My cheap solution to 4x10

[Craig Roberts]

In a word CROP. Shot the picture and crop it. Craig

[Turner Reich]

I put the 4x10 in the center of an 8x10 holder, taped, I have a lot of 8x10 holders so it's not a problem.

[Nick_3536]

Isn't this the same basic idea Toho [Toyo?] did with their reducing holders?

[Colin Graham]

What a great idea, nice job Eric.

[eric black]

Really neat idea! It looks fantastic. Any film plane/sharpness issues?

Ive been thinking about doing the same thing on my 12x20. 6x20 seems like an interesting format to me.
I can probably make a single shot holder for 6x20 and cut down some of the old tri x 12x20 i have.
Or a paper negative developed using a reversal bath....now im really interested...

No issues found in the film plane thus far- and yes, I do believe this is similar to the Toyo reducing back, but far less expensive and much more readily available. I may try some of the ideas using the window cut into a darkslide- my only concern is remembering which half of the film is already exposed ( the downfall of being slightly absent minded) and having enough movement left on the standard after centering the sweet spot to get a back tilt in. The big advantage I see to that approach is that I develop my film myself and currrently with the 4x10 cut film I am only able to use 1 well per sheet with a Jobo and a 3005 drum- two prints on one sheet would cut down on my developing time and resources. As for shooting and cropping later- this is what I have been doing in the past- if I were wealthier Id probably keep doing just that

[Daniel_Buck]

I have tried the half dark slide method also and it is very poor, not only you are using the wrong area of the sweet spot of the lens but also ,and very frequently, the slide moves and you get cut off, fog because of the edge poor seal and other problems.

hm... I've had absolutely no problems with a cut darkslide Maybe I'm just lucky (I so use rise/fall to get the lens more centered though)

[Vaughn]

Great work-around, Eric!

I use the modified 8x10 darkslide technique for B&W work...it has its advantages and disadvantages. At first, I did come home with a blank half and/or a double-exposed half! I try to make a point of exposing both 4x10's while out -- usually with the same image...sometimes with the same exposure to have a back-up neg.

Centering the lens on the film and using movements is no trouble with my Zone VI (except with the Wollie 159mm). Precisely determining the framing of the negative in the inner portion of the 4x10 negs can be difficult. If one wants to give the two images different development, one must cut the negs in the dark before developing. Not too bad if one has a good reason to...can't say that I have done it.

One is tossing in two extra steps into the process of taking a photograph (I have only left out that important "put the full darkslide back in" step once...it was enough!). But what I like is having the option of going both 8x10 and 4x10 and all I have to carry extra is a modified darkslide to make it possible. I made my modified darkslide using a metal slide -- after damaging a regular type in the field.

Vaughn

[Brian Vuillemenot]

I may try some of the ideas using the window cut into a darkslide- my only concern is remembering which half of the film is already exposed ( the downfall of being slightly absent minded) and having enough movement left on the standard after centering the sweet spot to get a back tilt in. The big advantage I see to that approach is that I develop my film myself and currrently with the 4x10 cut film I am only able to use 1 well per sheet with a Jobo and a 3005 drum- two prints on one sheet would cut down on my developing time and resources. As for shooting and cropping later- this is what I have been doing in the past- if I were wealthier Id probably keep doing just that

Eric, to remember which half of the 8X10 sheet has been exposed, just put a little sticker (I use little round colored circle stickers available at many stores) on the film holder just above the half of the film that has been exposed. Also, when cutting the darkslide, cut out slightly less than half of it (to leave an unexposed border between the two shots) and cut in the shape of an "L" (to prevent light from getting in).

[David A. Goldfarb]

I have tried the half dark slide method also and it is very poor, not only you are using the wrong area of the sweet spot of the lens but also ,and very frequently, the slide moves and you get cut off, fog because of the edge poor seal and other problems.

It sounds like you just cut a darkslide in half. The half-darkslide mask should be L-shaped, leaving the darkslide handle and about an 2-3 cm of darkslide along the handle intact (it should extend as far as possible without cutting off the image), so that the darkslide stays in position and completely closes the light trap. I've used this sort of mask without any problems.

As for whether the lens can be centered over the frame, that will depend of course on the capabilities of the camera.

[argos33]

Eric, that is a great solution to your problem. At least you know your getting the frame centered, and you really can't argue with the price. I am going to try a modified darkslide (as some of the others suggested) if I have enough movements, otherwise I will do something similar I think.

As for just cropping away half the image, anyone shooting 8x10 color will sadly shake their head at that thought.

Evan