I'm getting close...

[h2oman]

...to making the purchase of my first LF setup. My photographic passion is color landscapes (may try B&W in the future), with some hiking for shots. I'll get a wooden 4x5 field camera with 135 or 150mm lens to begin with.

So what? Well, here's where you come in. I want to make sure I have enough stuff to enjoy what I'm doing and be prepared in the event that a good image presents itself and I manage to do everything close to right! I'll have the appropriate lensboard and cable release, and I plan on making my own dark cloth. I'll get a loupe, perhaps referring to a recent discussion here for ideas on that. Now the real questions:

I plan on loading my own film, rather than using quickloads. Is that a bad idea for a newbie? I'm a bit mystified about how that works, even after reading the blurb on the LF site. I'll post more questions once I receive film that will hopefully have directions with it. (I'll snoop around a bit more online on this as well.) If I just get a few film holders, can I load some film and somehow reseal the package or put it in a light tight box, or something like that, until I am ready to use more?

And how does one get exposed film out of the holder and to the processor?

Light meter. I'm thinking I'll just use my DSLR and stick with very even lighting conditions at first. Is this idea too crazy? Let me know what you think.

I want to get one or two filters to begin, and be set up properly for more in the future. The filters I'll eventually want are

warming filters
polarizers/warming polarizers
split neutral density

I understand that I'll want to get some sort of step-up ring that adapts any future lenses to the same size filters. Any recommended size for filters? I will probably also get some Lee split NDs eventually, and something I saw online indicated that perhaps the holder for them attaches to the outside of the lens ring? What if I were using a polarizer and split ND at the same time, how does that work?

I've got a pretty solid tripod.

Anything I'm missing? Any help is vastly appreciated. I've been reading as much as I can, but it is hard without having any sort of live resource.

[Darren Kruger]

If I just get a few film holders, can I load some film and somehow reseal the package or put it in a light tight box, or something like that, until I am ready to use more?

And how does one get exposed film out of the holder and to the processor?

film boxes are three halves in one, to keep the light out. Once you open the package you can close the box again and it should be light tight. Use a second box to store exposed film until you are ready to process it or take it to a lab.

You will need to load and unload the film holders in complete darkness.

I understand that I'll want to get some sort of step-up ring that adapts any future lenses to the same size filters. Any recommended size for filters? I will probably also get some Lee split NDs eventually, and something I saw online indicated that perhaps the holder for them attaches to the outside of the lens ring?

You might want to just look at the Lee filters (or similar) to start and just hold them in front of the lens. I'm not sure how useful split neutral density filters in a ring are as you can't change the horizon line from the center.

The Lee filter holders are a two part system. One part holds the filter(s) and another screws on to the lens like a big step up ring. You can get multiple lens adapters and just use the one filter holder.

-Darren

[Matt Blaze]

Well, you can certainly use the built-in light meter from another camera if you can live with the extra bulk and weight as long as you understand the limitations of doing so. Remember that camera meters measure reflected light, and so assume the subject its pointed at is to be rendered as a mid-grey tone.

Also, some cameras have a fancy "matrix" mode that calculates exposure from multiple points on the frame in using heuristics that may not give you the results you'd actually expect. If your camera has a spot meter mode, you will get more predictable results with that.

Many photographers prefer incident light meters (which are held in front of the subject toward the camera) that measure the light falling on the subject. This requires that you be able to measure at your subject, which may not always be practical when shooting a landscape. Still, a cheap incident meter is a really, really good investment, and frees you from having to carry two cameras (or guess exposure).

The other thing you'll probably want is a polaroid back and lots and lots of polaroid film, especially as you're learning. Being able to see your mistakes immediately is a big help.

I use Lee 4inch filters (plus the Lee hood) They make a rotating holder that lets you use a square polarizer reasonably easily, and can stack 2 or three filters along with the hood. These filters are not cheap (especially the ND grads and the polarizer), but the system works well and at least you don't have to have different filters for every size lens. The Lee ND grads are especially nice, since you can slide them and reoriented them to wherever you want the transition to occur.

