Page 2 of 5 FirstFirst 1234 ... LastLast
Results 11 to 20 of 45

Thread: ULF Tipping Point

  1. #11
    Tin Can's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Posts
    22,319

    Re: ULF Tipping Point

    11X14 is big enough for me. Contact prints.

    As I prefer real film to X-Ray for studio portrait.

    But I also like enlarging 5X7 and 8X10 to 16x20.

    Don’t forget how big a print gets when matted and framed. I like big margins.

  2. #12
    multiplex
    Join Date
    Feb 2001
    Location
    local
    Posts
    5,345

    Re: ULF Tipping Point

    Quote Originally Posted by Phovsho View Post
    Thanks everybody. This is very helpful. I imagine using it mainly in studio or close to car. So I could go big.

    Do folks find 11x14 is a sufficient step beyond 8x10? I appreciate the negative is almost twice the area. But wonder if I should go bigger and have no regrets.

    Best. M
    the best thing about 11x14 is using a 7x11 back. golden mean or something like that
    so even whenyou are struggling to get a good image, something magical happens
    and turns the dimestore timex into a rolex.

    good luck !
    john

  3. #13
    Tin Can's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Posts
    22,319

    Re: ULF Tipping Point

    Eastman made a 7x11 camera with option 8x10 back. Not as big as a 11x14.



    Quote Originally Posted by jnanian View Post
    the best thing about 11x14 is using a 7x11 back. golden mean or something like that
    so even whenyou are struggling to get a good image, something magical happens
    and turns the dimestore timex into a rolex.

    good luck !
    john

  4. #14
    William Whitaker's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    NE Tennessee
    Posts
    1,423

    Re: ULF Tipping Point

    Quote Originally Posted by Phovsho View Post
    Thanks everybody. This is very helpful. I imagine using it mainly in studio or close to car. So I could go big.

    Do folks find 11x14 is a sufficient step beyond 8x10? I appreciate the negative is almost twice the area. But wonder if I should go bigger and have no regrets.
    What is your desired end result? Since ULF almost demands contact printing, how large a print do you want?

    As you note, "mainly studio" usage else "close to the car" Go big as you want. You alone know your budget.

    Life is short. Grab it while you can.

  5. #15
    Tin Can's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Posts
    22,319

    Re: ULF Tipping Point

    Amen!

  6. #16
    Moderator
    Join Date
    Jan 2001
    Posts
    8,634

    Re: ULF Tipping Point

    Quote Originally Posted by Randy Moe View Post
    Eastman made a 7x11 camera with option 8x10 back. Not as big as a 11x14.
    But as heavy as an 11x14, at least the lighter ones. I have a 7x11 Eastman No. 2. The design is different from all of the other No. 2's and is disproportionately heavy. The Korona 7x11 is much lighter, though.

  7. #17
    Moderator
    Join Date
    Jan 2001
    Posts
    8,634

    Re: ULF Tipping Point

    The other thing that happens as you go beyond 8x10 is that depth of field starts to become a real challenge for subjects short of infinity for which you want substantial depth. Even in contact prints, stopping down much beyond f/64 can start to visibly degrade the image character. If you're photographing people, they'll do their best to confound you by drifting out of the plane of focus during the time it takes to insert the film holder and/or moving during long exposures. If you're photographing groups of people, multiply that. In the studio, where you're focusing close and bellows extension is substantially reducing your effective aperture, you'll also need a pretty bodacious lighting setup if you want any degree of depth, particularly if you prefer softbox lighting rather than direct. It's very easy to fall into a trap where all you're getting for the extra trouble is bigness, while the technical quality goes down and the rate of out-and-out bloopers goes up compared to smaller formats.

    OTOH, that big negative can be intoxicating, and when everything goes right, the result can be glorious. If you have the money and the patience not just to acquire the equipment, but to pay for a substantial learning curve of exposures that are messed up by one problem or another, by all means go for it. Life is too short, etc. Having dabbled in formats up to 12x20 with modest results so far, I'd say 11x14 is indeed a meaningful step up from 8x10 while still remaining sort of practical. YMMV; look at a lot of big prints and see what you think.

  8. #18

    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Collinsville, CT USA
    Posts
    2,327

    Re: ULF Tipping Point


  9. #19

    Join Date
    Jan 2000
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    128

    Re: ULF Tipping Point

    Let me restate and agree with what others have said, as you increase negative size, complexity and costs increases dramatically. Also the number of negatives you shoot in a day goes down.

    I would also add, that as the negative size gets larger, there are more things that can go wrong and spoil a wonderful negative. When all goes right, there is nothing like seeing a ULF negative for the first time. I still get a rush when I unload my development tank and pull out an 8x20 negative.

    I was shooting 8x10 and I tried the 11x14 format. For me, I found the 11x14 image to be too similar to the 8x10 image in feel to be worth the extra aggravation to shoot. I ended up shooting with an 8x20 so that the image had a different feel than the 8x10.

    It is a big commitment if you are buying new camera equipment. I started with older used cameras to try out each of my larger formats. After three or four years, if I really liked a format, I sold the older camera and bought a better camera. I did that that with both my 8x10 and 8x20. I’m still shooting with them 20+ years later, although I’ve been enjoying the 5x7 format a lot recently.

    There is no wrong answer in all of this, just what works best for you and your vision.
    _______________________
    George Losse
    www.georgelosse.com

  10. #20

    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Santa Barbara
    Posts
    1,376

    Re: ULF Tipping Point

    I went 35mm to 645...to 6x6 to 4x5.. to 7x17, then 8x20... back to 8x10...back to 6x6..to digital

    and now 5x7 to 8x10 to 11x14 pretty quickly

    I'll stop at 11x14 (unless something crazy happens) as that is as big as I can get scanned


    I'm lucky ..or unlucky.. as the very first 11x14 neg out of the tank WAS SUPERB

    been trying to match that first one now for a year

Similar Threads

  1. Focus point
    By AndreF in forum LF DIY (Do It Yourself)
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 4-Dec-2013, 14:08
  2. What's the point?
    By Ari in forum Style & Technique
    Replies: 100
    Last Post: 7-Feb-2011, 04:54
  3. Tipping-in
    By tim atherton in forum Style & Technique
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 3-Nov-2006, 22:05

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •