Should I shoot 120 and then transition to 4x5?

[sanking]

I started with 35mm, then went on to 120, and finally to large format. If I could do it all over again I would start with a 4X5 view camera because the discipline of working with a large piece of film makes you slow down and really think about what you are photographing, and how you are photographing. And get a book on the view camera that will teach you how to control the movements. Once your learn how to photograph you will be able to use that skill in any format, either film or digital.

Sandy King

[Bill_1856]

I honestly don't see why anybody who isn't already involved with traditional film-based photography would want to start now.

[BetterSense]

Now is better than ever! If someone is at all interested in traditional film photography, there has never been a better time to start. Despite the discontinuations, we still have the most advanced film emulsions in history. The beginning photographer has his pick of the very best professional camera equipment for pennies on the dollar compared to what it used to cost. I own a good 4x5 view camera, a 4x5 press camera, and a few of the very best 35mm SLR cameras ever made, and probably spent less than a thousand dollars on the lot. I have professional darkroom equipment that hobbyists of previous decades probably salivated over in catalogs, that has been given to me for free. It's an embarrassment of riches.

[John NYC]

I honestly don't see why anybody who isn't already involved with traditional film-based photography would want to start now.

I started a year and a half ago, and I love it. In fact, I sold all my digital stuff except for the most basic kit for family snaps once I realized that both MF and LF were giving me much better results for what I like to do. For about what a D3x and one expensive Nikon lens would cost, I've put together two amazing MF kits, a 4x5 kit and an 8x10. The quality that I am getting from the 8x10 especially is much, much better than anything digital out there in any reasonable price range. Plus, I've learned more about the craft of photography and the underlying principles than I ever would have if I'd have stayed all digital.

To the OP... MF is great (especially for walk-around shooting), but if your goal is LF and you'd only use it as a stepping stone, I'd skip right to that personally.

[CarstenW]

I shoot 135 film and digital, 645 and 6x6 film, and 4x5 film, and I find myself never reaching for the 35mm film camera. It just doesn't have any image quality compared to either digital or the larger formats, and for all the trouble of developing myself, I want something more at the end. I think it only makes sense to shoot 135 if you want a very specific look, like Tri-X on a small negative.

I would start with MF, either 645 or even better, 6x7, both of which are close to the same aspect ratio as 4x5, and have decent quality. Working with this type of camera for a while will give you many of the skills needed to make the jump to 4x5, while not requiring you to learn everything at once, and even once you make the jump, I would guess that you would still want to pick up MF once in a while. There are some really sweet deals out there on MF equipment, if you pick carefully.

A 4x5 camera can be had quite cheap, as can the film holders, but before you have everything you need for doing your own shooting and development (camera, holders, light meter, dark cloth, lenses, tripod, focusing lupe, change tent, development drum/tank, chemicals with containers and measuring cups, motor base, drying clamps, film, thermometers, etc.), you will have dropped a lot more money than it looked like in the beginning.

I would personally recommend going 6x7, perhaps a nice Pentax 67 (not 6x7, not 67II), the 105/2.5, perhaps a 55 and a 200, and the development stuff, and you can get a good feel for how it is to compose slower, work with a tripod, and develop. 645 is nice, but isn't such a big jump over 135, IMO, and I say that as a Contax 645 owner. Great camera, but a bigger negative and viewfinder would be great.

[Vascilli]

I started a year and a half ago, and I love it. In fact, I sold all my digital stuff except for the most basic kit for family snaps once I realized that both MF and LF were giving me much better results for what I like to do. For about what a D3x and one expensive Nikon lens would cost, I've put together two amazing MF kits, a 4x5 kit and an 8x10. The quality that I am getting from the 8x10 especially is much, much better than anything digital out there in any reasonable price range. Plus, I've learned more about the craft of photography and the underlying principles than I ever would have if I'd have stayed all digital.

To the OP... MF is great (especially for walk-around shooting), but if your goal is LF and you'd only use it as a stepping stone, I'd skip right to that personally.

My goal is also to build up a portfolio using various formats, from digital 35mm to 120 to large format to (hopefully) wet plate and various others.

I think I'll stay the course and get a 645/80mm f/1.9 and see how that treats me.

[Ken Lee]

Why would anyone want to play a Violin, when today we have the Electric Guitar ?

Why would anyone want to ride a Horse, when today we have the Automobile ?

Why would anyone want to paint with pigments, when today we have Computers ?

Besides, it's not an either/or question.

[B.S.Kumar]

Why not get a 4x5 and a 120 roll film holder? The discipline of the 4x5, the economy of rollfilm?

Kumar

[Jim Jones]

The format is best determined by the type of images the photographer intends to make. For scenics and certain technical subjects, large format is ideal. It was even used (in desperation) for sports before 35mm equipment became practical. 35mm is ideal when travelling or where many shots are needed. Medium format is a compromise: I rarely find it preferable to 35mm or LF. LF negatives can yield better prints than smaller formats when scanned. Digital photography bypasses the developing and scanning, although LF has advantages in economy (if one shops carefully) and image quality.

[Peter York]

If I could do it all over again I would start with a 4X5 view camera

Agreed. LF has affected my work with smaller formats, and photography in general, much more than the reverse, even though I have worked with it the least and most recent.