Buy or build a 4x5 pinhole camera. Don't denigrate the lowly pinhole until you've tried it! All you need is some foamcore board, a film holder or two, and some film. If you like it you can build a sturdier one out of wood. I don't think it gets lighter or cheaper than that!
Mike
Politically, aerodynamically, and fashionably incorrect.
Michael,Originally Posted by Michael Cienfuegos
Any Leica better than an M9 will be proportionally that much more expensive. I can barely afford glass for my M2, much less a digital body to use the few lenses I already have. I'll continue to have fun with it and with my Graflex and my Speeds.
I hear yah.
What I won't do/can't afford to do, is buy a Leica f/1.4 lens to deal with the M9's ISO problem at low light levels.
For now, my M3 with f/2 lens and film pushed hard will just have to do
But honestly, I'm gone from analog when there's an M10 that works with f/2 lenses at 2400, maybe even 1600.
Arca-Swiss 8x10/4x5 | Mamiya 6x7 | Leica 35mm | Blackmagic Ultra HD Video
Sound Devices audio recorder, Schoeps & DPA mikes
Mac Studio/Eizo with Capture One, Final Cut, DaVinci Resolve, Logic
If you want to be a large format photographer, then stop being a nancy about it and be a large format photographer. Build a pin hole, or get a Speeder or a monorail, get out there and make pictures and don't look back.
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
I do have plans to build a pinhole (although my current body is a tin some Burts Bees came in), and I'll probably be building a 4x5 pinhole first to get the hang of things. I made a pinhole view camera obscura out of cardboard boxes and some white tissue paper as the "ground glass" on a whim. Also did a room-size C.O., which came out pretty well, albeit dim. I'm also toying with the idea of making some simple and lower-order complex lenses, because I'm a nerd like that.
And thanks everyone for the input. A lot of it includes things I've already considered, and it will definitely be taken to heart. For the person who asked, I'm in southeast Washington. My uncle knows someone who shoots LF, so I should chat with him, too.
Probably the best advice right there.If you want to be a large format photographer, then stop being a nancy about it and be a large format photographer. Build a pin hole, or get a Speeder or a monorail, get out there and make pictures and don't look back.
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