital camera, a Gitzo carbon fiber tripod and a RRS BH-55. It is super solid for 4x5 and mega overkill for digital. You don't really need anything amazingly special, as people are shooting modern equipment with insanely heavy lenses and the market caters to them. Honestly, the BH-55 is overkill for anything I do, and it sure is heavy. I wish I got something lighter, but the advantage is my cameras don't move even a millimeter no matter what I do to them.

Backpack for large format. Hey all, I'm looking for recommendations for a backpack for my speed graphic. I would like something that can hold my camera, at least 6 film holders, and my tripod with some room to spare. What works for you?

I use the Peak Design everyday backpack for just this purpose. It can easily fit my speed graphic, tripod, holders, accessories, with room for an additional 35mm or medium-format body if I choose. Hey, not gonna suggest a backpack but, if you are shooting the same kind of film in those film holders, look into [these]( there are some on ebay and keh.com has some too. Less to carry around, you can't mess up the dark slide etc, lots of pro's and no cons. They hold six frames. I use the thinktank sling-0-matic 20 series or the retrospect-20 for my camera when I take it out. I had a hard time trying to find something that would carry my 4x5 rail camera- I ended up getting [this]( and has worked out well. Ive bought some extra film holders- they attach to the sides. It’s keep everything pretty safe. Not sure how much you’re lugging around. If you’re curious, I can shoot some photos of my when I get home. Sorry I'm late to this but I just purchased this f/64 BPX backpack. It works really well and holds a TON of gear. A few reviews online say it is not comfortable on long hikes. I actually agree but I just wanted one bag to hold everything \- and I am not planning on going miles with it. Shown is my DLC 45 folded up with my six lenses with plenty of room left over for spot meters and other goodies. I also got two extra side pouches for 4x5 film holders \(each one holds six\) but I only fill two and move exposed holders to the bottom pouches. [.

$106k LF camera, 12 Mpx, and it does video? I honestly don't see a use case for it. But it's pretty cool. I sure hope you don't have to calibrate it every time it is used. .

Is this a prank? Not trying to be a jerk, but this seems a bit farcical. I’m stoked about this. Not that I can buy a 100k camera, but a handful of people will, and that’ll start the financial ball rolling towards more affordable large sensors in the future. It may take another ten or twenty years, but I’d *love* a large format digital camera. The tech is quite interesting, still not where my collection of Lenses increases in value but I would love to know more about the sensor. What strikes me is, in the end all she does is taking selfies! How appropriate for a 12MP digital camera... One more thing: who on earth thinks focusing on a laggy tablet screen beats focusing on a larger than 4x5 ground glass? How do you even do it with that lag? I dont fucking care how many devices you can link up. Ground glass for life! There are other options. MUCH cheaper options. If you are willing to accept lower res. You can shoot the ground glass with a digital camera. Look someone is doing that! lol.... Okay, full disclosure, it's me. :\) [ I link back to this guy's video in my video. Because when I shot my video, this guys video was not posted yet.

ELI5: The Sinar P3. I'm looking into picking up a view camera to stick my digital back on, and the Sinar P3 seems like it's ideal for that purpose, but all the material Sinar makes available for it seems to leave out an important bit: how the camera itself operates. I see that it has contacts on the frames and a cable connecting them...does that mean that, if I buy their (expensive) adapter plate for my digital back, it will communicate with the back the same way a modern MF camera would? And if I do that is there a shutter button? Can I still connect a cable release? Or do I need to use their digital controls? And does that also force me to use lenses (or at least shutters) built for their system? It seems like a neat system, but I'm having a hard time finding out exactly what the value proposition is. For an amateur just learning to use a view camera, I'm guessing that just picking up a used P2 and a cheap(er) adapter for the rear standard would probably be a better plan.

what back are you using, just out of curiosity? [removed].

What do you photograph? I'm curious to know what subject matter entices you to break out your LF gear and start shooting?

I'm still learning the ropes with large-format, but I'm trying to shoot more portraits. Architecture and urban details. Trying to utilize the framework of the New Topographics to explore place, culture, and time as reflected through natural and built environments. My problem is I keep talking myself out of shooting large format. I love the quality and the mechanical nature of it. But I keep finding excuses. "Too intrusive", "too derivative" and even "The subject isn't worth the effort." I have a long term project that would be perfect for LF if it weren't for the need to be stealthy and quick on my feet for safety concerns. I found myself trying to decide if I should sell my rig and buy a Hassy- assuming i would get more use out of it- or suck it up and try to punch through the inspirational block. For now I'm going to suck it up, but I'm having a tough time finding inspiration. I used to photograph all kinds of stuff for commercial clients. Mostly I shot loads of architecture, and some off model apparel. I shot tons of images for Cold Water Creek when they were still producing print catalogs. Now all I want to shoot is portraits. And my wife is learning to make tintypes! That sounds exciting to me too. Portraits on tin would be great! Nature. Not usually large landscapes, usually smaller more intimate nature scenes. I'm shooting environmental portraits these days- I find the set up time actually really helps me evaluate the space I'm in and the person I'm shooting. The subjects are usually intrigued by the "antique camera" as well, so its a good conversation starter. Almost entirely portraits, though to be fair that is most of what I shoot no matter what the format. one of these days though Im going to take one of my LF cameras out and shoot some cityscapes.

Lens Mounting Questions. I just got a used Sinar P2 in the mail, and I also bought an older Schneider Kreuznach 150mm lens. The camera came with lens boards in (ostensibly) copal 0 and 00, and the lens is in a copal 0. I discovered that the lens did not, however, come with a retaining ring, which I have one of on the way now. When it does get here though, I still have a couple things I'm not sure of. 1. There's a surprising amount of space around the edges of the lens in the hole in the lens board. It's not a ton and I assume the retaining ring will cover the gap, but still, how snug is the shutter supposed to fit into the lens board? 2. The back surface of the shutter, which I would expect to fit flush to the lens board, isn't completely flat. It has a [tiny little screw sticking out towards the top of the lens]( There's no corresponding hole in the lens board. Is this expected? I'm worried about it causing the lens to lie at a slight angle to the board.

