4x10 On An 8x10 Camera

[neil poulsen]

Back in the 1970s I was a student at the Rochester Institute of Technology and . . .

Thanks. This is the same strategy that I've been considering. I'll take a look at your approach.

[Keith Pitman]

This has occurred to me. Thanks.

Based on what I've been told, which would warrant verification, the baffle on the Shen-Hao 8x10 back has the same dimensions as that on the Deardorff back. Since the overall dimensions of the Shen-Hao back are a little larger than those of the Deardorff, it would be a matter of trimming the excess on the Shen-Hao back and adding and positioning pins on the Shen-Hao 4x10 back that align with the back clips on the Deardorff.

By "baffle", I mean the square portion on the back that recesses into the camera as a stepped light trap.

Money is a bit of an issue. For the percentage of panoramas that I'd be taking, adapting two or three 8x10 holders to 4x10 would work just fine.

Neil,

Post #2417 shows a Shen Hao 4x10 back adapted to fit my Deardorff V8. It's not plug and play, but it's not hard to do.

http://www.largeformatphotography.in...43#post1212243

[neil poulsen]

Neil,

Post #2417 shows a Shen Hao 4x10 back adapted to fit my Deardorff V8. It's not plug and play, but it's not hard to do.

http://www.largeformatphotography.in...43#post1212243

Thanks for posting this and the photo. The Shen-Hao 4x10 back is a special purchase. So, probably no return. Your post verifies that the Shen-Hao would work.

[Duolab123]

Here's my lazy man way, shoot a 8x10 film, develop it, put it on a light table place a 4x10 mask over it, compose your exact image your after and cut it out. I had pan backs, 6x12 backs, I get it, first time I saw 6x17 cm Fuji chromes at B&H I almost bought the camera. But as cheap as film is, (and as lazy and cheap as I am) I would lean towards trimming 8x10 films.
I know this is not what OP is after. I don't intend to stir up a hornets nest.
Best Regards Mike

[Andrew O'Neill]

Expose two frames of 4x10 on a single sheet of 8x10 and cut it apart after processing seems like the easiest to me.

Me too.

[George Losse]

Neil,
When I first started shooting 4x10 I did exactly as you were thinking. I used older wooden 8x10 holders and placed two guides in the center of each holder which held one sheet of 4x10 film. I found that I needed a standard size so I made a standard (for me) template out of a wasted sheet of film. I used this to set all the guides in the same place of 4 different holders. Worked fine for me.

I had tried the split dark slide and didn't like it because I found myself thinking more about which half of the film the shot was on, instead of thinking about the shot. With the modified holders I just placed lines on the ground glass and it was easy to use the center of the glass to compose one image.

Now I'm in the process of modifying a Canham 8x10 to 4x10 reducing back to fit my Wisner 8x10.

[Duolab123]

Me too.

Neat!!

[Randy]

Since I am quite poor, and can only afford X-Ray film for my 8X10 / 4X10 shooting, at $.40-.50 a sheet, I just shoot everything at 8X10 and crop when scanning or cut for contact printing.

[jbenedict]

Split darkslide, 2 shots on a single piece of film, less stuff to fiddle with.

+1 That's how I do it.

[jbenedict]

I had tried the split dark slide and didn't like it because I found myself thinking more about which half of the film the shot was on, instead of thinking about the shot. With the modified holders I just placed lines on the ground glass and it was easy to use the center of the glass to compose one image.

Easy solution I use:

Put four pieces of tape on the holder. - two on each side. When you shoot one, pull a pice of tape off corresponding to the piece of film exposed.

Extra benefit of this is that, if you decide that you want the shot 8x10, it is easy to do. Just pull the whole slide out.