To enlarge or not to enlarge, that's the question.

[Ellen Stoune Duralia]

d) none of the above

LOL

Use a 'take anywhere' folding 4x5 (or any camera you like for that matter) and make digital negatives in the size of your choice! For sizes no larger than 11x14, the image degradation will be minimal.

[Mike Butler]

Gregory,

Ay, there's the rub...

FWIW, to my eye (which I fully admit may not be as sophisticated as yours or to any experienced contact printer) a 2x or 3x enlarged print from a 4x5/5x7 negative developed in pyro or a large-format negative printed with an unsharp mask is comparable in terms of tonal quality and detail to an 11x14 contact.

But, as previous posters have said, it's ultimately up to you to sort out what "comparable" is and weigh the agony and the ecstasy...

[Bruce Watson]

It sounds like what you want is a bigger print, but you still want it to be a contact print. Well, we can do that now. First, drum scan your 10x8 film. Then output it at the size you want to a film recorder. Take this new negative to your contact printing frame and go for it. This is not an uncommon practice; there are books on how to do it.

IMHO, the optical degradation from drum scanning and film recorder output is going to be less than from conventional enlarging. This will be the closest you can get to exposing the bigger negative in the camera, without having to lug the bigger camera around.

[robert_4927]

Greg , If you're willing to accept acceptable over wonderful then any and all the suggestions above will serve your purpose. I've seen amazing inkjets and kick a- s drum scans, so this is what you do: Find a good drum scan and a killer inkjet and lay them beside a good contact print. Now grab a good 10x or so loup and take a look for yourself. scan across every inch of each print and judge for yourself what is wonderful or acceptable to you. What may be wonderful to some may only be acceptable to others, so it's all up to you.

[robert_4927]

Oh sorry I forgot to include the projection enlargement. Throw that in there to for your viewing pleasure

[Brian C. Miller]

You can also use an 8x10 camera as an enlarger. You would need to build a negative holder/light source back for it. Adams made his 8x10 enlarger out of an old banquet camera. You could make an enlarger stand for your 8x10, and project the light onto a magnetic easel.

The drum scans are going to add up, and fast. If you want to go the digital route, you should check out scanners that can do a good job scanning 8x10.

[David Vickery]

Since you already know that you like the 8x10 contact print, then I would suggest that you go with the 11x14 camera. I use both 8x10 and 11x14 and find that the subject usually determines which camera I'll use. I am able to carry my camera and a couple of lenses on my back with a tripod in one hand and a bag with 3 or 4 film holders in the other hand and walk around in the desert for several hours. Its not that much different than any other kit--depending, of course on which camera you have. My 11x14 is largely homemade and fairly lite in weight--about 13 or 14 pounds. I love it! And would never be happy with enlargements after having used my 11x14 for a couple of years now. Nothing compares!

[David Vickery]

Oh, I meant to add to that last statement that nothing compares to an 11x14 contact print except for a larger contact print--12x20 or etc.

[Gary Nylander]

Hi Greg,

If you want to fool around and make enlargements from your 8 x 10 negs, you could try building your own enlarger as suggested. When I had my full sized darkroom set up, I made a 8 x 10 horizontal enlarger out of an old 1915 Century studio 8 x 10 view camera, I mounted this on five foot long oak plank ( about 14 inches wide ) for my light source I bought a 8 x 10 Aristo cold light head ( I think about $500 back in 1992 ), my easel was mounted a sliding device and held upright and for a lens I had a old Kodak 12 inch enlarging lens. All in all it worked quite well, and was not that expensive to build, as I got the camera from a store that sold store fixtures for $75.

Gary
http://www.garynylander.com

[Jorge Gasteazoro]

Get the 11x14 camera, or even better, get a 12x20 that you can crop into 11x14 if you want to. An 11x14 with a reducing back is not an option for me, sometimes setting these cameras is a PITA and setting an 11x14 just to take an 8x10 shot is a waste of effort IMO. You will see that you dont use the 11x14 as much as the 8x10, at least that is what I have noticed with my 12x20 vs 8x10 shots.

While some people in this board with little LF experience would like you to believe digital is the solution for everything, this is not the case. Digital negatives are not as clean, nor do they have the depth a real negative can give to a contact print.

IMO, investing on a ULF is the best choice, an enlarger, even if it is a home made will represent either time or money and will require somewhat of a large space to set up. Contact printing can be done in a bathroom.... Go for it, you wont be sorry.