The retaining ring should snug it up. I wouldn't worry about that. Copal 0? I'll take a look at the back of mine tomorrow, but I'm thinking that screw should be tightened down. I could be wrong. Someone more knowledgeable, please chime in. The screw on the back of the the shutter is just there to keep the shutter from rotating in the lens board, you can either drill a hole in the lens board for it to fit into or remove the screw. It's fine if there is a little gap around the threads as long as the retaining ring is larger. I had a much cheaper lens - an Ektar 127mm in a supermatic shutter. Standard issue grafflex lens on a metal lens board. Taking the shutter of the lens board there was a deliberate divot punched into the lens board to accommodate a rear facing screw. It kept the lens aligned in one orientation and allowed a solenoid to be attached and fire the shutter. I think the rear facing screw I have was a deliberate part of the design and when I adapted the lens to a different camera I drilled a small hole in the new lens board to accommodate the screw.

Copal press shutters / choice between lenses. Hello all, I'm currently designing and building a monorail camera for 4x5. I have been on the lookout for a Nikkor W 150 5.6 as the lens is small and the image circle is large enough for what I need. I have found a couple of potential candidates, both in really good condition; 1) Mounted in a Copal 0 with original front and rear caps 2) Mounted in a Copal press shutter without original caps The lens mounted in the press shutter was around 15% cheaper than the one mounted in a Copal 0. I'm not too worried about the lens caps, only for resale value. My question is more about how the press shutter would affect normal usage. I understand that they cock after every shot ready for the next, is this awesome or not-awesome for normal large format usage? Will this be a hinderance to me when trying to compose shots? Especially as I am starting out in LF and not experienced yet. If both shutters are beneficial, I have also come across a Copal 0 on its own at a very good price (~¥10,000) so I wonder if it's worth getting in addition? Or, if the press shutter is a silly idea, just go for the Copal 0 mounted lens which has the caps? Thanks in advance!

I don't think there is any negative to having the press shutter. If you get your own Copal 0 shutter it's up to you to make the aperture scale yourself. SK Grimes has an excellent page that highlights all the differences [here.](.

2 NEW VIDEOS featuring the Intrepid 8x10 Field Camera - my 1-year REVIEW, and a complete exposure walkthrough. Enjoy, and be sure to Like + SUBSCRIBE for more videos! [deleted].

Does the smash that like button shit really need to be here?

Check out this short documentary I was a part of about LFP! :). [deleted].

That's awesome, I'm envious of the experience and the education available to you. Please please please pay it forward!

My first time... I have done loads of 35mm b&w and C\-41 hand processing over the years, but this was my first time doing 4x5. The T\-max 100 film and Kodak chemicals I used are at least 6 years old. This was just a test run of throwaway shots to see where I am. Where I am is... addicted... [.

Super cool!! I recently took the plunge as well, got a graflex 4x5. Been shooting artista.edu 100 until I learn a bit more, it's so cheap, already went through a box of 50 in a month! developing taco-style in my Patterson tank; it's a bit slow only going 4 at a time, I should catch up on developing all of them in about a month too :) What did you take this picture with? Oh hey also I notice you posted before that you were setting up a darkroom in an unfinished basement. Literally my next move (end of this month) is to a duplex with a full-size unfinished basement and I just bought a beseler 23c for my very first darkroom! So what did you end up doing with the space? Any lessons learned? I know I'm at least gonna have to install a dehumidifier. Photo of a photo of a camera. Nothing quite like it. Wait until you see the fiber prints that come out of 4x5 negatives.

Is my film color or b&w? I have six 4x5 film holders with film in them. I have no idea if they have been exposed or not so I plan to develop them (mostly for practice). My problem is I don't know if they contain color or b&w film. Is there any way to tell the difference in the dark? Are the ridges (top right corner) different? Should I risk it and just process them all as b&w? All suggestions welcome.

Yes, notch codes are typically unique to each film. However, I've never been able to discern different types of film by notch code - they all sort of feel the same in the dark. If you sacrifice one holder to the cause and open it up, you will be able to tell by the color of the emulsion. B&W film is gray, color negative is brown, and E-6 is somewhat darker brown. No need for a sacrifice. In complete darkness partially slide a sheet of film out of a holder and trace the notch onto a piece of paper. return film to holder - close it and turn on lights. There are probably other sites that have them as well but you can figure out what you have at :. You could try developing it in C41 developer, but before blixing, look at the negative in low light. If it's color, continue the process as normal. If it's black and white, fix and process like normal black and white. You will get an image this way, but if it is black and white film, the resulting negative will be lacking in contrast. [deleted].

Help with a LF lens! I have a Crown Graphic that came with a 127mm f4.7 Ektar lens. That lens recently shit the bed, so I ordered a 150mm f5.6 Fujinon W lens off of eBay. It came today, and I’m really confused on how it’s supposed to fit into the lensboard. Both the Ektar and Fujinon lenses supposedly fit into a Copal 0 lensboard. The Ektar fits into the lensboard hole pretty snugly, and is then secured by a retaining ring that screws on to the lens’ threads on the inside of the board. The Fujinon, however, doesn’t seem to fit into the lensboard. There’s about a 2 or 3 millimeter gap between the threads of the lens and the edges of the lensboard. I can then screw the rear element onto the lens, but the lens isn’t held into the board at all. How is this lens supposed to fit snugly into this lensboard? Do I need to buy a new lensboard? Even if I did, how would I stop the lens from wiggling around in that? Ektar lens: Fujinon W:.

First of all what's wrong with the Ektar lens? You need a retaining ring to fit the Fujinon to the lens board. It should take up the remaining space and keep the lens onto the lens board. A spanner wrench is useful, but not especially required. The retaining ring will still hold it in place snugly. I have three lenses, not one of them snugly fits into the lensboard hole on its own; I need the retaining ring on all of them. Put the front element through the board, screw on the retaining ring with your spanner, screw in the rear element, shoot. Does it have threads for a retaining ring? Other Fujinon's appear to be on much thicker wooden lens boards and the rear lens element screws on and acts something like the retaining ring. I had a Xenar 180mm without a retaining ring and that didn't just fit my Graphlex lens board. Was gonna hunt down a retaining ring and or work up something complicated but... I found out the rubber bands you get off produce (asparagus and similar) could be wrapped around it to [fill the gap]( in the lens board and [piled up behind to act as a retaining ring]( Is your Ektar's shutter broken or is something else wrong?

