Shooting tips of Large Format

[Professional]

Hi again,
I am gonna get a new large format rather than my Speed Graphic Pacemaker and Crown Graphic, it is Shen Hao, but i have some quick questions:

1. What lens is supposed to be wide on large format? the camera i will order will come with 150mm, is this normal standard and what it is equivalent to 35mm or MF?

2. Is that Shen Hao has models where i can change the orientation of photo [Landscape/Portraits]?

3. If i buy any of those roll backs [6x9, 6x12,....] is that mean it turns to a medium format camera and using rolls?

4. What is the meaning of Fresnel?

5. The most important question here i ask is, how to load and unload the sheets in holder for shooting? and after unloading safely how i can store it until i send it to the lab and then how can the lab receive it for developing/processing? I have a changing bag[tent] if that can help.

6. from my first post asking about LF, i am trying to understand about the dark cloth, should it be of a special material or any cloth dark can do the job? I have a black long cloth of cotton not so thick, will it be sufficient?

7. I have a loupe from my cleaning kit [Visible Dust], is it good enough to be used with my large format or i should get something different?

8. Last but not least, what is the steps to start to shoot LF from setting the camera to unloading it?

Thanks,

Tareq

[Jack Dahlgren]

You will be well served by reading up on the topics from a good book. Steve Simmon's Using the View Camera is often recommended.

But briefly:
1) 150mm is normal. 110 or less is wide. 65 or less is super wide
2) I think so. Read the literature for them.
3) Yes, but you will still need to focus somehow which means taking off the back, looking at the ground glass then putting the back on and taking the picture. This is different from most medium format cameras which allow focusing and shooting rapidly while handheld.
4) A type of lens which is flat named after its inventor.It is used to bend the light back towards the camera operator resulting in a brighter image to view while focusing.
5) Here is how to load film holders: http://zo-d.com/stuff/photography/ho...m-holders.html Put the film back in the box when you are done and send the box to the lab. Do this in complete darkness - using your changing bag will work.
6) You can use anything. People use tshirts, jackets, hands etc. All it needs to do is shade the ground glass enough for you to see well. Take your cloth out in the sun. Does a lot of light come through it? If so, find something else which is not so bright.
7) It depends on your eyesight. Should be a good start. Use it until it is not satisfactory.
8) Please buy the book linked to above. It really will help you more than posting questions here.

[Robert Hughes]

Hello, Pro. From your post we can't tell what size large format camera you're planning to get, but 4x5 is the most common. Here are some answers for your query:

1. A 150mm lens would be considered a normal angle taking lens (I use a 135mm lens on my 4x5, it's a little wide, which I like). Wide angle lenses for 4x5 are in the 90-110 mm range.
2. Shen Hao's web site listings appear partly broken right now. If you talk to somebody there, you might mention their site needs attention.
3. Roll film backs typically take 120 roll film, so the result is a medium format image.
4. Some manufacturers place a Fresnel lens on the ground glass view screen to focus light and brighten the image while adjusting framing and focus. Some people like to use them, others find the fresnel lines distracting and prefer to have a simple ground glass.
5. A sheet film holder needs to be loaded and unloaded in total darkness, but the technique isn't complicated - you just need a little practice. Follow the link to this tutorial, which demonstrates the process. (That's the first one I found while googling "sheet film holder loading", other tutorials are available on the web).
6. A dark cloth exists solely to keep the light off the ground glass so you can see what you're doing while adjusting the ground glass image. You can use any of a variety of materials (sometimes I use a coat, or a green felt sheet), as long as it's opaque enough for you to block out the daylight. Some people in hot, sunny environments prefer to have a dark cloth with a white outer side, so the sun doesn't bake the photographer as he adjusts his camera.
7. Your choice of loupes is a personal one. I use an old 50mm Nikkor lens from a 35mm camera, it does the job.
8. Steps to shooting LF:
- find something or somebody to photograph,
- setup the tripod and camera on a stable surface,
- with the dark cloth over you, open the view screen door and the lens shutter, and compose / frame / focus your scene,
- figure out your exposure and preferred depth of field requirements, and make the appropriate adjustments to the lens,
- place the sheet film holder on the camera. Close the lens shutter before you pull the dark slide,
- fire the shutter,
- reinsert the dark slide and remove the sheet film holder,
- prepare for the next shot. Repeat as needed.

