Other formats ?

[Calamity Jane]

I was wondering how many of you non-pros shoot formats other than sheet film?

I started with 35mm in 1969 but haven't shot any in over 25 years. My Zeiss Voightlander is a beautiful 35 but is collecting dust.

Around 1980, I got into 120 film, but haven't shot a roll in 15 years. I have a nice Pentax 645 (the first one into Canada) sitting on the shelf and a couple of Rolleis that haven't seen the light of day in years.

With some nice cameras collecting dust and a couple of 4x5s that I will probably never use again, I am wondering if it is time to clean house and pass some hardware on to someone who will use it.

Sooooo, for those of you whos job doesn't REQUIRE smaller formats, how much do you use your 35mm and 120 cameras since getting into LF?

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

I use my Yashica mat alot for B&W and point and shoot type stuff. I took it out at lunch yesterday to shoot some seascapes. I use my 35mm once a year to take pictures of eagles.

[Ernest Purdum]

I am a big advocate of using more than one film format in the same camera. It gives you more use from your expensive lenses. For this reason, I turn my 4X5 into a 120 camera on occasion.

When traveling by air, I carry a little Olympus XA. Many people are willing to put up with the hassle of LF passing through today's airports. I'm not.

I use a 35mm Nikon when taking pictures for eBay.

[Ellen Stoune Duralia]

I keep my husband's Minolta X700 in the car with me at all times for those photo ops that invariably come up. I also used it at the beach to shoot a whole roll of sand patterns - they were so neat!

I have a Mamiya 330f that is fantabulous for macro stuff and I like it as a walk-around camera too. Comfy neck strap is required!

I have a 4x5 Shen that I use for whatever tickles me - from nature stuff to studio work. Have the Horseman LE for studio work too but I haven't found the Shen's movements to be limiting at all so I might sell it. I hate to see it just sitting there.

I have a Canon 20D that is great for the quick stuff - kids, the cats, whatever. I use it for anything else too - just depends on what the situation is.

Getting into LF has opened my eyes to the benefits of all the formats at my disposal - I just try to choose the right tool for the job :)

[Vick Vickery]

I shoot alot of 35mm for family stuff (Minoltas...old and manual) and some business related use; 2 1/4 square (Rolliecord & Kowa Six) for some commercial use, particularly interior details, etc.; 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 roll and 4x5 sheet on architecural subjects (Super Graphic and Cambo 4x5's)...I am a real estate appraiser and do architectural photography as a sideline since none of the "pros" in this part of the world even know how to use a view camera, much less own one!

[Donald Brewster]

See the recent NY Times article on David Burnett (login may be required): http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/08/technology/circuits/08schiesel.html?incamp=article_popular_4&oref=login

Horses for courses of course. I still use 35mm, 6x6, 6x7, 4x5 and 8x10. Some get used more than others. Most often use the 6x7 and 35mm P&S for travel. They all get used, though some not as often as I'd like.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Coolpix 990--photos for ads on the web and on a copy stand for archiving documents (MUCH quicker than a scanner, and the resolution is more than adequate for my needs).

35mm Canon--mostly for birds and dupes on 35mm slide film

6x6 Bronica--sometimes an SLR is the best tool for some kinds of portraits and it can be handy for travel.

6x6 Voigtlander Perkeo II--My "pocket 'blad" for the briefcase.

6x6 Voigtlander Superb TLR--Just for fun, street shots.

6x7 back on the 4x5" Tech V--usually for rangefinder snapshots, but I also use 4x5" for that sometimes. It's handy to be able to walk around with the Technika with a rollfilm back and one lens over my shoulder, two lenses in a fanny pack, compact meter, and a few rolls of 120 (as opposed to the equivalent number of shots in Grafmatics).

I have a DaYi 6x17 cm back for the Technika that I've only used for 6x17 cm so far, but I could imagine on some extended travel using it for 6x9 or 6x12 as well.

Lately I'm shooting mainly 4x5" and 8x10", though, and occasionally 11x14".

