Greetings everyone!
I'm new to the world of LF and have been using this forum as a resource for a few months now. I'd like to start by taking a moment to thank all of you who continually develop and support the vast database that is the LF Forum. I stumbled upon this forum while reading camera reviews online a few months ago and can honestly say I have not needed to look elsewhere for any LF information since. Thanks to those of you who share your knowledge and experience, it makes learning this craft much more enjoyable for newbies like me!
That said, I just purchased my first LF camera after years of shooting with both medium format film and digital. I want to use the LF camera as a hobby and creative outlet to shoot landscapes and architecture. I've had the camera 2 weeks and I haven't bought a box of film yet so I've been practicing composing and focusing images in the mean time. I'm self taught, therefore not schooled in operating a LF camera, and have a few general questions pertaining to the setup and execution of my first shot. So here it goes:
1. When inserting the film holder, do I need to be worried about camera movement throwing my image out of focus? I'm being gentle in my practices thus far but my camera seems to move quite a bit no matter how gentle I load the holder. I would assume that any small movements would not be significant when shooting at f/11 or higher but what about wide open apertures?
2. What magnification loupe do you guys find to work best for a 4x5? I have a second hand Chamonix 045N-1 and I've been contemplating an 8x loupe, but I'd love to hear what is working for everyone else.
3. I bought a used lens with my camera, a Schneider Kreuznach Symmar-S 210mm 5.6 in a Copal No.1. Do I need to be concerned with dust particles within the lens elements? It is certainly not spotless inside and I've seen little specs in my images when shooting my Canon 5D at f/22 with a dirty sensor, don't want that effect on my LF images. Also, should I be testing my shutter to make sure it's calibrated correctly? I read a whole thread on this but it seems like a rather painstaking process.
I have countless other questions running thru my brain but these few seem sufficient for a first post, don't want to go crazy out of the gate! I apologize if these questions have been addressed elsewhere, I did a search and could not find the answers readily unburied. Thanks again to all who reply and I'm looking forward to many hours surfing the LF community's best resource! Happy New Year everyone.
-Chad
BTW, for those interested I started a blog that will document my journey into shooting LF. It should be rather colorful, honest, at times hilarious, and a good way to keep tabs on what I'm up to. I haven't taken a single photo yet, so try not to judge based on image content See signature for link.
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