LF future

[Bernard Languillier]

Hi there,

I can say confidently that I am the future of LF. ..

Being a young amateur landscape photographer who decided to try LF after playing with a high res Kodak SLR/n DSLR, I am fully confident to be part of a new breed interested in what has always attracted people to LF:

- high quality, DOF and perspective control with a certain approach to photography,

Regarding film, I think that we will have resaonnably affordable large format digital sensors in the 50 MPixel range within 5-10 years. Film from at least Fuji will remain available until then, unless George W. decides to nuke the plants before.

Those ditigal backs will have been specially designed for GGless 2*3 or 4*5 LF and will make it possible to compose the image while looking at a huge TFT screen (or equivalent). We will also be able to control the color rendition on the screen to simulate the output on our favourite paper right from the field.

Other nice functions will include automatic detection of image circle clipping due to camera movements, correction of light fall off by in-sensor adjustement of gain at the image element level.

The price of the first version will be in the 20.000 Euro range and will remain high. A quick computation will however reveal that this represents only 4000 4*5 sheets (film cost and processing).

Best regards,
Bernard

[John Kasaian]

But Bernard, will it make an image magically appear under the safelight? Will it provide the excuse to spend time in a dark room, away from everyone, listening to an inner voice and music from a circe 1960s GE table top radio set? Will it motivate the gray cells to learn ancillary arts like how to rewire a 70 year old enlarger or rebuild filmholders? Or mix delightfully stinky chemicals? Will the final print be a summation of the work of a passion that embraces the whole gamut of experiences from imagination to technical skills, or the passionless clicks of a mouse providing motion to an arrow on a laptop computer screen??

[Nick_3536]

"20.000 Euro range and will remain high. A quick computation will however reveal that this represents only 4000 4*5 sheets (film cost and processing)."

Boy you're getting gouged. 5 Euros per sheet? Too bad the thing will only work a few years before it breaks or needs a new driver. BTW who is going to make such a thing for the relatively tiny LF market?

[Emmanuel BIGLER]

Let me support Bernard's idea about a LF image preview on a big TFT screen. Of course the screen would be environmentally-friendly and would not need batteries, even rechargeable ones ; a manually-operated auxiliary generator with a comfortable crank would provide enough electricity for one day of work at least. Moreover this would provide some healthy physical exercise to people who claim that not a single valuable LF picture can be found at a distance greater than 10 yards from their car.

The other advantage of a preview on an electronic display would be that by switching a 4-position knob, you could choose whatever direction top/down left/right symmetries for your own style of pre-visualisation.
Old-timers of LF photography who cannot live without the upside-down reversed image would chose setting #1 "the traditional" like on a traditional GG.
Newcomers to LF but still old-fashioned photographers coming from the Rollei-TLR world would chose setting #2, up would be up but and down would be down but right and left would be reversed like on a Rollei TLR GG.
New Newcomers would of course ignore settings #1 or #2 and would simply use their LF TFT screen like they are using routinely their digital point-and-shoot display screen, the right one : up is up, down is down, etc...
Eventually, some discerning photographers would insist on using setting #4, where up would be down and down would be up but right and left would be at the right place, somewhat like when you try to frame on the GG in vertical "portrait" mode with the 645 mask on a Rolleicord. They would argue that this strange setting forces them to more abstraction in their composition, so their LF images would be better.

[Bernard Languillier]

Oops,

Gentlemen:

- you can probably simulate the appearance of the image uner the safelight by slowly turning on your screen in adarkened room? Besides, nothing prevents you from storing some half opened bottles of stinky chemicals right next to the PC...
- 5 Euro does include the price of Quickload Velvia 100F + processing here in Tokyo,
- Digital back have zero moving parts and should be able to survive for many years. Besides if it pays back for itself in, say 5 years, compared to film, what would be the problem with buying the 100 Mpixel successor then?
- Energywise, batteries will have also progressed a lot in 5-10 years from now. You will always get a lot more autonomy with digital than you currently do because of the bulk and weight of film sheets,
- I would also use #4!

Cheers,
Bernard

[Paul Butler]

As someone who has a "day job" in the securities industry, I can't stress enough what a boom digital is to equipment manufacturers. The inherent obsolescence in virtually all digital equipment ensures them of a continuous future revenue source (people will be forced to replace their gear every 2 to 3 years as has long been the case in the desktop computer business). This also allows them to budget big bucks for research and development.

I say this as I lovingly gaze upon my 1946 Linhof Technika II 5x7 which has a stunningly well thought out design, all the movements I need, reasonable weight and size, silky smooth geared focusing, rise, and shift, the capacity to hold almost any modern 5x7 lens . . . it reflects a totally different philosophy on the part of the people who made it (like its Compur shutter and Voigtlander lens) that it would never need to be replaced, just repaired and maintained, throughout the career of the buyer. The same can be said of any Dierdorff and most modern LF gear.

I am totally committed to the "digital darkroom" and advances in image manipulation technology, and I don't see any contradiction between working in LF and embracing digital technology. However, I think it will be a long while before true LF digital sensors will have an appropriate "look" and also be cost-effective enough to replace film and scanning for the average LF photographer. Fortunately, I have enough 5x7 emulsions available to me that I can't quite manage to try them all, and I am quite satisfied with what is currently on the market. My only worry as I view the contemporary marketplace is that E-6 5x7 films may become scarce. No such worry with B/W.

Paul Butler