fishing for long and skinny

[Mark_3632]

Okay, drew up preliminary plans for 7x17 and realized that that sucker is pretty big. I'm a visual learner. It is quite doable, and to tell you the truth it does not seem to be that hard. On a down side the expenses of running the camera are going to be a pain in the wallet. This will have to fall onto the back burner. I am still looking for that long skinny view though, that is able to be contact printed.

Here is the question. Do any of you shoot 4x10? If so how do you like it? And, have any of you shot color film in this format?

Looking at the cheap older 8x10's on the net makes this seem really doable.

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

Mark,

Yes, I shoot 4x10 and love the format. I shoot color transparency film in two different fashions. The first is "true 4x10" - meaning I cut the film in half in the dark prior to exposure, load it into 4x10 holders and shoot it with a 4x10 camera. The second is to shoot two 4x10 images on a single sheet of 8x10 film using conventional 8x10 holders, a split darkslide (like those sold by Bender and Toho) and an older 8x10 camera (Eastman Commercial All-Metal).

8x10 holders and a lot easier to find and cheaper than 4x10 holders. There are plenty of used 8x10 holders available on eBay at reasonable prices. To me, that's the key to shooting 4x10 is getting holders. The Canham 4x10 holders are well made and the most reasonably priced new holders (about $95 each). For comparison, new 8x10 Fidelity holders are about $60 each - and you only need half as many for the same number of shots.

Of course, shooting with a dedicated 4x10 camera usually means carrying around a smaller, lighter camera. So, that's a consideration as well. Of course, if you can get an ultralight 8x10, like the Phillips Explorer, you can have the best of both worlds - a lightweight camera and affordable holders.

Kerry

[Mark_3632]

How does the split darkslide work. I could not find a picture or mention of one in a google search. Nor mention of one on the bender site. My curiosity is piqued.

[Nick_3536]

http://www.toho-machine.co.jp/Panorama.htm

Not much of a picture I'm afraid.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Here is is on the Bender site, under 8x10" accessories:

http://www.benderphoto.com/4x10pa.htm

I made mine out of a spare darkslide. You can cut one yourself.

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

Mark,
Heres a link to a thread Todd Caudle posted on photo.net a while back:

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=003xgh

It shows his results using a split darkslide to get a pair of 6x12 (2x5) images on a single sheet of 4x5 film. To see some more of Todd's beautiful panoramic images, check out the panoramic section of his web site at:

http://www.toddcaudle.com/panoramic.htm

Kerry

[Mark_3632]

One darkslide, one straight edge, one mat cutter/box cutter and your in business. And they sell these things...Hmmmm...

Now for the million dollar question

has any one had light leaks or had light bleed from one shot into the next?

[Brian Vuillemenot]

I've just got back my first shots using a cut darkslide to shoot two 4X10's on a sheet of 8X10. I am quite pleased with the results. You just have to be very careful to keep track of which sides of each sheet are exposed to avoid double exposures. I put a little red dot sticker on each half of the film holder to denote that the film has been exposed (i.e., 4 dots per film holder of two sheets when they are all exposed). When you cut the darkslide, cut it so there is a quarter inch or so border between the exposures. Be conservative-if you have too wide of a margin, you can always go back and trim it later. Incidently, Bender no longer carries the 4X10 darkslides, but it's real easy to do it yourself. Another plus about using an 8X10 is that you don't have to cut film, and E6 processing will be cheaper. Good luck, and let us know how it works out for you!

[William Blunt]

Mark, I shoot 4x10 and really enjoy the format. I use a Wisner 4x10 Tech. with the back modified by Keith Canham to accept his holders. The camera is much lighter than my 8x10 and lens selection is better. About the same as carrying my 5x7 outfit. Never use color film so I can't address that.

[Ernest Purdum]

I once made a split darkslide for a Toyo 4" X 5" holder. Using a "nibbler", I cut out just the opening for about 1 3/4" X 5". I then found out that the Toyo light trap was also a split darkslide trap. I had to cut away the strip at the bottom of the darkslide in order to get it out of the filmholder. Sometimes we learn the hard way.



Several 8" X 10" camera backs (and a few 5" X 7" backs) were grooved for a "splitter", just a board which could be slid from one side to the other or from top to bottom for 2 on 8" X 10". The grooves had leaf springs in them to keep the board from sliding by gravity. The splitter, which nearly always gets lost over the years, had a relieved area, or partial holes, for ease in switching position. They were dimensioned for 5" X 8", but it would be easy to make one up for a nominal 4" X 10". It wouldn't be nearly as easy, but it would still be feasible to add a spacer incorporating the grooves to an ungrooved back.