Help me identify the model of this Linhof? I was recently gifted this 6x9/2.25x3.25 Linhof from a customer and I’m trying to learn more about it. He mentioned that it was made in the mid 40’s and that he recovered the leather on the camera a few years ago himself, and all forms of identification are mostly gone. The portion that the bellows slide along has Linhof München written on it, and the serial number is 19603. The back can either take either a regular film holder (2.25x3.25) or a Mamiya RB67 back. Does anyone know anything about this type of camera? This is my first large(r) format camera that I have worked with and am still in the learning process. [Photos of the camera in question ](.

That looks like the Technika II to me. Edit: There's a lot of pictures and info in this thread on the LFPF that might help you narrow it down:. I'm guessing technika 2. I shoot a 3 almost exclusively and adore it.

Here's one of my first 4x5 images. It's nothing spectacular but I'm happy with the results (expired T-max 100, f 5.6, 5" exposure). .

Very nice. I cant wait to make my move into 4x5 =).

I don't understand what he meant with foldable and no releaser attachable?! .

Where in the video does he mention this? I don't see where you're having the difficulty.

Budget-ish lens recommendations. As will surely be no surprise to anyone reading this, my attempt to repair the frozen Seiko shutter on the camera I was gifted has proved a greater challenge than I was up to. Looking around online, the lens doesn't seem to be worth having repaired. It seems that I could get a working used copy of it (Fuji 150) for around a $100 and that having it repaired would run something on the order of $150 - 250. That being the case, if I set myself a budget of $200, is there a better lens I should be looking for a copy of? I'd really appreciate any recommendations you can offer :).

I'm not sure about that budget but I purchased my first LF lens off KEH.com and am completely satisfied. Definitely worth checking their stock. [Used LF lenses](. I second the comment about KEH. And I've had decent luck with ebau as well. I'm not familiar with Seiko, but it sound like the shutter is jacked but the lens might be fine? Is there a reason you aren't looking for a different shutter to mount your lens? That would help you meet your budget. I just bought an APO-Symmar 150mm 5.6 MC for $200 locally off Craiglist. I'm now watching some other great lenses on Ebay in the $200 prices ranges.

My home town burned down. [deleted].

[deleted].

Bellows for Toyo 45CX? I am looking to get replacement tapered bellows for a Toyo 45CX. Does the 45CX use the same tapered bellows as a Toyo 45A?

I don't think it does, but the best data I can find to back that up is an old B&H listing for "standard" Toyo bellows. They seemed to work with series C, F and G cameras.

Case for a Lens on a board. So what do you use for a case for a lens on a board? I have a Schneider 90/8 Super Angulon that I can't keep on my Super Graphic because the front won't close with it on there. Any suggestions for a good case/bag/wrap for a lens like that?

I bought a small bag made for a compact camera (a generic one, don't even remmeber where I got it) that just fits my 240mm + board. Then I just throw it into the backpack. I can send you some pictures later if you want. There are some lens wraps made by f.64. I think badger graphic has them. I also use lens wraps. I bought mine when I worked in a camera store, but you can probably make them easily enough. So thanks everyone. I bought two f.64 lens wraps and they work great.

Took my speed graphics out for its first trip. Developing the photos from it this week. .

Corn. Gentle mountains....PA or NY?

Graflex Super CLA Recommendations. I finally took the plunge and purchased a Super Speed Graphic with a Rodenstock 135mm lens. The camera is in good shape but I'd like to have the rangefinder calibrated and make sure everything's in working order. Any recommendations for people who do large format or Graflex CLA's? Thanks.

I'd ask [45PSS]( over at graflex.org. I know he does repairs and CLA on some Graflex cameras and I've heard good things about his work.

Anyone looking for a basic rail camera? Update: SOLD I have two 4x5 systems. Best laid plans of mice and men and all that ... Anyway, I’m keeping my Graflex, but looking to unload my Alpina (Sinar) rail camera and thought I’d post it here before eBay. It’s not perfect, but it’s a good starter for someone. Some of the plastic bits were already broken when I bought it, like some of the angle indicators, but it’s still solidly usable, especially if you go by sight, as I do, rather than measurements for adjusting the movements. Bellows are basically mint. Ground glass has a chip in the corner. I have two lens boards with it, copal 0 and copal 1. No film holders or lens included. The back is the standard graflock type and, being the Sinar square setup, you can go from horizontal to vertical by simply unmounting and remounting the back without rotating the camera. Asking $150 plus shipping. The lens boards alone are worth about half that, I think.

Can you post a picture? Sad I missed it! Hope the buyer enjoys it.

Is lens diffraction as big of a problem on large format? It is my understanding that the measured size of the aperture opening is dependent on the focal length of the lens. So a 50mm lens stopped down to f22 would have an aperture opening of 2.3mm. But a 210mm lens stopped down to f22 would have an opening of 9.5mm. Is that right? So would that mean there is far less diffraction when using a longer focal length? Also does the format size have anything to do with it? I am just wondering if it's safe to stop down a large format lens beyond what's typically considered "safe" in the 35mm world, such as f32.