[Bill Hahn]

In the past 2 months I've shot about 6 rolls 35mm black and white, 6 rolls 120 film B&W, and
about 50 sheets 4x5. FWIW.

[Dave Savidge]

While 4x5 is, I suppose, my preferred medium, I find that most of the time I'm out walking I carry a Horseman 6x9 as it gives good quality and is fine for a lazy man to carry. However, I'm in the throws of building a 10x8 which could easily take over from the 4x5 as my favourite.

Having said all that, I couldn't survive without a D70 which I use at work for producing advertising and technical material (as an amateur).

[Tom Westbrook]

I still use my Mamiya 7 (6x7) a fair amount for when things are changing too fast to set up the 4x5 or I'm just too lazy. I do find I'm using it less as I get more experienced with the 4x5, which I've only had since 2002. I recently re-entered the 35mm world after 20 years just to have a smaller camera for street photography and shooting out the car window at weird or interesting people/things.

[Philippe Gauthier]

I shoot 35 mm less than before , but I still use it, often alongside large format, for variant shots that would be difficult to compose with the tripod, for color work (Velvia rules!) that would be unaffordable in LF and when I want to "explore" the subject a bit before I take the final shot on LF.

In MF, I started using a Diana last year - it gets used alongside the LF gear, too, but for completely different shots, when I value the mood more than details.

In short, I own several cameras in different formats from 35 mm to 8x10 and they all have a distinct use in my mind.

[Christopher Perez]

Over the past 5 years, the 120 format cameras go with me when I travel overseas. And the LF gear has been used around town or when I travel within the US and Canada. And a Mamiya RZ has been used for "studio"-like portraits.

But now I have constructed a super light weight 4x5 camera with 3 lens kit that should be just about as light as my Mamiya 7 with two lenses. I may try to take it with me to South Asia instead of the 120 format gear when I travel later this summer. But it will be a matter of how confident I am that the anti-tripod crowds can be bought off with a little baksheesh.

Anything smaller than 120 is simply too small for me. The bigger the better for the kinds of things I do as a non-pro. And I'm thinking 10x12 or 11x14 inches might be usable for my portraiture.

[Emrehan Zeybekoglu]

In addition to 4x5 I shoot 35 mm and 6x9. The latter I take using a Zeiss Ikon from the early 1950s.

[jose angel]

I have rediscovered my Nikon F4+flash since there is a "baby boom" in my family. Also, a good friend has given me five big boxes of updated slide film, I have enough free rolls for the next two years. After that I only take 35mm cameras for mountain trips, climbing, etc. when I want to go light.

My Mamiya 6 is usually in all kind of events, loaded with APX400. If I´m not planning to make an special print to exhibit, 6x6 is my "normal" format. To be fair, most of my photographs that are hanged on a wall were made with this combination.

But I´m usually thinking on large format terms. If I don´t take my 4x5" is because there isn´t a good chance to do it.

[Sam]

I shoot a variety of formats.

Hasselblad 500cm for when I don't have time to set up the tripod, or for portrait sessions.

Leica M6 and Nikon F100, Theses are my candid people cameras, I keep the F100 loaded with Kodak 400 UC and the Leica loaded with Hp5 or Fp4.

Tachihara 4x5, witch is my art workhorse. I use it for all of my b&w creative stuff, and an occasional portrait. Ive just added a 6x7 Calumet C2 wich I have not used yet but plan to use it for some color work.

[Graham Patterson]

I rarely use 35mm now. On a copy stand for making sides of artwork for show submissions, mostly.

A lot of 120 in 6x6. Mostly a good compromise for portability and quality. The 5x4 is used when tripods are acceptable, the subject really needs the movements or larger negative, or I just want to calm down (!). I have a 6x9 roll film back for the 5x4 that comes in useful as a cheap long lens.

