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Thread: Any way to speed up LF shots? (Family patience question)

  1. #21

    Any way to speed up LF shots? (Family patience question)

    Hi Chris,

    I am approaching this question from perhaps a different perspective that most. I can closely relate to your situation because mine is almost a mirror image of your problem. I also am relatively new to LF, use a view camera and have a family that is impatient during my "photo moments". This came very acutely to a head when we were vacationing in Jasper National Park and at each stop I made I was very enthusiastically encouraged to ?push the button? and get back in the truck. After that trip I did a solo day out and discovered that I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience of carefully selecting and setting up for a shot. I also noticed how this helped to slow me down and make the whole process considerably more enjoyable and thought provoking.

    Now in my case, I want to slow my hectic life down and this is the hobby I have elected to use to do that. Since that time I have discovered that I am slowly improving in my technique and am deriving an immense amount of satisfaction from shooting in LF and experiencing the results. I also came to the realization that I want to think about exposure and composition while I?m taking the shot and not later in my darkroom as an afterthought. So I guess I believe you should ask yourself ?Do I just want a great negative ASAP or do I want the total LF experience?

  2. #22

    Any way to speed up LF shots? (Family patience question)

    Thanks to everyone for all the great insight. It's so helpful to hear others' experiences and thought processes!

    To clarify my objective a little, and specifically to Grey Wolf who said "Do I just want a great negative ASAP or do I want the total LF experience?, the answer is that I want as much of both as I can get. I too love the experience of slowing down and taking my time, but there are the inevitable times (and very important times in ways other than photographically, i.e. family) where I simply can't have this because of the burden it places on others. So rather than just accept saving my photographic energies for times when I have the luxury of time, I want to figure a compromise that keeps me involved photographically without excessively inconveniencing my family. What I'm trying to figure is whether this means adding a MF camera, or sticking to LF even in those scenarios (whether this means additional practice, different equipment or whatever). If I can find a solution that would enable me to utilize at least some of my existing LF equipment (particularly lens) all the better, but I mostly just want to get it right.

    I squeezed in a little look at Speed Graphics and Crown Graphics today. Do you have to use dedicated lenses with these? Is there a clear advantage to the focal plane shutter with the Speed Graphics?

    Thanks again for all the thoughts.

  3. #23

    Join Date
    Sep 1999
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    449

    Any way to speed up LF shots? (Family patience question)

    You can use almost any lens from 75mm wide angle to 15" telephoto on the Graphic cameras, There is little need for the Speed's focal plane shutter, as nearly all lenses have their own shutters. WWW.graflex.org is a great resource, and feel free to email me directly if I can help. Mitch

  4. #24

    Join Date
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    Calgary
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    Any way to speed up LF shots? (Family patience question)

    I lost several years of family shots because I got too "serious" about photography, only LF would do. I realized it suddenly when my kids were graduating from high school, leaving home etc.

    Set times aside for both serious and fun photography- you decide on your priorities. If you feel rushed or irritated or guilty you may still get a shot but will it satisfy you?

    Don't forget your darkroom time spent away from your family unless you get them involved a bit.

    I'd get up for some early morning shooting in solitude when the gang is still in bed- or at the end of the day. In my experience you can't combine LF shooting and be with your kids at the same time.

    As far as speed is concerned-setting up should be a matter of 1-2 minutes; you can practice this every day. It takes time to decide on the right spot for your tripod, to wait for the right light, taking exposure readings, refocusing with a different lens etc.

  5. #25

    Any way to speed up LF shots? (Family patience question)

    In regards to the focal plane shutter... DON'T underestimate it!

    The F-P shutter on my old graphic is probably as accurate as many shutters of the same vintage, and it has provisions for faster shutter speeds. It works very well.

    I have a collection of Wollensak process lenses, purchased on Ebay for as little as $6.00, that are tack sharp and give excellent results with the F-P shutter.

    I'm not recommending total reliance on the F-P shutter (I love my 150mm Copal mounted Schneider), but it allows me to use an assortment of lenses that I could not afford in shutters. -Dave

  6. #26
    Whatever David A. Goldfarb's Avatar
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    Any way to speed up LF shots? (Family patience question)

    On that note there is also an advantage to having one set of consistent shutter speeds for every lens.

  7. #27

    Any way to speed up LF shots? (Family patience question)

    In reply to Chris Werners second post : "I want to figure a compromise that keeps me involved photographically without excessively inconveniencing my family. What I'm trying to figure is whether this means adding a MF camera..." Given the family is along, I think that using MF for at least some of those times is the right answer. There are many quite portable MF systems which can be shot hand held and on small tripods. You can then do everything from quick snap-shots to carefully composed and metered photographs. Also, the quality difference between MF and 35 for prints below 16x20 is much larger than the MF->4x5 differences. I went to LF for the quality, but MF can actually cut it for many situations. What I don't like about MF is the loss of perspective control and worse DOF problems. But you can never have it all!

  8. #28

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    Mar 1999
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    Any way to speed up LF shots? (Family patience question)

    Chris - I'm in a similar boat and I'm currently looking real hard at the Koni-Omega Rapid (6x7 rangefinder). Rugged, handholdable system, and (according to several reviews) it has very good optics. And a big bonus is that the price is quite reasonable. Large format is still where my photographic heart is, but like you I'm no longer happy with 35mm for anything other than family snaps and I think the K-O might be good for portraits and those nice scenes it seems you only find when the whole family is packed into the mini-van.

    Cheers!

  9. #29

    Join Date
    Nov 1998
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    339

    Any way to speed up LF shots? (Family patience question)

    > Koni-Omega

    Beware the backs; it's pretty common to have bent pins caused by slamming the winding lever in and out, plus the usual assorted problems. It can be rather dif ficult getting them repaired.

    Hexanons are regarded as good lenses, much preferred to the Omega lenses.

  10. #30

    Join Date
    Jul 1999
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    84

    Any way to speed up LF shots? (Family patience question)

    With my somewhat limited experience using an ARCA 6x9 monorail camera, I'd be very surprised if a field camera would speed things up. For once, you can always leave the lens on, no need to remove it to close the camera. Consider taking only a single lens into the field! This may appear limiting, but may actually enhance your creativity! To me, the main difference (in terms of time spent) is the tripod. Finding the right perspective takes much more time compared to hand-held photography. Putting a medium format camera onto a tripod would not save that much much time in my experience.

    I found LF a bit too slow for my shooting style and after trying it for a couple of months, went back to my "trusted Hassie" quick release mounted onto a Slik Monopod. This currently is my ideal compromise for the kind of pictures I like to take.

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