That's LF photography in a nutshell. There is an almost bottomless well of information on the Internet, just use that search tool and you'll find more than you could ever get through. Also, there are over 150 years worth of books on just this subject; one series is the Ansel Adams trilogy (The Camera / The Negative / The Print) which is still in print, readily available and pretty definitive; just about everybody on this forum has read through that series at one time or another.

[Professional]

Great, your posts answered almost the questions.

about the books i can't buy books at the moment as i saved to buy the gear, and the books are expensive to order as i live in the middle east and the shipping is costly for 1-2 books, and i have those Ansel Adams three books, i will give them a read even English is not my main language and i take so long time to read one book fully.

So it is like i must adjust or set the camera before i place the holder, is that to avoid any light leak or exposing the film while adjusting the camera? And closing the lens shutter which i have read here and somewhere else, what is the purpose of that?

Great to know about the lenses equivalent, so tell me, which lens for 4x5 i can get if i want something at 20-28mm FL of 35mm?

Robert, all the cameras i have is 4x5, even that i will order tomorrow i hope, but i am still planning to get that 8x10 since last year or even before the last year[2009], it is just a matter of time, and the steps you posted are very clear for me and if you answer my questions of this post it will help me more.

Also from your experiences people, which are good quality lenses you recommend me to use regardless of the FL? I will use different lenses for different purposed such as landscapes, archit., portraits,..., so i care more about the quality of the glass then i can choose which one for different applications.

Thanks again

[Jack Dahlgren]

Great, your posts answered almost the questions.

about the books i can't buy books at the moment as i saved to buy the gear, and the books are expensive to order as i live in the middle east and the shipping is costly for 1-2 books, and i have those Ansel Adams three books, i will give them a read even English is not my main language and i take so long time to read one book fully.

So it is like i must adjust or set the camera before i place the holder, is that to avoid any light leak or exposing the film while adjusting the camera? And closing the lens shutter which i have read here and somewhere else, what is the purpose of that?

Great to know about the lenses equivalent, so tell me, which lens for 4x5 i can get if i want something at 20-28mm FL of 35mm?

Robert, all the cameras i have is 4x5, even that i will order tomorrow i hope, but i am still planning to get that 8x10 since last year or even before the last year[2009], it is just a matter of time, and the steps you posted are very clear for me and if you answer my questions of this post it will help me more.

Also from your experiences people, which are good quality lenses you recommend me to use regardless of the FL? I will use different lenses for different purposed such as landscapes, archit., portraits,..., so i care more about the quality of the glass then i can choose which one for different applications.

Thanks again

Adjusting the camera before placing the holder is done so that you can see the image on the ground glass at the back of the camera. When it is the way you like, the film holder is inserted underneath the ground glass (which usually is attached with springs to allow this) then the slide is pulled on the holder, then the shutter is tripped. Then the slide is put in to cover the film. Then the holder is removed.

a 90mm lens would be the best choice as equivalent to 20-28mm and is probably the most commonly used wide angle.

The quality of almost all lenses in the past 30 or even 40 years is sufficient. You will not have a problem if your choose from Schneider, Rodenstock, Fuji, Nikon or rebranded versions of those lenses (Caltar for example). There are minor differences between them, but I suggest that the lens quality of any of these will not limit the quality of your photographs.

[Bob Kerner]

There is a fantastic amount of information on this page

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/

Work through the links. They cover almost everything you could possibly want to know. Asking about which lens brand to get is like asking what type of car to drive. You could spend a lifetime exploring the brands. I think most people would agree that any modern lens from Schneider, Fuji, Nikon, Rodenstock will serve you well.

[Professional]

I got it, it is then all brands doing well in term of quality, i just asked as i thought maybe there are some lenses better than others so noticeably, but if they all are similar and give good satisfactory quality then i am not worry to buy any on different focal length.

But i would like to know if you have a link where i can read more about lenses because there are different version of same lens focal length, for example the camera i will order tomorrow i hope will come with Rodenstock APO-Sironar NNNNN, so what is the different between N and S models of Rodenstock? I think Schneider have different models of same focal length maybe and even the price is different of same focal length.

And sorry for that i am very lazy to search, but i am sure there is a link or website which can demonstrate or show a diagram or sheet or table of the focal length equivalents between LF and MF or 35mm, this will help me a bit to know which lenses i can get for LF of different usage.

[Robert Hughes]

Here's your chart: Focal length conversion between formats:

[Professional]

Here's your chart: Focal length conversion between formats:

Thank you very much!

[Lachlan 717]

Pro,

Make sure to get onto YouTube. There are many videos on using view cameras, including loading film, using movements and processing.

Nothing like seeing these things done, rather than reading...