I absolutely stand to be corrected, but from my understanding the f-number is the determining factor. Your opening grows with the focal length but so does the distance to the film plane. Not just your image gets magnified with the bigger distance, but the diffraction effect as well. The reason behind diffraction beeing not too much of an issue with large format (f/45 is not uncommon from what I noticed) is your huge film format. It is much less enlarged in comparision with a MF or 35mm so you wouldn't notice diffraction too much in the end result (print, scan, projection..). It is. I haven’t done any personal experimentation but people on LF forums have. If I remember correctly going past f16 on shorter lenses and f22 on longer ones will start to loose sharpness. These numbers are fairly similar to those found in the 35mm world. Now there are more things to go wrong with LF that you might not notice any perceivable sharpness loss at that point (movement during exposure, film is never completely flat, etc...) f64 group wasn’t quite right on that front. Diffraction on 35mm and especially on digital is about imprecision on what one pixel can detect. There is an overlap of fuzzy airy disks. It is partly about the sensor density and what is acceptable to you. Large format -assuming you're shooting film- can be about exactly how fine a grained the film is (slow speed B&W being ultra fine). Still you don't run into the same problem. ƒ/32 is common for large format landscapes. While ƒ/32 may look uncomfortable I haven't seen a real blur. But it's about what is acceptable to you. If your shooting LF digital it depends on the resolution of your very particular setup. [See this article with a calculator]( that goes to large format sizes. If you print something 5feet wide and intend to view it from 2 feet away you can get diffraction limited but most of the time with large format it's not much of a case. Also to refine the aperture size calculation it's about how big the aperture appears from the film plane. This is effected by the glass and the distance from the film plane. In large format bellows extension moves the real aperture farther away making it appear smaller. This limits real light gathering ability and is called bellows extension factor. It changes the true ƒ/ towards smaller. If you set the lens at ƒ/16 but focus in close your true ƒ/ is ƒ/22 or ƒ/32 or something. It is something like what some digital cameras are calculating when using a macro lens that extends. The format of film, quality of lens (most not go upper than 50mm/per line), scanning technique (flatbed scanner or bad drum scan kills all the good that is brought by lens) they all matter more in real world than diffraction. Moreover diffraction depends much on lens optical system. Some lenses have "more" sharpness at f/45 than at f/22. Rarely but this happens. You can get a point by looking at real life large format lenses tests: [ Have a nice day, I know that his post is 1 month old, but I desperately wanted to make a post.

Adapter to help compose portraits? Hello! I started shooting large format about 9 months ago and started shooting portraits about 3 months ago. I am shooting with a Graflex Super Graphic. It’s a great camera and I am really enjoying the learning process. One disadvantage in comparison to 35 mm SLR is that you can’t be certain that your subject is completely in the frame once you load your film and are ready to release the shutter. Are there any adapters for press cameras that turn them into rangefinders? Is it an expensive modification? Also, I thought I saw a really cheap modification that was basically a simple monocle and a movable wire rectangle. Haven’t been able to find that link again. Does anyone know about such a device? Thanks!

The super graphic actually has a rangefinder. If you have the correct Cam and lens attachment it should work well. Goodluck. So I'm confused. Are you using a tripod? If you have everything locked down after you compose, you shouldn't have a problem keeping your subject in the frame.

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/r/lostredditors.

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Sorry, wrong sub. This is for Large Format photography.

Expired Ink Over-ride? We have a large format HP printer. The ink has expired but was wondering if there is a work around to still use it?

You’ve got the wrong subreddit for this (this is a large format photography sub), so you’ll probably get a better response elsewhere.. :-).

Camera Purchase Advice. Looking at a local sale of a cambo SC monorail view camera, 4x5, the camera looks well cared for, but had sat idle, so the shutters need to be cleaned and adjusted. It's got a 90 mm f8 super angulon in a prontor press shutter, and a Schneider Kreuznach 5.6 150mm convertible (becomes f12 265 with the front element removed) in a symmar shutter. Glass seems clear, no fungus or scratches. Shutters work, but the timing is off clearly on the slower speeds. Shutter speed detents feel good. Aperture moves smoothly. Includes a spare bag bellows, a short monorail, a half dozen film holders, Polaroid back, spare ground glass, loupe, and light meter. Seller is offering to include his enlarger for 35mm and 4x5. I'm trying to get other prices but it seems like around $180 for a CLA, each lens and shutter. Trying to figure out what a good offer would be to make, and what I should watch for, or what red flags I might have missed...

$180 is a little high imo. but i'm guessing CLA costs vary by location. I recently had mine done for $90 (in Chicago). if you don't get much help here try going to a LF facebook group. as far as what to look for, maybe test the bellows for holes/light leaks? in a dim room put your phone inside the bellows with its flashlight on. those monorails are pretty sturdy so if there are dents you know it had a nasty spill. That is a great price considering the amount of stuff you'll get. My basic Toyo loupe went for nearly half that price, and each holder has been around 10-20 USD. Getting two lenses *and* a enlarger with that... If you get it, note that the 150 symmar convertible suuuuucks when you use it as 265mm without the front element because the corrections are gone. It's fine at 150 though.

Hey just bought my first 4x5 camera was wondering where is the best place to get film holders. .

eBay has been good for me. You can buy batches of them m, they are relatively cheap, and you don’t often run into quality issues if you look hard at the description and photos. As long as they are clean and light tight that’s all you need. Make sure if you have a graflok back you are getting graflok holders. They are pretty much the universal standard for 4x5 unless you have an odd make of a camera. eBay, but buy the big lots... The lots that run 10$+ per holder before shipping are crazy. You should be able to get the price below 5$ per. Advice for when you get your film holders. The best way that I know how to test film holders is to load them with photo paper that has been cut to 4x5. Take them out into the daylight and rotate them around so all sides point into the light. To reseal the flap end I would suggest the use of gaffers tape, and I personally run another strip along the long edges in case there is a crack along the edge. Best of luck! I tend to buy them on KEH. I bought a couple on Ebay and they kinda fell apart. The ones I bought at KEH have held up really well, you're basically paying a premium for being sure that you're buying something that works.

Where can I get a lens appraised? Recently moved into a new house, in one of the cupboards we found a Carl Meyer 12in f/2.5 Speed Anastigmatic lens for an 8x10 camera. I have looked online but cant seem to find what its worth or where to sell it. Thanks for any advice! picture of lens:.

This doesn’t answer you question, but the Kodak Aero Ektar 127mm f2.5 most closely matches its specs. You can use the price of that as an anchor. However that front element seems really rough. You can always list in on eBay and let the free market decide what it’s worth. Whatever you do, don’t throw it away. Even if it isn’t worth much, they don’t make them any more. f/2.5? Are you sure it's not f/4.5? I don't remember ever seeing a CM 305mm Anastigmatic that was f/2.5, just the f/4.5 and the f/6.3. The people over at largeformatphotography.info/forum are encyclopedic. They should be able help. That thing is a unit. Hey at EBay that thing would be "mint, as new" :). [deleted].

I thought I completely f'ed this one up, but it ended up coming out pretty good! .

Killer, what did you think you messed up out of curiosity. Nailed it!