[Janko Belaj]

I use almost any camera I can take with me.
LF - Sinar for studio work, Tachihara for field work, Shen-Hao (full plate) for fun.
120 - Hass 555 for studio and on location, Bronica ECTL for field when I'm afraid for Hass, Mamiya 6x9 for fun (handheld landscape), Rollei for pleasure, Flexaret for rain.
35 - Nikon F2 have been long time retired but have been my primary camera for a long time, Nikon S2 for pleasure, Canonet 17 for lowlight condition outside of my home, Yashica Lynx 14e for lowlight condition at home... Oly OM1n for parties...
digi - Nikon D1 for work, Oly E1 for work and as backup camera on my trips, some small Kodak easy-share for my daughter (actually, bought her that camera for 3th birthday and she is having fun taking pictures but posing too)
That's it. few more cameras are resting in peace around my home.

[Brian Vuillemenot]

Other than sheet film, I only shoot 120 film in my 6X17 panoramic. I had a Pentax 67 which I E-Bayed off a few months back- I hadn't used it in years. The "tiny" 6X7 cm transparencies just looked too insubstantial next to 4X5's on my light box. After all, life is too short to shoot small film.

[CXC]

4x5 is my main format. I also use the following non-LF:

WIDELUX F8 is my only 35mm. I use it only occasionally, as I find it so wide that it is quite limiting. Then again, limits can be good...

BROOKS VERIWIDE 100 is my main 120. When I want to go wide, it matches my vision just about exactly. I get better wide results, with much less effort, than I do with LF. But I don't go wide as often as I used to. Mostly color.

MAMIYA C3 TLR (120). Used in place of LF when LF is impossible, impractical, or too much bother. Or when I feel like shooting square. Or to shoot Tri-X (since I am addicted to ReadyLoads and those wacky Kodak guys refuse to put Tri-X in ReadyLoads). Mostly b&w.

I also use 120 over LF in situations where I know I will be bracketing. It just seems too wasteful on LF for me. And I use a digital p&s to take visual notes for painting subjects.

[Diane Maher]

I have been shooting mostly 8x10 lately. I still have the 4x5 and need to get out with it again. In recent months, I've been shooting more 35 mm (film mostly) and 6x6, 6x7 & 6x9 - mostly because I have some old film in the drawers and it's not going to get used otherwise.

[MIke Sherck]

I have a Minolta Maxxum 7-something 35mm through which I pass a roll or two per year, maybe, some years. I used to carry an old 35mm Yashica Electro 35 in the car for shots I came across, but I was always so disappointed when I developed the film. Like many, I started out with 35mm but sold most of it to finance LF. Such tiny negatives were depressing. There's a Mamiya 645 which broke several years back and I never got it fixed because after starting LF I so seldom used it. I'm thinking about getting an old Rollei for portraits and such: photographing kids with 4x5 is a real workout! Maybe some day, when I get money again. :)

[Eric Leppanen]

I still frequently use my Nikon F100 for family snapshots, as some family members prefer the look of film (my D70 produces prints which are a bit too contrasty for their taste). I mostly use the D70 for other practical work.

I still use my Mamiya 7 as a travel camera (quick to use, yet keeps open the option of fine-art prints up to 16x20), and for location fine-art work where conditions are not conducive to LF (too windy, etc.). But my M7 use has gone way down since I got into LF.

After using 4x5 for several years, I purchased an 8x10 camera system last year and I find myself using the bigger camera whenever possible. Just can't get over the tremendous detail in those 8x10 negs and like to keep open the possibility of contact prints. Lately the 4x5 has mostly been gathering dust, although I will still use it for significant hikes, or for situations where the 8x10 is too bulky or lacks the depth of field to get the result I want.

[Louie Powell]

I have a 35mm rangefinder that I use for business travel. I also have a couple of Nikon SLRs that I use for streetshooting, faster action photography, and most non-business (air) travel related work. I occasionally use a TLR for portraiture. But I find myself using LF form most of my work around home and while traveling by car.

[Ole Tjugen]

A little 35mm, most of it with a Bessa-L with 21mm lens.

