8x10" in my mind..help needed...

[scavenger73]

First of all I want to thank anticipatly all who will have the patience and the will to read and answer to my actually disturbed state of mind....I will try to explain what i am talking about...as i said in some previous post I am a happy owner of a Shen-hao hzx 45 II; I feel very happy with it and I think it offers me all can be requested from a 4x5 without any complaint. I use to process at home my film sheet and to print them in my darkroom as well...since a couple of months my mind focused on the Shen Hao Fcl 810 A II ...the bigger sister and it's the only one i think i could afford new, imported from USA. I have to admit i have lots of doubt about it (who wouldn't a $6.000 ebony in his hands??) that, apart from the price, concern the real advantage (or disavantage) of holding a 8x10 format. I am considering that I am used to projcet and prints all my negs to 11x16 and i have to admit that using 8x10 i will have to print just contact prints since i cannot own an 8x10 enlarger. What's the point? I want simply to hear from you experts and more navigate in LF what do you think about buying a 8x10 camera... i think to have considered yet pros and cons so i know that the choice comes from the heart and not from the mind or from the wallet...neverthless....i really need help.

[Jim Noel]

If possible rent or borrow one for a week.
Some people make an easy transition from 4x5 to 8x10, but many have great difficulty with the larger format.
If you do decide to purchase one, why new? I have been i large format photography for more than 60 years and I have never bought a new LF camera. There must be some reliable sources of used equipment in Italy, or at least in Europe.
Good luck!

[AJ Edmondson]

8x10 is obviously a great format and the image on the ground-glass is mesmerizing to say the least. I used only 8x10 for many years and still love the format - but - having said that, I now use only 4x5. The main reason is because I very rarely print anything larger than 11x14 and, unlike many others, I just don't enjoy contact printing - despite the beauty of the resultant images. If I were limited to contact printing I wouldn't shoot 8x10. In my own experience I cannot see any difference in 11x14 prints made from 4x5 and 8x10 negatives and I made side-by-side comparisons (matching angle-of-view, film, developer... shot at virtually the same time).
Bear in mind that there wasn't anything "scientific" about the comparison... just an attempt to satisfy my own curiosity... and the result was the switch to 4x5.
The ground-glass image of the 4x5 is not as "magical" nor as detailed (to the unaided eye) but the economy of 4x5 (compared to 8x10) suits me fine!

[scavenger73]

@Jim: I sincerely considered that...but i have to say i didnt find any good source of used large format cameras here in Europe...it could be strange to hear but large format here in Europe is less diffused than in USA...i will try to find out more informations for sure...why new? New cameras have such a special flavour to me..that's all...

@AJ: maybe you have centered the point; It sounds like i am living as a sufferance the limiting of contact printing...i sincerely dont'know why, don't know if it's just the size...(what else could it be) or whatever, but i aqm sure that i must understand it so well before to make the step.

I am not discouraged by the idea of using larger format...i know it's more difficult, more expansive and that it requires more attitude and patience and that, at least, the only reason why you do it, nowadays, is cause you want to do it....heavy shoulders are needed too maybe...but just thinking to use an 8x10 in the field makes me go crazy...I know you can fully understand what i mean.....

[bvstaples]

I started in LF with an 8x10, and while I still shoot it occasionally, I predominantly use my 4x5s. They're easier to transport, less expensive (film-wise), and my processing set up allows me to process either one 8x10 or four 4x5s at a time. And, as AJ said, by the time I either scan/process/print, or print traditionally, I cannot see enough of a measurable difference between my 4x5s and my 8x10s to warrant shooting the 8x10s exclusively.

Brian

[Steve Hamley]

Why not start with a Kodak 2D or a nice Korona for $250-450 USD and then sell it for what you have in it if you don't like it. Trying 8x10 doesn't have to cost a lot. Just be sure the bellows is good and the camera isn't worn out. There are some nice deals out there, but you may have to be patient.

If you can't do an 8x10 enlarger, then the larger formats make sense. That is of course, the main reason there were 11x14, 16x20 12x20 formats and so on, the formats predated the enlarger.

Looking for a rational, and technical reason to shoot 8x10 and ULF is somewhat self-defeating. You can create art with any camera, but I enjoy using a view camera, and suspect that you do too!

Cheers, Steve

[scavenger73]

I know there's not a rational....there's the same thing where you choose to jump from 6x6 or such to the 4x5....as i said i think it's just feelings...for my expectations i will be able to develop one 8x10 at time in trays in my darkroom so it could be an easy way to complicate my life...

@Steve: i dont like buy and resell cause doing a such thing here in italy with this kind of camras would mean to add a skeleton in your closet....the camrea simply would stay there with no one buying it...ULF...i've consideret them too....but i havent found anything nice yet...11x14 would be a dream for me...but that, yes, would be very hard to manage...

[Lachlan 717]

Stick to 4x5 and buy some new/better glass with the money you would otherwise spend on a new 8x10.

[Daniel_Buck]

8x10 is obviously a great format and the image on the ground-glass is mesmerizing to say the least.

Indeed. This is what I like about 8x10, the shooting process and looking at the big glass! But as far as everything else, I like 4x5 better. The weight, processing the film, and so on. 8x10 is more enjoyable when shooting, but 4x5 (for me at least) is more practical. So at times when practicality is not really needed, I'll bring my 8x10 instead (or in additionto) the 4x5.

[scavenger73]

Stick to 4x5 and buy some new/better glass with the money you would otherwise spend on a new 8x10.

This could be a good idea...8x10 would mean to buy new lenses too