[h2oman]

I can see from reading my post about filters that my question is not clear.

On my DSLR I use either a circular polarizer that screws onto my lens, then rotates, or a split ND that is reactangular and slides into a holder that screws into my lens. I never use a polarizer together with a ND because I don't know how! The holder for the ND is a Cokin style, or something like that, and I can rotate the filters and slide them in the holder as well, to align the gradation at any angle and move it up/down (or other if rotated.)

I'm just wondering what sort of arrangement I'll need for LF.

[Justin Cormack]

loading film just takes practise - waste a sheet and keept practising with your eyes shut

Filters are no different from small formats (except the filter sizes may be bigger).

Your tripod is ok, but is the head?

[Matt Blaze]

I can see from reading my post about filters that my question is not clear.

On my DSLR I use either a circular polarizer that screws onto my lens, then rotates, or a split ND that is reactangular and slides into a holder that screws into my lens. I never use a polarizer together with a ND because I don't know how! The holder for the ND is a Cokin style, or something like that, and I can rotate the filters and slide them in the holder as well, to align the gradation at any angle and move it up/down (or other if rotated.)

I'm just wondering what sort of arrangement I'll need for LF.

Lee makes an adapter that lets put two filter holders together and rotate one with respect to the other (and either with respect to the lens. So you can use an ND grad and a polarizer in whatever orientation you want, rotated independently.

[Doug Dolde]

Get the Lee foundation kit for holding your grads. They have a 105mm ring that mounts on the front to take the Lee 105mm polarizer. I'd recommend SIng Ray grads though. A hard edge 3 stop is a good one to start with.

I'd also forget about the warming polarizer and warming filters if you are going to scan the transparencies. You can do this in Photoshop with more control.

Get a spot meter. They are cheap.

[Brian Ellis]

Instructions that come with the film aren't going to help you with loading the film. I think Paul Butzi's web site has illustrated instructions, probably other places do as well. The best thing to do is to sacrifice a sheet and practice loading it in daylight. Loading in the dark may seem cumbersome at first but it gets very easy very quickly. It's almost a zen kind of thing, if I don't think about it much the film just kind of finds its own way into the holder but if I start thinking about what I'm doing it gets more difficult.

Personally I'd use the Sunny 16 method rather than carrying a digital camera around with me, at least if you're using negative film. But a digital camera should work o.k. with negative film. Slide film is less forgiving and if you're using it then I think you should buy and learn to use a spot meter.

[Blueberrydesk]

Ironically, I'm heading down past Klamath Falls on Sat. Morning, and have been thinking of selling my 4x5 Osaka (basically like a Tachihara) field camera. I could meet you somewhere and hand it to you, and at the same time give you some pointers. I'd do the camera, lensboard with a Rodenstock 150mm Sironar-N in a copal-0 in great shape, and 5 loaded film holders with FP4+ for $700.

I apologize if this isn't the right place to post this; but the co-incidence of my leaving Portland tomorrow and driving back down to Sacramento is just too odd to pass up.

I can't help you with a light meter, but I'll throw in a cable release and loupe, as well as a really old and stinky towel as a dark cloth.

I can take Paypal as payment, or meet you at your bank's parking lot if you want to do this. Otherwise, I apologize again for jumping into your thread here. I'm moving up to 8x10 and trying to raise funds for a Canham.

Paul

[Frank Petronio]

Paul is legit, I'll vouch for him

At least as far as cameras go! :-)

That is a fair deal too.

Don't worry about filters and other distractions until later. Keep it simple. More good shots have been made without freaking filters than with...

Just get five holders so you can use a ten-sheet box. Buy at least two ten-sheet boxes of film. Load your holders. You now have an empty box to offload your exposed film into. Soon enough you will be tossing film boxes away because you'll have so many.

Paul camera is very lightweight so it will probably be fine unless you have a really crappy tripod.