Roll film on a 4x5 - experience to share?

[Simon_443]

I frequently and happily use the Horseman 6x12 rollfilm back on a couple of different 4x5's, especially for emulsions not available in sheet film (e.g., Reala) and for particularly vertical or repetitious subjects (like stained glass windows; I hate to bracket 4x5 when there are 20 or 30 tall thin windows in a church!).

The Horseman is exactly 2:1 (112x56mm) so it produces negs that are about .33" shorter than the Linhof 12x6 negatives (which are 120x56), but in 4+ inches per frame that 1/3" is not a big deal to me and nobody has complained yet about the graininess of my 6x12 enlargements.

6x12 backs tend to cost a lot more than 6x9 and 6x7 (say, twice as much) but I figured that there are many times the additional area would come in handy. Best price I've seen lately on the Horseman 6x12 is from www.keh.com: $695 (B&H lists it for $770).

[Larry Huppert]

I've had good luck with Horseman 6x7 and 6x9 backs. Sometimes it would be nice to have a 6x12. Once purchased a "mint" Wista 6x7 and sent it back to the dealer. It had bad frame spacing problems. Wista makes two versions - one with a plain back, and one with something that looks like a skid plate. I believe the skid plate version is really geared towards those with Wista cameras.

I'm not a big fan of using roll film backs with LF wide angle lenses. To get a wide angle view (75mm - 120mm in 4x5) with a roll film back, you have to use lenses in the 45mm - 65mm range. Lenses this wide are not particularly easy to use, especially if your shooting interiors or in low light situations.

[Steve_571]

Kevin...

I am a user of the metal Canham, and frequently use my Horseman 6x12 back. The markings on the Canham GG apear to be accurate and since it is a Graflok back, it is relatively easy to remove the GG (press the clips forward / simultansusly slide the back to righ), and attach the 6x12 back (2 clips that slide inward). I have not used the smaller sizes (6x9 or 6x7) because I see little value... for those format dimensions on a 4x5, I'd rather have the bigger 4x5 format and at worst crop a little bit.

The 6x12 on the other hand is a pseudo panoramic (1:2 ratio), and although you could crop the 4x5 to match (lose 2 inches), I have found that I see a lot of images in this 'longish' ratio, and I can reduce my load by a few holders, sub in the Horseman and some rolls. This works for me, but you may see images differently.

I think your consideration should be based on how you compose your images, and the obvious attempt to get as large a negative as possible.

Happy Shooting! Steve

[M.]

The actual apertures of the Graflex "22", "23" and "RH10" are 56x56mm, 56x82mm, and 56x67mm. The actual RH10 negative size with a 105mm lens is 58x69mm. Does anyone know the largest aperture on a back which will fit a 23 Crown Graphic?

[Bob Eskridge]

Horseman 6X9 and 6X7 backs are available for 2 1/4 X 3 1/4 cameras with a Graflok back. (The older chrome/gray Horseman backs only fit Horseman cameras due to an extra light-baffle ridge around the film opening.)

Horseman 6X9 backs are 56X82 but the Graflex backs are only about 78mm long in the long dimension.

[Wayne Crider]

I made a 6x7 film mask for my Super Graphic using yellow acetate from the local art supply store. When using it and my RH10 back for the first time with my 135mm lens, I noticed how much more I liked the full 4x5 image. The back tho did give me a nice telephoto look for less than a normal lens, and film savings is substantial if you don't do you own darkroom. The downside is the hassle to take the GG off and put it in your bag and replace it with the holder. I'm going to experiment and see if I can use just the sports finder on the camera to line up the shot. Then I can leave the holder on.

[Dave_958]

Here is my two cents: (1) A 210 mm focal length lens coupled with a 6 x 7 or 6 x 9 cm rollfilm holder produces an image close to that attained by a 300 mm focal length lens used with the 4 x 5 format. Instead of carrying two lenses, you bear the weight of only one lens. The roll film holder sits in the same camera bag pouch as the extra lens plus lensboard would have. I prefer the 210 mm focal length lens-rollfilm combination for portraits and 1:1 closeups. These lenses generally are cheaper and more compact than 300 mm lenses. (2) A compact 135 mm lens used with a rollfilm holder can serve as the equivalent of a 165-180 mm lens on a 4 x 5 format, providing highly desirable depth of field unattainable with the lon

[bmgmusic]

A follow-up to my previous response. Wista holder does have spacing problem: not even, 1st & 2nd frame overlaped a little on mine. otherwise just fine.