4x10 questions

[612tom]

I love panoramic formats and have been shooting 6x12s on a Horseman SW612 for years before trading for an Ebony and cropping my 4x5s to the 6x12 format. Next came the thinking about getting a dedicated roll film back, either 6x12 or the 6x17, but I gave it a miss and kept on cropping for a bit. However I prefer to crop in camera and print full frame right to the film edges aka HCB.

So now I've started stitching 2 4x5s together to make a 4x10" (or 4x9ish" with overlap). My Ebony has loads of rear shift, and with a 210mm lens that covers 8x10 I dont move the tripod, just shift the rear standard.

It works with static subjects and lighting. But do a colour 1min dusk exposure for the left frame, shift to the right to finish the panorama, and there is no way the light is going to be the same - stitching is impossible. Likewise, waterfalls, running rivers, and the waves at the coast is a real PITA to stitch together.

So, being a little bit of a purist (arent all LF photographers?!), I'm looking at a dedicated 4x10 set up, and have the following questions I hope you could help me with:

Film Availability: Get on the Ilford ULF run each year and stock up. OR buy 8x10 and slice it myself... no dramas (he says, confidently).

Developing BW: I can tray dev 4x10 without too much fuss. I invested in 4x5 and got a Jobo 2523 tank, there's no way I'll be able roll up a sheet or 2 of 4x10 and wedge them in that tank is there?

Developing Colour 4x10: HOW? I'm in Melbourne, Oz and labs are few and far between. My local lab (Lab X) handles my 4x5s and lists 8x10s on the price list dip and dunk. How would they do a 4x10 if I rocked up to them with a box of chopped up sheets? Would they clip the 10" side to a 8x10 dev frame and dunk away or would they have a problem? How do you guys and girls do it?

I guess this question is a real advocate for investing in an 8x10 set up and doing the split-darkslide thing and exposing 2 per 8x10 sheet. No cutting. No awkward lab film dev issues. But I like the compact size of the 4x5 and the 4x10 isnt that much bigger. 8x10 will be a bit of a leap in terms of bulk and weight and I like to travel light.

I invested quite heavily in the 4x5 format when coming from 120 6x12s. Camera, 2 lenses, quickload back, freezer full of film, film holders, grafmatics, PA45 back and fuji-roids, Jobo tank. Does it seem a bit silly to get rid of all but 1 lens just for a new format? There's no way the Ebony, any future 4x10, and my fiance could co-exist

All these questions before I even get on to discussing which 4x10 would be the right one. Shen Hao, Wisner, Ebony (too$$!), even a nice looking Chamonix out there... Availability of film holders to match the camera (I've been reading up on the differing thicknesses / formats) also needs to be considered...

Making my head hurt...

[Gem Singer]

From my brief experience with a Canham 4x10 camera:

B&W film in 4x10 is available in limited emulsions from a limited number of film manufacturers (requires special order).

No problem tray developing 4x10 B&W, but finding a lab that can develop 4x10 color film could prove to be problematic.

If you want to use a variety of 4x10 color films, you would need to purchase 8x10 sheets and cut them in half in a darkroom (a real PITA).

4x10 film holders are expensive (more than $100).

Wisner 4x10 film holders are not interchangeable with Canham 4x10 holders. I'm not sure about the size of the 4x10 holders that are made in China.

My suggestion, stay with your Ebony and stitching two 4x5's. Or purchase an 8x10 camera and crop.

[Kevin Crisp]

I went with the Canham 4X10 and am very satisfied with it. There is a learning curve on setting it up and taking it down since it just isn't like anything else. You get used to that. I also made a 5X7 back for it since it is very easy to do on this model.

I've cut film down, using a conventional bladed paper cutter. I built up a little ledge I can find in the dark on the surface, made it out of a few layers of tape. Not hard to do. I notch it for orientation on the edge with a hole punch and then load the holders.

Haven't done any color so can't comment.

[eric black]

I shoot 4x10 color quite a bit (Canham camera) and have found that once I got used to a few new manipulations, the rest of shooting the format is quite easy. I cant comment on the B&W but some of what I do for my color workflow is detailed here:

For cutting film, I use a rotary trimmer with a ruler that has been cemented in place- a couple of test cuts with 8x10 rejects is all it takes to get the position of the ruler correct- I find cutting in the darkroom to be quite easy and I use a scissors to cut off a corner where the notch needs to be for identifying the emulsion side of the film.

I develop using a JOBO cpp2 with a 3005 expert drum. If I am doing 5 sheets or less, I give each sheet a slot- if more than the 5 I have plastic custom dividers to insert into the tubes so that a max of 10 sheets can be developed at any time. The dividers have holes to allow the fluids to agitate and pass easily through the drum during processing.

With some patience on ebay, you should be able to get some holders for $70-$80 per- I have Canham holders which I believe are identical to the Chinese ones mentioned???. Nothing you can really do about the lenses- some 4x5 lenses will cover, some wont and you might end up like me relplacing a few 4x5 lenses with ones with larger coverages.

I should mention that my like for this format developed over the years and I went through the split darkslide 8x10 and roll film backs stages prior to making the commitment to this format. Good luck in your decision!

[Kevin Crisp]

There are some fairly economical lenses that cover 4X10 quite easily. The wide angle Wollies, G Clarons, the original Symmar 240mm in the Compur 2 shutters.

[Vaughn]

I use a modified dark slide to get two 4x10 negs on a sheet of 8x10 film. That way I have two formats (8x10 and 4x10) with just the extras weight of half a film holder (more like 60% of one, actually).

Not the "purist's" way to go, but practical for for me. You could even stitch together two 8x10's to make a 8x20 or 10x16.

[Lachlan 717]

Shen Hao makes a 4x10. Have a look at http://www.largeformatphotography.in...p/t-19038.html

Also, I know that Prism in Nth Melb does 4x10 colour processing. They were doing some last week.

[Robert Oliver]

the modified darkslide approach is pretty easy to work with... I've done it with 4x5 holders. I've been thinking about doing it with 8x10.... 4 pictures per holder.

[Robert Oliver]

you'd have to change your profile name!

[Greg Miller]

If you happen to change your mind, color balancing 2 photos in Photoshop is fairly simple using the Channels Palette and curves (because you can balance one image to the other in each of the 3 color channels in gray scale). PM me if you want a quick tutorial.


Also, waterfalls and running rivers are easier to stitch because the moving water and long exposures removes detail and averages everything out.