Quite a bit of 120; some with a Bronica ETRS, some with any one of a number of old folding cameras, some with various adapters for LF or plate cameras.

All sheet film sizes from 6.5x9cm to 18x24cm, expecting to start on 8x10" next year.

[Pat Kearns]

I shoot the 4x5 tachihara when traveling by car. The planes flying in/out of Mobile have gotten so small I will take Mamiya C330f and Olympus OM1. If the planes get any smaller I believe I will be seated next to the pilot and my pictures will be coming from the post card racks. Bummer.

[John Kasaian]

35mm and 120 when I have to ;-)

[RichSBV]

Gees, a lot of poepl with othing better to do today ;-)

I still shoot my Minolta's (XK's and 570's) with 30+ years of use. There's just too many things 35mm does better (okay, maybe easier) than LF (sorry!). Speaking mainly of faster action and such...

Still shoot my Mamiya C330 after 30+ years and love it, but not as often as I used to.

4x5 with Graflex cameras (Speeds and GVII's).

8x10 with Century Universals, my true passion beyond obsession.

That said, I've just recently put together a Super Speed kit that I hope turns into a more 'point-n-shoot' system. That'll take some life out of the 35mm and 120.

I can't see ever getting rid of the 35mm XK's. They've been with me so long that they just might go to the grave with me (at least one anyway).

But, if I can ever find a Mamiya RB67ProSD system, I would most probably never shoot 35mm again. It's the last unfullfilled photo dream I have and were it not for the obsession with the Century Universals, I would have had the kit by now... Someday.... We all need dreams ;-)

Keep what you've got, and add more!!!

[Salty]

I use 35mm, 6x6 in a TLR, 6x7 in roll film holders, 4x5, and 8x10 and a digital SLR.

[David Luttmann]

Here the list CJ,

The stuff below is mainly used for wedding & portrait work which is my mainstay. There is some commercial interiors and tourism work as well....but that hasn't been where the money is for me.

Canon D30 (for backup)
Canon 10D (two bodies)
Canon 1Ds

Konica T3 (can't let it go)
Pentax PZ-1

Mamiya RB67 Pro-SD
Mamiya C33

Shen Hao 4x5

I'd love to throw in a Hassey 22MP digital back into the list....but I don't think my wife would agree with the business case ;-)

Cheers,

[Dan Fromm]

C'lamity, I use my Nikons for shots of nearly everything that moves. This includes closeups of live fish in tanks, including my portable photo tank, insects, flowers, ... Also for low-cost out-and-about photography. And for most of my photomacrography, mainly because there's no advantage to filling a negative larger than 24 x 36 with most of my subjects. And where I need reach. I have a crappy but usable 400 and a Questar 700, not crappy but hard to use; I can't afford or carry lenses with comparable focal length for formats much larger than 35 mm. I still have KM in the freezer, I'll have a good cry when it runs out.

I use my 2x3 Graphics for closeups of flowers and such where I want better quality than I can get with 35 mm -- for me this means shots at the same magnification I'd use for the main subject with 35 mm but with much more of its setting in the frame -- and when I want to take really nice scenic shots. I have slightly wider lenses for 2x3 (38 Biogon that doesn't cover 2x3, 44 Elcan that comes closer, 47 SA that by god covers) than for 35 mm (24 Nikkor is my shortest) and am much happier shooting that wide on 2x3 than on 35 mm. Not sure why, perhaps I don't like the lack of fine detail I can record on film with the 24 Nikkor, especially compared to what the 47 SA lays down.

I have a limited set of tools, try to use 'em to best advantage. If there's any lesson to be learned from my practice, that's it.

[Steve J Murray]

Its 4x5 or D-70 these days.

[Michael Legan]

120 in 6x6, 6x7, 6x9 & 617 for those times when distance, subject matter, and travel issue dictate the smaller format.
4x5 when I'm traveling by car or air and the US airlines are being nice and the security/airport folks in Europe are cooperating.
8x10 when I'm inspired and determined to hike like I did when I was young and,
16x20 when I don't have far to go from the SUV to set up!

