What is Large Format??

[BradS]

Those people are saying it is *like* large format photography.

Yes, and eating fish that you bought in a super market is *like* eating fish that you caught yourself earlier that morning....

shot gunning a scene with a miniture format camera and having a computer program stitch the multiple, overlapping imgages together, whatever the result, is to my sensibilities fundamentally different from largeformat photogrphy. It is neat and can produce stunning images but, it is absolutely, certainly not what I think of when I think of large format photography.

[Marko]

Large Format in the sense that we have been using it on this board should mean any image taken with a view camera and using an image area common to these cameras, regardless of the capture medium and the number or duration of exposures needed for it.

A roll film back on a view camera would still produce a LF negative, provided it is 6x12 or larger. 6x7 or 6x9 roll film holders on a view camera are obviously borderline cases, although some still consider them LF, sort of, because of the movements. Anything 4x5 or larger is by default considered LF.

Attaching an adapter to the view camera that allows a MF digital back to capture either a single frame or a stitching series, under the same constrains, should therefore still technically be considered LF. Taking this thought further, why not apply the same logic to any capture medium that can be attached to the view camera back and that could produce the capture of the appropriate area?

Conversely, simply producing a stitched image using a regular small format (or MF) camera by itself (i.e. not attached to a view camera) would definitely NOT be LF, regardless of the medium. It would still be a small format (MF) image, only resulting from a BIG file.

I hope this makes sense.

[Eric James]

I think that someone was me, and no I in no way claim it to be a large format shot even though the file is 297mb at 360ppi.I'm sorry you were dissapointed with it Oh well at least Grandma likes it

I love this: "...I in no way claim it to be a large format shot..."

I suppose it doen't matter what it is - grandma like it!


Has anyone ever looked at a good Tango scan of their 11X14 negative or transperancy at max. res.? How big are those 16 bit files?


Marko, I understand partly why you believe 6X12 on a view camera constitutes LF. I can't say that I disagree with you - but the 6cm dimension bothers me.

[Brian Ellis]

I totally agree. Large format has always been "FILM" 5x4 and above..

That's an interesting notion. William Henry Jackson and many others of his era would certainly be surprised to learn that their 8x10, 11x14, and 16x20 cameras weren't large format cameras because they used wet plates rather than film. And if I put a digital back on my 4x5 camera then it's no longer large format? What if I make paper negatives with my 8x10 camera, wouldn't it be o.k. for me to call 8x10 LF even though I'm not using film?

[tim atherton]

I think of large format photography as 4X5 or larger. The Ebony 6X9 system, the Fuji 680 III system and the Horseman backs are on the other side of the line. I’m not sure where I think 6X17 belongs.

6x9 (and other similar formats) when using a view type camera with movements have always had a place on this forum. In the original version they even had their own section

There's also never been a problem dicussing the likes of current panning-lens cameras every now and then - which have pretty large area of film - and can even have shifts....

[tim atherton]

Are you serious? or are you baiting us?

why? is it that easy...

[tim atherton]

That's an interesting notion. William Henry Jackson and many others of his era would certainly be surprised to learn that their 8x10, 11x14, and 16x20 cameras weren't large format cameras because they used wet plates rather than film. And if I put a digital back on my 4x5 camera then it's no longer large format? What if I make paper negatives with my 8x10 camera, wouldn't it be o.k. for me to call 8x10 LF even though I'm not using film?

Just so long as you realise daguerreotypes aren't Large Format...

[Ole Tjugen]

Has anyone ever looked at a good Tango scan of their 11X14 negative or transperancy at max. res.? How big are those 16 bit files?

No, but I've looked at a good Imacon scan of a 5x7" transparency. The 8 bit file is 350 Mb.

Marko, I understand partly why you believe 6X12 on a view camera constitutes LF. I can't say that I disagree with you - but the 6cm dimension bothers me.

My own "borderline example" is the little old plate cameras. The 9x12cm Bergheil I would count as LF, even if it has limited movements (front rise and shift only). By analogy the 6.5x9cm Bergheil must also be LF.
But now I've got hold of a 4.5x6cm plate camera with the same movements - and there's no way I'd call that "Large" Format!

[tim atherton]

seriously though - as technology continues to change, there will always be some on this list who will experiment with it, especially in terms of seeing how it compares to existing technique (stitching, for example, while clunky, also removes some of the limitations traditional technology imposes - for some, that's an advantage)

As far as I know, this isn't a APUG, nor is it the Large Format Preservation Society. I'm not sure what the point is of getting all Amish about it?

I think there's plenty of room for it

[Saulius]

Those people are saying it is *like* large format photography.

What exactly is disappointing in someone posting a stitched image ?

An image may attain a large file size by stitching numerous images together, and although size does matter (more to some than others ) it by itself does not make it large format. I think it's appropriate to talk about stitched large format negatives and post such images on this forum, but posting stitched non lf negatives and discussing it I don't really think belongs on a large format photography forum in my humble opinion.

Tuan, from your own home page:
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/why.html

What is a Large format camera ?
That's grand-dad's bellows box-like camera, where you had to disappear under a dark cloth. The principle remains the same, however nowadays they have evolved into precise and sophisticated instruments.
With a few notable exceptions, these cameras share the following characteristics:

Large image size: 4x5 inches (10x12cm), the most popular format by far, up to 20x24 inches (the Polaroid camera, which can be rented on-site for a reasonable fee). The film comes in separate sheets rather than rolls, but see below.
Flexible bellows connecting the front and back: they allow the use of a range of focal lengths (with different lenses. there are no zooms in such formats) and focussing distances, as well as providing for lateral adjustments and angular adjustments between film plane and lens plane.
Ground glass viewing: makes it possible to assess the image with great accuracy once you get used to the dimness and inversion.
Interchangeable lenses: you are not limited to a particular mount.
By contrast, Medium format cameras use roll-film which is 6cm wide so that the format available on those cameras are (all in cm) 4.5x6, 6x6, 6x7,6x9,6x12,6x17. Therefore they produce image whose size is less than that produced by large format cameras (hence the name). The vast majority of medium format cameras operate a bit like 35mm cameras ("small format") and in particular don't have features 2,3,4. However, a few medium format cameras share these features, and are also considered on this web site, since they actually operate like large format cameras. On the other hand, with almost all the large format cameras it is possible to use roll-film holders of various sizes and to therefore produce medium-format images.
What are the main benefits of the large format camera ?
Larger image size. Results are sharper, have a better tonality, and are grain-free. A 4x5 has 13 times the area of a 35mm frame. A 5x7 has 25 times that area. Contact printing gives an image whose delicacy cannot be matched by any enlargment, and allow a number of "alternative" processes.
Camera movements. You have more control on the final geometry of the photographed objects and of the perspective as well as on the areas of sharpness.
Individual sheets of film. You can use as many types of film as you like easily, easily, including Polaroid, and process each sheet of film individually for optimum results. The latter point makes it possible to use Ansel Adams Zone System for black and white film.
Contemplative approach. You take your time for each image This is the flip-side of the drawbacks: you spend so much time on a single exposure, and invest so much effort in it that you're compelled to think it through carefully and do it right.