Getting into 4x5. Hey guys, I just ordered an Intrepid Camera 4x5 mark 3. I also got a Nikkor W 150mm f5.6, 5 film backs and a Paterson tank and Mod 54 insert for developing large format film. I'm quite versed in developing medium format and 35mm color, slide and black and white film (more than 300 films in the past 1 and a half years). I've got a decent tripod, a nice cable trigger. What else would I need? I was thinking of a loupe and a dark cloth for focusing. I haven't got the money for a 4x5 enlarger, but it's on the shopping list (thinking of a Durst or a Bessler). I'm going to get a spot meter for exposing slides, but I think I'm going to be fine metering with my Canon 6D. All tips and tricks are welcome. I've donr quite a bit of work on 645 and 67 medium format, but I've never shot large format. Should I get Ansel Adams' books? Are they worth the money and the read? Thanks a lot!

I find 4x5 easier to work with than 120. You're going to be fine. The neat thing is that you get to concentrate on learning movements, perspective and the non-parallel to film focal dof. You don't need a book for that you need field notes. Lots of shots and great notes. I don't know the markings on the intrepid, but bring a little ruler and protractor to record shot movements in your log. Ansel's books are very technical and rather dry, but are an excellent resource for large format if you really want to get into the zone system. A $10 Agfa-style 8x loupe would do for focusing on the ground glass, although a nicer focusing loupe would be better if you can afford it. Good loupes go for over $100. For a dark cloth, I've always just used a t-shirt. Never felt the need for a true dark cloth. I think you'd need a dedicated meter, especially if you're interested in the Zone System as evidenced by your question about Ansel's books. You should be able to get copies cheap used - they've been in print for decades. How do you plan to output your photographs? If you are looking to go down a rabbit hole... Look at BTZS (beyond the zone system). Fred Newman and others have a bunch of videos. Really impactful and helps you correlate your composed scene to output with negative. I like to use a large black t-shirt as focusing cloth. Smaller and lighter than my focusing cloth and for 4x5 the collar fits perfect. Also a 35mm lens reversed is the best loupe imho. Loupe and index cards. The index cards are great for taking notes on and the. Slipping right into the film holder. I'd say a loupe and a dark cloth are basically mandatory for accurate focusing (especially outdoors). I got a dark cloth from Wanderer (wandererphotogear.com) and love it. A decent tripod. The Intrepid 4x5 is light but don't go with an Amazon special and get something decent if you don't have one already. I have a Manfrotto Roadtrip and a Sirui T25x. The former is what I use a vast majority of the time. The Sirui is for backpacking because it's damn light but you do have to weigh it down (hence why I only use it when weigh it a big issue). You'll want a loupe (a Peak 4x is cheap) and I would get a fresnel screen as well. They're cheap but you have to cut them to size. A darkcloth I would say is a must but that can be anything from a jacket to a purpose bought one. The one I bought from Adorama I didn't care for so my mom, who is a quilter, was kind enough to make one for me. Something ideally you can tie or velcro shut on the bottom is ideal but for hiking in cold weather I would just use my black down coat. Oh and you didn't mention a scanner. Be prepared for that to hurt if you don't have one already (that can scan 4x5). In a pinch you can use a DSLR and optionally stitch the negative together. Also likely some used options on eBay. Speaking of expense, a spot meter is indeed a great addition. I've used one even with my fancy DSLR. Getting the exposure right for slide is essential but it's still very wise to do for BW and color. Your 6D should do fine there (use it in spot meter and evaluate the scene just like you would with a real spot meter). Some folks even use a phone app. I have a Sekonic 758 and it's fantastic though while I do some studio work, when in the field, I would say you don't need the incident meter so you could find a meter that does spot only and be a-ok I'd bet. For an enlarger, you mentioned Besseler and Durst but don't forget about Omega. I have an Omega D2 I got for a great price. Yes it's old, but it's pretty great. I can print from 35mm up to 4x5! You do need a variable condenser head to do that (most have them I'd bet) or the lenses for the older heads. The VC head has slots for filters as well - I find fiddling with below the lens filters is a headache for some lenses. On that note, to print all three formats, you also need a lens for each format and a negative carrier. But I have one enlarger in my tiny bathroom-converted-darkroom to rule them all and it's great! I've changed holders in a darkbag (mostly in the field) and it can be done but I MUCH prefer a darkroom. If you don't have an enlarger, but are still planning on a darkroom, I'd go ahead and make it light tight and use a table (I have a hinged table above the toilet in my bathroom-darkroom :P). The extra space is much much easier to work around. On that note, dust is your enemy (another reason a darkbag isn't the best option - though if you must use one, be sure to clean it regularly) so I got some camelhair brushes. I keep one with my Intrepid pack, one by my scanner, and one for the darkroom. I brush the exposed side of the darkslide in the holders off before and after shooting, and after I've unloaded film (or at least before loading) in the darkroom. I also keep them in anti-static bags (the kind you get for hard drives, video cards, etc. - you can buy a pack of these). Doing all that made a HUGE difference for me. Oh and depending on your holders, get some rubber bands to go around them if the slides or slide locks seem loose. Finally, minor shameless plug, but if you're in need for means to track your exposures (particularly if you, like me, like to keep this info with the Printfiles if you're using those to hold your negatives), I wrote a webapp (thefilmlog.org) which now has a means to track holders and has large format specific stuff when logging exposures along with darkroom prints and other things. I enjoy it particularly for 4x5. Whatever your method, be sure to keep good notes. 4x5 is rewarding but it's a study in being thorough and deliberate. You'll get some things wrong at first and having good notes helps you figure out why and also helps you adjust where necessary. But it is gloriously rewarding! I paid a lot of money for a dark cloth with sleeves and an elastic band. Now I wish I hadn't. One of my classmates got a large square of black fabric and white fabric, went to his dry cleaner and had them sew them together. I'd recommend adding the elastic because it can be helpful to have the dark cloth attached to the back of the camera. A small bubble level can be helpful if you don't have one on your tripod head. Maybe Cinefoil to block sunlight from the lens. I also have a Mod 54. Make sure you develop with the emulsion side in, otherwise you'll get notch marks on your negative. I've since switched to SP-445 which I love and uses less chemicals. A headlamp if you're doing night photography. A backup trigger release because they tend to fail. Some of my most useful tools are actually apps on my iPhone: Sun & Moon to help you determine where the sun and moon will be. Artemis to help pre-visualize which lens I should pull from my bag. Reciprocity Timer for my night shots. Lightmeter and Develop apps are self explanatory. I'd also say skip the enlarger and go for a scanner, but that's just me. I use an Epson V600 with a 3D printed negative holder, scan the negative in two passes and photomerge in Photoshop. Good luck with the new format! Congrats! I shoot an Intrepid and can tell you firsthand if your tripod will support any of your medium format cameras or even a DSLR, you’ll be fine. The camera is amazingly lightweight. Would highly recommend a dark cloth and focusing loupe. Neither has to be anything fancy. I also ordered some cheap fresnel screens and cut them to size to improve the ground glass performance, especially with wide angle lenses. Good luck! You can find Ansels books online for free as PDF. You could get +4 reading glasses in stead of a loupe. Dark cloth is essential. Big is nice. Not to smooth/slippery. A seam on one end so it does not slip of the camera. mylightmeter app works on an iphone. dark bag/ changing back to load the flimholders. Get 3 filmholders. box of fomapan100 film to get yourself going without breaking the back. do spend some time playing with the movements, so you get a feel for it. The upside down thing will soon be not a problem. You'll figure this out fast. Ansel Adams' did more than shooting mountains through a red filter. check the portraits he shot! No need for a enlarger, you can contact print too.

