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Thread: Hello from England

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Yorkshire, England
    Posts
    117

    Hello from England

    Having just checked it appears I have been a member of this forum since 2012 but never made a post until yesterday.
    Furthermore, it seems I have forgotten my manners as my first post was to ask to buy a 8x10 camera not to make my, much delayed, introduction. Sorry.
    So, here goes...
    My long term interest has only ever been in film photography. Whilst I do occasionally use a digital camera for my work as a mechanical engineer, I just point and shoot and am not really interested in the results other than to record useful factual information about, say, a conveyor at a power station, a steel rolling mill, or escalator on London Underground.
    Film, on the other hand, is a completely different experience. It is organic, mechanical, chemical and natural.
    My results may not be remarkable, praiseworthy, or worth the time to critique by others but I do like making them. Having just written that down, the word that really sticks with me is 'making' as that is what it seems to be.
    To be honest, there has been several years since I sold my Contax 35mm and MPP mk8 4x5; I used the 35mm for convenience and the 4x5 for maximum quality. Having returned to photography a while ago with a Fuji GF670 I now find myself yearning for a LF camera. The GF670 is great for street photography as it is virtually silent, I am told more so than a Leica, and can be folded away to a really slim profile, but I want something that I can get the maximum quality results at the cost of convenience. 4x5 doesn't seem a worthwhile increase in negative size over the 6x7, hence my quest for a 8x10. I am presuming that 8x10 also opens up the possibilities of frame-able sized contact prints and alternative printing processes as the Durst 138S was sold many years ago. I think that only went to 5x7 anyway?
    My photographic interests are, well, varied as I do like the thrill of in-yer-face street photography but I also enjoyed spending a few hours on Saturday afternoon waiting for the right light on the moors above Huddersfield.
    Well, it seems my introduction was 5 years in the making but i always was a bit shy

    ...Sweep

  2. #2

    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    St. Louis, Mo.
    Posts
    3,064

    Re: Hello from England

    Contact printing is a very good reason for shooting 8x10 or maybe in your case 10x8.

    Welcome to the forum, Sweep.

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Yorkshire, England
    Posts
    117

    Re: Hello from England

    Hi Alan,
    Oh no. Don't tell me I have broken the sizing convention already. I had to force myself to write 4 by 5 when I really felt more comfortable writing 5 by 4. Just make sure you check both when searching on eBay!

    ...Sweep

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Denmark
    Posts
    6,246

    Re: Hello from England

    Wellcome!

    I, probably like many others, have never introduced myself, either!

    I always use the old UK convention of writing 10x8 (15x12" etc.) when talking about vintage equipment. And, although the backbone of Large Format is North American, never try to "adjust" my spelling.

    I saw your posting in "cameras", and nearly replied. 10x8" was not a common UK format in the same way that it was in the USA. Camera makers very much stuck to full plate as the format for "adventurous gentlemen/women amateurs" , in combination with the other plate sizes. Full plate does have many of the advantages that you describe for 10x8.

    UK manufacturers gave up large format cameras much earlier than in the USA - amateurs went rapidly over to Rolleiflex and Leica. At the end, it was only Gandolfi that had a niche production.

    Choosing a camera really depends on the amount of camera movements you think you might be using. I, personally, need very little in my photography, so get by with continental tailboard cameras. The sizes I use are mostly 18x24cm and 24x30cm. 18x24cm is midway between full plate and 8x10" and I use only contact printing. Film is available from Germany. Full plate film can also be got from Ilford, but requires the annual special production.

    You havn't mentioned what sort of lenses you want to use. There are more numerous/cheaper alternatives when you are slightly under 8x10!

  5. #5

    Join Date
    May 2010
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    St. Louis, Mo.
    Posts
    3,064

    Re: Hello from England

    Quote Originally Posted by Sweep View Post
    Hi Alan,
    Oh no. Don't tell me I have broken the sizing convention already. I had to force myself to write 4 by 5 when I really felt more comfortable writing 5 by 4. Just make sure you check both when searching on eBay!

    ...Sweep
    I'm a retired construction worker. I once asked a fellow member from England once what they called 2x4's in England. He replied, "4x2's of course!".

    Call it what you like. It doesn't matter at all which you choose to say.

  6. #6
    Cordless Bungee Jumper Sirius Glass's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    1,123

    Re: Hello from England

    Welcome to LFPF

    What is the difference between a Civil Engineer and a Mechanical Engineer?



    Mechanical Engineers design and build munitions and fire control systems.
















    Civil Engineers design targets.
    Nothing beats a great piece of glass!

    I leave the digital work for the urologists and proctologists.

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Yorkshire, England
    Posts
    117

    Re: Hello from England

    I think I read a thread, or was it watched a video, somewhere on the internet which extolled the cost-effectiveness of film over digital. Yep, I remember now; it was some guy with a trendy beard from Forest Hills Lab. (Actually, I didn't remember 'cause I'm too old so I just searched my history!).
    Enjoyed the video, and there is no doubt about his passion, but I am starting to doubt that I should have believed his arguments ...as I have just bought a 10x8 and something tells me the spending hasn't stopped just yet
    Managed to get a Wilderness V, which is currently in transit, but I guess I need to save some pennies for a nice lens, spot meter, film, dev trays or Catlab CL81, loupe, and please feel free to let me know anything else which will make me poorer.
    As soon as I get it I will post on a new thread but opinions on the beast are welcome

    ...Sweep

  8. #8
    おせわに なります! Andrew O'Neill's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
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    Coquitlam, BC, Canada, eh!
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    5,136

    Re: Hello from England

    Welcome, Sweep!

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    San Joaquin Valley, California
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    9,599

    Re: Hello from England

    Welcome
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Yorkshire, England
    Posts
    117

    Re: Hello from England

    Thank-you guys. Hopefully I can, in time, add a few pertinent comments but for the moment I suspect I will just be posting questions

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