Cheers

[matthew blais]

35mm in Yashica FX-2's (2) and Nikon F5. 120 in the Etrsi (6x4.5) and Agfa Super Isollette (6x6), 4x5 on my restored Korona wood field,
Fuji S2 and Nikon D70 for most commercial work (advertising, events, etc).

[Ralph Barker]

The medium format gear is now pretty much restricted to studio work, on projects for which that format is a good fit. But, my Leica rangefinder goes everywhere my 8x10 and/or 4x5 go. They're pals. ;-)


http://www.rbarkerphoto.com/misc/Photo-gear/Tachi-Leica-Ale-600bw.jpg


Actually, the Leica is great for documenting other aspects of the LF adventures, so I almost always take it along, too.

[Steve Feldman]

Hi Calamity,

Started out 23 years ago with a Minolta X700. Still have it for family stuff and slides.
A fifty+ year old Yashica Mat TLR. Light weight. Very sharp. 120 - 6x6 format. No batteries / no meter. Gotta love it.
A twenty year old Mamiya 1000S system. 645. For more "serious" mf 120 work.
My first 4x5 is a fifty+ year old Crown Graphic. The negs are still amazing to print. Fun to use as a handheld. No batteries / no meter. Gotta love it.
Recently bought a 50 year old B & J wood view 5x7 w/ a 4x5 back. (Really want a 5x7 back for contact printing - still looking). Again - No batteries / no meter. Gotta love it.
Had a Kodak Retina IIIc but sold it. Shouldn't have. I'd like it back now.
Full darkroom. B & W only.
"Hobby out of control"
No pixels.
HARUMPH!

[Pete Watkins]

Until recently when the diaphram went "funny" I always carried an old Voigtlander Bessa ll, nice camera, smashing format, nice bit of glass, in the van that I drive for a living. AVoigtlander Bessa l might be better but just compare the prices.

[Steve Feldman]

Ralph,

Nice shot. Wish I'd a thought of it.
HARUMPH

[george jiri loun]

Beside 35 mm that I mainly shoot for stock agencies I use a lot 120 roll film. Cameras for 6x9 cm include Arca Swiss, Fuji, Mamiya and home made ones with lenses going from 50 mm to 600mm. Then come 6x12 cm home made cameras with lenses from 135 mm to 800mm, 6x17 cm format, Torpedo 6x18.5cm home made and finally 6x24 cm home made that one too. Some other formats don't get much use these days like 24 x120mm and other stranger stuff but they are ready just in case...

[d.s.]

Horseman 45/FA that I use mostly for 4X5, but I also have a 6x7, 6x9, and a polaroid back for, but I don't use them very often. Then I do a lot of 35mm with two Nikon F2 bodies. One wears a motordrive all the time and the other dosen't. I wish I had the lenses for 4X5 that I have for 35mm.

dee

[Paul Ewins]

Colour is almost entirely shot on digital (Pentax *ist-D) but I am playing around with E6 in homebuilt 6x14 panoramics.

B&W can be 35mm (Pentax MX or LX), 6x7 (Pentax again) or 4x5 depending on what I am doing and how much gear I am prepared to lug. If it's portraits at home then it can be 35mm handlheld and 4x5 from a tripod in the same session. I find that weaving around with the 35mm gives me ideas that I then set up carefully on the 4x5.

I'm travelling to the UK in August and I'm still at a loss as to which cameras to take. I know the *ist-D will come, but exactly what else is the problem. If I was confident enough to take exposed film through x-ray scanners then I might bring along the Speed Graphic and a changing bag. As it is, I'll probably have the MX as a backup for the *ist-D and maybe the 6x14 and/or a Moskva 5 for MF.

