Big Pano Camera Advice?

[Jim Noel]

I remember wanting a Canham 4x10 since before I'd ever even heard of Phase One. Something about that format, any panoramic format, that has always pulled at my guts... in a good way. They're so immersive and married with inkjet printing, you have this huge advantage of big printers using roll paper, so the width of the image can be massive... if, ya know, you're into massive.

Anyhow, I've been looking at cameras lately. My assistant owns a Chamonix 4x5 and though I just had a glance at it, I was pretty impressed with the design. So, I think it's probably between the Chamonix and the Canham. I'm pretty sure I'm stuck on 4x10. I never cared for the 8x10 format. I like squares and I like elongated rectangles. In betweens just don't do it for me.

You guys have a ton more experience than I with both brands, so I'd appreciate any thoughts you might have. I just have to decide in time for November's Death Valley trip with Kirk and the gang.

And here are a few images to show why I like long horizontals so much:

Shot on my 4x5 Arca F-Line with a 6x12 back:





Stills from a short film of mine, shot on the RED Epic:




Cheers,
CB

If you want BIG pano get a 7x17 or 8x20. After using one you will think of a 4x10 as tiny.

[Jim Fitzgerald]

I do love my 8 x 20!

[Daniel Stone]

The 110 Super Symmar XL is a great lens, and will cover 4x10. Might want the center filter though, to make sure things are nice and even density-wise, edge to edge.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...Symmar_XL.html

I'm assuming you're ordering film holders with your camera?

welcome (back) to the club

[Richard Johnson]

Out from left field... Try a 6x12 Noblex as they will make pictures that look distinctive as opposed to simply being cropped....

[Ari]

I want to start with some really wide glass, so I was thinking of the Rodie 115 or maybe the Nikkor 120. I believe both should cover.

The Grandagon 115 will darken the corners on 8x10, so you won't have any kind of movements possible on the long edge of your shot.
The Nikkor 120 covers 8x10 with a few mm to spare.

Both are bulky, heavy-ish lenses, and both are superb performers.

If you can go a little less wide, the Schneider SS 150XL is a great lens and will give you plenty of movements.

[angusparker]

I second several other posters: look at 6x17 in MF. Easier to scan and do in color. For flexibility and view camera functionality look at the Shen Hao PTB617, for a super wide angle of view look at the Noblex 6x12 or even rarer Noblex 6x17. 4x10 seems to me better achieved by cropping 8x10. If you must have LF image for contact printing consider 7x17 or 8x20 perhaps? Optically enlarging or scanning will be fine with 6x17 in MF for most purposes.

[Christopher Barrett]

Actually, I've thought about a 6x17 solution for a long time (I love my 6x12 back on 4x5)... Smaller, easier, you can carry more film and so many emulsions available! The real impetus for 4x10 is being able to make HUGE prints (inkjet or light jet). I can scan up to 4000 dpi. (Also, 10" is the longest neg I can mount on my drum scanner) So, a 4x10 let's me make a 50" x 133" print... which I actually think I will do for a series I'm working on. 6x17 would yield a 30"x90" print, which is still friggin huge, but not as peripheral-filling immersive as the 50x133.

Again, thanks for all the feedback!

Next Question: Developing... I'll either tray process (which I'm really comfortable with) or possibly get a Jobo drum. How do you guys typically dry your negs? For 4x5 or 8x10, I usually tray processed and then transferred the negs to standard steel holders before they went into the film dryer.

[cdavis324]

Try upsampling the 4000dpi scans or scanning MF at 8000dpi. Going from 30 to 50 inches isn't that big of a deal... Otherwise you could try having 8000dpi scans made from MF and with good noise reduction and sharpening, the prints will look amazing!

Seeing that you're in Chicago, you could try the DIY drum scanning at Latitude. I think they have a scanmate 11K, and their prices are great.

[Christopher Barrett]

Those guys at Lattitude are awesome! I've never printed any of my 6x12 negs bigger than 15x30, I'll have to uprez one and see how far I can take them. At a point, though, you're just enlarging grain, which I feel takes you out of the image somewhat (as a viewer).

[cdavis324]

Yeah, that's why I went to 8x10 - there's something about the tonality that you just can't get from a smaller size. That being said, you can get pretty close with software... and you avoid all the complications of a big camera - which are compounded with long exposures.

I've only talked to the guys at Latitude on the phone - they've helped me get awesome scans from my (now broken) scanmate 11k. If I lived in Chicago, I'd just use their drum scanners... it sure beats having to maintain one myself.