Just bought a used Calumet to replace my speed graphic and this came in the box. Thanks La D! .

This is why I like analog as a format. It’s so tangible.

Help! Looking to buy a 4x5 enlarger in Georgia or somewhere in the southeast to avoid shipping costs. Recently stepped up to 4x5 and my enlarger will only go up to 6x7cm.

I volunteer at a non-profit art school that has an extra Beseler 4x5 that they’re looking to sell, but it’s in Orlando. Has the necessary components to run it, but no baseboard (though it includes the rails to attach one). Go down to Wings and check. If they don't have one, they'll give ya a call when they get one.

I feel like I'm finally getting a handle on this xray film. .

This is kodak clinicselect green sensitive xray film cut down from 8x10 to 4x5. Shot with a speed graphic and graflex 135mm f 4.7 @ 100 iso and developed in D76 stock at 1.5 min with a mod 54 system. Scanned on a epson v550 in two passes and stiched together in photoshop. I did simple adjustments in camera raw editer on photo shop but nothing crazy. I think that I am going to start shooting it at 200-400 iso to see what it does. Very inspiring, thanks! Did you use any filter to compensate for color shift? Look forward to your complete possessions with it! I like it, looks like you can get good images with it. it is contrasty for my taste, but it is also the middle of the day. =) show us more as you go!

Add fresnel to Intrepid 4x5 for cheap. Bought a lot of these to use as a fresnel for my Intrepid. Helped out a lot and was so easy to make. All I did was cut it with scissors. Hopefully this helps you too! [.

Wow, that’s cheap compared to getting a pre-cut 4x5 one. The fresnel lens makes such a huge difference, totally worth it. Which side of the ground glass did you place it on? I’ve been debating adding one to my RHS, I might try this out to see how I feel about it. Great cheap option. great idea! I am only wondering whether it magnifying the frame woudn't be an issue. how it looks like in from your's perspective? What do you recommend for 8x10 cameras? I would like a fresnel too.

i want a pinhole style 4x5 but with a real lens. does this exist? forgive me, i have a bad habit of asking subs i have never been to before if some hair brained idea of mine will work. so imagine the 4x5 pinhole with the 2 dowel rods for holding the film carrier, a lot of them have a swinging block of wood for a shutter. so now imagine that same thing with a standard large format lens. its just always set to infinity focus. what if i bought a pinhole camera and just cut the hole for a lens? just seems like a simple thing but im surprised i cant find it for sale.

It would work of course but you'd not be able to focus. There was a Kickstarter a while back for a similar idea, but with a focusing helicoid - called the Travelwide 4x5. Holgamods.com makes custom 3D printed cameras and such. Might be a place to look. Btw the reason pinholes work is because the “lens” (hole) is so small pretty much everything is in focus. If you put a lens on you’ll need some sort of way to focus or you have to set the focus to specific zone and then move the whole camera to focus. This is impractical which is why you’re prob not finding what you’re looking for. Making a fixed-focus 4x5 isn't hugely difficult, but you do need to do some math and measuring - you need to know exactly how far from the film plane your lens mount needs to be to put your focus where you want. This is easy to experiment with if you already own a 4x5 camera. I'd try for f/22 hyperfocal rather than just infinity focus. Very creative idea. I like your thinking. Have you thought about a magnifying glass as a lens? They can be purchased very cheaply on amazon and eBay. You'll get blurry edges but it will be a fun experiment. Also, a glass round sphere globe would make an interesting lens. (it will be ultra wide angle) Or a marble. As an option for this idea, hollow out an old clear Edison bulb and fill it with water. ([sample here]( ​. thanks everyone. if i move forward with the project ill have a lot more questions. what focal length should i shop for 150? shorter would give more dof? What you're thinking of there is essentially a hyperfocal camera. [Here's]( an example of one I made a while ago. What you basically need to do is figure out at what distance from the film plane your lens needs to be so everything from x Meters to infinity is in focus. You can decide for yourself what x is. Other than that the construction can be as simple or complicated as you want it to be. In my case I made it with removable lens boards so I could swap between the lens and a pinhole. Do you mean you want a very tiny aperture hole? There are lenses (well, shutters, actually) that have very small apertures. ƒ/32 is common, you see a fair amount off ƒ/45, but ƒ/64 is also easy to find. The lens you want is called a barrel lens or a lens "in a barrel". It's just buying a large format lens without the fancy and fragile shutter in the middle. You can get barrel lenses on ebay fairly cheap compared to the same thing with a working shutter. You can also look for large format lenses with broken shutters and shoot them open in T or B mode. Besides that you can build anything you want. Large format is forgiving of measurement errors. It's not as difficult as building a medium format camera or a 35mm camera. I might start with an existing 4x5 film holder and/or 4x5 piece of ground glass. I look to [this group]( for some inspiration. There are some pinholish 4x5's in the mix. Some a lot like what you were thinking plus focusing mechanisms. This is [my homemade 4x5 build]( Comments on most photos. These are [last year's results]( The camera is digital. The really red foliage is color infrared. ​ Edit: here is [something real simple]( Not mine but they talk about exposure times with some direct positive papers. Just wanna show you how easy what your thinking is.... It can be done with a magnifying glass lens and some kind of particle board. Edit 2: [Another simple one]( more along the lines of what you thinking. It has focus beauce of how the lens twists and that focusing screen shown. Edit 3: last edit I swear. I think this is [most of what your thinking about]( Shows what something like that would look like with a wide lens. Could be 3d modeled up really easy. [removed].