[Nghi Hoang]

I'm new to LF, brand spankin' new. However, both of my Nikon and Mamiya RZ67 are loaded. The former with NPH and the latter with Provia 100F. The Nikon is mostly for snap shots of family and friends where the end results are 4x6" Fuji Frontier prints. The Mamiya is for more "serious" matters and even less "serious"matters, depending on mood.

So far, I've only put a few Polaroids through my LF gear, but I am falling in love with this format. It's slow, but it is so much fun, at least to me.

[Harold_4074]

CJ---

MF for
a) portraits when the sitter is not comfortable with, or accommodating of, the machinations involved with a view camera;
b) experiments which might, but probably won't, yield a good picture---the film cost is about half, but more importantly, all twelve develop together in the time it would take to process one sheet of film; and
c) making record shots of still-life setups that I might want to try to reproduce later (am I the only one who does this?).

35mm for snapshots and color; also anything really fast, like horses jumping. It is also great for teaching, since with bulk-loaded film the cost per negative is practically negligible.

Think carefully about disposing of the smaller gear--some day in the distant future you might want to join the likes of Adams, Cunningham, Stieglitz and such, who became famous for large format work and late in their careers continued with medium format.

Regards,

Harold

[Mike Lewis]

I take most of my "serious" photographs with a Linhof Technika V. I use Nikon FEs for occasional 35mm film shots but mostly use an Olympus C-60 digicam for point-and-shoot stuff (not that I'm all that happy with it). I had a Yashica T4 film p&s which was a great camera, but I, um, accidently ran it through the washing machine. *sigh*...

[Steve Baggett]

To add mine to the survey, I shoot 35mm only for macro/closeup insects (during the warm months) and 4x5 for everthing else (all months.) An occasional 35mm flower (in the field) is shot but I usually shoot them indoors with the 4x5.

[Jon Wilson]

I became reacquainted with my Olympus 35mm almost 10 years ago and since then carry at least one 120 film camera set up, e.g., a Bronica S2A or an ETRSi, when I am not able to use my Large Format tools...Tachihara 4x5, Kodak 2D 8x10, Korona 4x5, 5x7, 8x10. My Large Format "therapy" is almost 2 years along with its specialized "counseling" and it appears it will continue to grow as do the number of lens and related "therapeutic" tools, e.g., Dagors, G-Clarons, Fujinons, Kowas, Wollensaks, etc. I also see at least a darkroom on the horizon. I am also working hard to expand the adventure to include "group" therapy with my better and just recently introduced her to medium format. She has always enjoyed B&W 35mm...so I am sure she will love it on up the line to LF. Our youngest has used 35mm, but found it is more cost effective for him to use a digital camera...which in reality is an inexpensive learning tool for the family group sessions.

[Donald Qualls]

Well, let's see. Minolta 16 (3 working cameras), 35 mm half frame (one camera, currently waiting for a method of correcting the focus setting other than "guess and develop half a roll"), several 35 mm full frame, 6x6, 6x9 (with masks for 6x6 and 6x4.5), and then my 9x12 cm plate cameras. Don't own a 4x5 yet, but I have some film waiting for a pinhole venture. The 6x9s are the "always" cameras, the ones most likely to be with me when I'm just out and about.

[Chuck_1686]

No 35 but I do a lot of 120. Sometimes its windy and I want to do many exposures to see different motion effects. Or I'm in a place where I don't want to put my equipment on the ground. Or too many people around for me to enjoy the LF experience. Or just don't feel like carrying the stuff that day. Or in a place where carrying it would be very difficult for an older out of shape guy. I'll take more risks with roll film knowing I have more than 12 exposures with me. I have found that 120 can make very good smaller prints. I guess the most important thing is to use something.

[Steve Clark]

Hmm...Let's see, 35mm,126,127,120,4x5 and5x7. The cameras range from very early Brownies and things like that, to very current ones, X-Pan etc. Over the last two years the 5x7 is the one I've tried to spend the most time with. A 5x7 neg., enlarged only 2x to 3x, holds up pretty good. Oh, almost forgot, a little waterproof, pocket sized camera, that doesn`t use any film...