I dropped off and retrieved my first 2 sheets of 4x5 slides yesterday from a brief shoot on Thursday just to get my feet wet. Given that the shoot was in low light, I didn't have a proper dark cloth (just a black peice of material draped over the camera, I was using a Calumet C1 with a very basic ground glass, I was using a 121mm f/8 lens, I forgot my $10 loupe at home, I was using significant front rise and rear tilt, and the best focus I could obtain was with the front and rear standards touching (the 121 is something of a stretch on the C1), I assumed I'd have some serious focusing problems.
I'm happy to report that my first 2 slides turned out beautifully. Unfortunately, I don't have a proper scanner to share the photos. I guess F/22 on such a lens gives plenty of DOF to account for my unpreparedness. Hopefully, by the time the weather and my free time coincides again, I'll have made some lens boards for my Tachihara, so I can try it out. I look forward to the reduction in weight and fresnel lens. I hope to get some more practice in before my trip to Colorado on Wednesday afternoon.
I must say that people's comments about the wow-factor of a good 4x5 are entirely true. I also look forward to shooting some 8x10's also.
On a somewhat unrelated note, I also have a 4x5 Beseler enlarger and print processor which I look foward to using. That may not happen for some time, as we've just moved and probably won't move into a new home for at least another month, and then who knows how long before I get to set up a makeshift darkroom, let alone a proper one.
Anyway, I greatly look forward to this new chapter in the life of my photography.
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