Shen Hao HZX-IIA Wood finish question. [deleted].

I originally owned the second picture (with the brighter stain) and I like it... and I currently own a tachihara cherrywood with a very rich red stain and brass / gold features. I have also always been drawn to Ebony cameras aesthetically. They are well made, and the silver hardware complements the dark and subtle stain. In the end, I chose the camera I own for a mixture of features and looks, but in the end I’ll take extra movements and quality before color. [tachihara](. It was about 4 years ago. I really did enjoy my shen hao when I had it, but I had to sell it for cash :). I'm a bot, *bleep*, *bloop*. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit: - [/r/analogcommunity] [Shen Hao Wood finish question](  *^(If you follow any of the above links, please respect the rules of reddit and don't vote in the other threads.) ^\([Info](/r/TotesMessenger) ^/ ^[Contact](/message/compose?to=/r/TotesMessenger))*.

14x17" Xray Film ULF Camera all DIY. .

My long time collaborator and I built a 14x17" ULF camera which is (all but the shutter) DIY. We shoot 14x17" CTX green latitude Xray film (suoer cheap if youre looking for LF film stock alternatives). Film cartiridges modelled after standard 4x5 ones and built out of matte black foam core. Lenses salvaged from a digital projector. If anyone has built their own DIY ULFs (especially +11x14") id love to ask you some questions. Trying to trouble shoot for my next design. Id like to make a collapsible/light monorail and id reaaallly love to use my Caltar II-N 210mm or Schnieder 150mm but cant wrap my head around the optics/how much rail I need. Any help? Additional view. Damn dude good job. Looks very very heavy duty. I'd love to see more pics of the camera. Flickr has a camera makers group. I love to see more totally DIY cameras in it. Other places go wild for just the DIY. How does the green sensitive x-ray film work in conjunction with a yellow filter? Update. Made a quick test with a Latico 130 Condenser lens for a Durst 138 enlarger. Focal length js roughly 1500mm. Focuses crisp between 52cm full rack out to ~8" (wont be shooting anything closer than that). Popped a rough f14 aperature on it and it was beautiful. Going to use the shutter from the 150mm and make a flat pack field 14x17" monorail. [deleted].

Questions about Wista RF. Hello, I have been looking at this camera for quite a while. I would like to know if anyone had any experience with this camera especially handheld and using rangefinder focusing. I want to use this to handheld shooting 4x5 and some 6x9. How heavy is this camera? Is this camera too heavy to carry around and shoot portraits with? Also is there a shutter mechanism built in the body like crown graphics? so i dont have to press the shutter on the lens or attach the shutter release cable? I would love to hear any experience you had with this camera, please share. Thanks.

You could get a Polaroid 110 or 120 that is converted to 4x5. There are people who mount a graphlock back onto it, then tune the rangefinder to be accurate. This will give you a 4x5 rangefinder with a good lens, capable of shooting hand held, foldable. It's over a kilo. I don’t know much about Wistas, but have a crown graphic. It’s ok to haul around (that was the whole point of it after all), but compared to modern cameras it’s heavy and slow. They don’t have a built in shutter (that’s the speed graphic). They do have a shutter release button that physically connects to the lens shutter, so that works. The rangefinder is super hard to see through and nearly impossible to self calibrate so beware of that. The nice thing it has is infinity stops that you can setup for different focal lengths and can then record various distances. Have you shot large format before? There are a number of lighting/camera shake considerations you will have shooting lf portraits without a tripod.

I can’t get myself to start making real moves towards large format film. I did research and dreaming but nothing more unfortunately. Since I started photographing landscapes, landmarks, and wildflowers in 2015, I dreamed about one day shooting 4x5 and possibly 8x10 film. I would then drum scan the good stuff only and print from the digital copy. I currently use the Nikon D3200. I am a college student and I struggle to make myself save up money for the equipment. I had situations out of my hands that took money away from me. I only want to spend what I have. I bought books on shooting film. I did extensive online research. I contacted a black and white film development lab who recommended I expose Kodak TMAX 400 as ISO 240. I know the mechanics of a view camera. I know what not to do. I selected the Intrepid 8x10 camera, a 4x5 reduction back, two focal lengths, the film I want to use, a spot meter, etc. Sadly, I never touched a large format view camera. I want to so bad, especially since lenses are difficult to find. I want to sell large luxurious metal prints and photo murals. I am slowly expanding my side business involving my photography. I ideally want to make enough for large format to pay for itself. I find large format appealing for many reasons in addition to the giant recording area. What steps should I take to ensure I actually set aside time and money so I can acquire the large format tools and get practice? I am bad about thinking but not executing. What did you do to make yourself start shooting large format instead of just dreaming? What’s your advice? Thanks in advance.

I‘m probably one of the worse people to answer that question, as I also have never touched, yet even seen a large format camera in person. I put my toes a few mm into the water with 35mm and MF film, with old cameras that belong(ed) to my dad or granddad. Don‘t get me wrong, it really helped me understand why people shoot film, but I probably will go with digital for the foreseeable future. But if I decided to get really into LF, I would start today. The MF folder I got from my granddad costs 15 bucks used and is completely manual. Sure you don‘t have movements and such, but you get to shoot film and this would keep me motivated to save up more and get even more experience. You can invest in a shutter cable, light meter, scanner, all stuff you can use on LF later as well. And you gain experience, which will probably save more than 15 bucks in LF film when you get around. Maybe you already did work with MF and did get sick of it, then this comment is useless, but if you didn‘t, I would totally jump in. Even a 6cm by 6cm slide is magical to look at. A cheaper way in is 4x5 and some of the studio cameras. 8x10 is much more expensive compared to what you get compared to the step from MF to 4x5, I have an intrepid 8x10 that I haven't even gotten started with due to sheer amount of issues with developing, getting lenses etc, but my 4x5 is so much more reasonable to deal with, buy film for and so forth. Also, you can start small and buy the parts you need one at a time. Mod54 one month, developer tank the next.... Your motivation is your motivation. But 8*10 has a steep $ barrier to entry. Buy a Patterson and a 135 camera and learn film cheaply. Move up to 6*6 with a decent tlr or something like a icon. Then grab your first lf rig. Get a press cam and learn how to shoot and work with lf film before you think big boy rail rigs. Your intrepid idea sounds like a great 4th camera or an expensive plaything if you've got money and time to waste. Think econ of development if your just learning film. 72/135 shots $10 (film cost) ($2 chemical cost) or 6/4*5 shots ($6 film) ($2 chemical cost) you're going to learn a lot quicker on a 135 camera. Unless you've got money to burn, lf isn't an ideal entry to film. Why do you want to get into LF? For the detail? The process? The size and inconvenience? Let’s put it that way: with a 4x5 shot you can reasonably print about four feet wide. How often are you going to do that? 8x10 is positively insane. Most photographers that shoot that size are bringing a team with them. Before considering that, find a local dude who shoots LF and just ask questions - maybe go on a photo walk together etc. That way you get some hands on experience. The jump from an entry level DSLR into 8x10 is just about as big as a jump in photo tech and process you can take. "What steps should I take to ensure I actually set aside time and money" That's easy. Only spend what you earn taking photos. So if you earn $500 this year selling photos, you have $500 to spend. That's what I do. I call it my "fun money" It's a self supporting hobby. I think there are some other great ideas also mentioned here regarding 8x10, vs. 4x5, vs. Medium Format, vs. 135. Starting small and working your way up is a great way to go. And if you've never touched an 8x10, how do you know you'll like it after you buy it? It doesn't sound like you want help with photography, it sounds like you want help with budgeting and motivation. You should maybe try a subreddit focused on one of those areas. Start looking for a lens. Base it's focal length on what you prefer on your D3200. Find it like this: For the pictures you made that you love most, look up the focal length you used in the exif data of your photo files. Your camera is a DX, so multiply this by 1.5. Then look that value up in the 35mm column in this image: Then follow that angle to find the lens for 8x10 or 4x5, which ever format you are eyeballing. 4x5 is the largest format you'll need, unless you want to make contact prints. Which is great, actually. Rail mounted 4x5 ($50), rubber sealant to reseal all light leaks ($4), 135mm f/5.6ish lens ($75-125), set of developing trays ($25). Chemicals and chemical storage ($30). Film holder ($15 a piece, say $30 for 2, that gives you 4 working shots). 50 sheets of Foma Classic 100 ($50). Dark bag, I used a closet and sealed the door for light. You can get into it for cheap. I got into it for no more than $250. I gradually pieced stuff together. For less than half the cost of an intrepid 8x10. Buy one lens first, then buy the rail mounted camera. Buy a couple film holders next. Then film. Chemicals after that, and then developing trays. Download a spot metering app on your phone for a dollar. Then do whatever you want, buy another lens, etc. ​ I know you are thinking you want an 8x10, but it sounds like you will be spending extra money on a tool you won't be using to it's full extent in the near future when there are much cheaper alternatives out there, especially while you're on a college student budget. I'd also recommend buying a cheap 35mm film camera to try out the different films before you use your more expensive films. You could easily sell the Nikon and be shooting by this weekend. An 8x10 is gonna be hella heavy and burdensome if your coming from dslr, 4x5 and digital scan can do just about anything you could think up. You've never touched a 4x5? Have you joined any photography groups? You're in Houston area if I remember correctly. Why aren't you going to things like this: If you're ever in Austin, let me know and I can drag out my monorail for you to check out.

Replacement bulb release for Seneca Duo Dustproof shutter? I was recently gifted a Seneca 6B in pretty decent condition except for the bulb release, which is degraded 'till kingdom come. Here are pictures of [the lens board and bulb]( and [a close-up of the bulb tube fitting]( Does anyone make bulb replacements for this shutter? The air bulbs I've found online all seem to be ones that end in the standard push rod screw release, [like this one]( Could I jury-rig that to work by cutting off the rod apparatus and gluing on a piece of soft hose that mates with my lens without harming the shutter? I'd really like to get the camera set up so I can shoot with it without having to trip the shutter release on the lens proper.

I guess a dust blower and a piece of aquarium hose would be the cheapest improvised solution.

Large Format Printing | Wide Format Printing | Megaformat. .

Just an ad for a print company, nothing to do with large format photography. Back in my photo lab days, I would make photomurals with an 8×10 horizontal enlarger. Sometimes the exposure times were over a half hour. You couldn't leave the darkroom because you had to be ready in case a bulb blew, and you had to change it in the dark. I just checked a company I worked for. Photomurals are now done by scanning the film and using a wide-format inkjet printer.

First slides shot on the Intrepid 4x5. .

Brilliant! What lens, film and exposure did you use? Nice! You develop these yourself?

Everything you need to do to make a large format photo, including the things that need to be done in the dark, I even filmed the development! .

But not in english?

The Phoblographer posted my notes on going from medium format SLR to large format, and included ten of my portraits. .

Thanks for the reading. I have to ask, how do you manage to nail the focus? That's the technical part where I struggle on portraits. Rad! Appreciate the detailed explanation of movements for those who are not familiar. Awesome photography of Angela Davis and very informative article!

My first 8x10 (shot with a Cambo and a Commercial Ektar 12" on Tri-X). .

Tray processing a negative in pitch black was a new experience! Nerve wracking to feel around in the dark and stick my fingers in the developer, but manoman when I flipped on the light and saw this huge negative dangling from my fingers - what a rush! I just took a picture of it on a backlight and played around with it in Lightroom but I plan to try my first contact print next. Can't wait! Coolio! Blacks look neatly solid!

Milkweed: winter weeds study. .

Excellent shot. Really nice. Love the tone.

Large Format Printing. .

Wrong subreddit. *Large Format Printing* refers to *print* materials that are too *large* to be *printed* on the most readily available sizes of commercial *printing* presses. In the *print* industry, “*large format*” is actually a relative term because maximum *print* sizes vary from printer to printer. [**New York Large format printing**]( is certainly one way to attract attention.