Beginners first Thread 4x5 film

[SpeedGraphicMan]

My first 4x5 Camera will be a speed graphic, i think perhaps a good starting camera to explore all the new stuff

Speed Graphics are all around good cameras, regardless if you are a beginner or not.

[fralexis]

Luke, as a long time photographer, I have just started LF. I can say that you will immediately be hooked. Nothing else like it. And don't fret over the darkness. I was terrified the first time, but it was incredibly easy after that. After a couple of tries, you will be great at it! Just follow the directions given above.

[John Kasaian]

Enjoy the adventure!

[ki6mf]

you can also get changing tents. These have support inside that keep then off your film and they fold flat when not in use. i can load 10 cassettes at a time. regarding dust clean and sir brush film cassettes just before loading with film. Vacuum out your changing bag/tent/ photo back pack and inside of your camera on a regular basis. after loading film keep cassettes inside a large zip lock bag.

[Luke79]

Thank you all very much for these Kind words , today is the Day my Speed arrived , still in the package but im happy as a Child :-)

Will let you all know and will Post my First pictures soon ;-)

[blevblev]

I use the BTZS tubes as well. I find them to solve a lot of my problems which are similar to yours. If you watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMXQO5ATgiY (and the part 2 video,) you will see what I mean. I set my process up to match Fred's. I use the tubes to develop, a tray for the stop bath, and Yankee tanks with 4x5 hangers for the rest. You can actually do the stop and fix steps with a safelight on. It runs against what I had always believed, but it works. The only parts of my setup that are truly dark, are a closet where I transfer the films into the BTZS tubes, and by my sink, where I transfer the tubes from the dry caps to the ones that are filled with developer. After the tubes are transferred, you can turn the safelight back on for the rest of the time.

[blevblev]

The second video is at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_KGv_SqbzU

By the way my setup doesn't include the violin player.

[magneticred]

I started shooting LF about 3 months ago having never used anything more than a point and shoot camera. I started out with a 35mm Minolta that I could learn to do manual exposures, from there I started developing my own color film with a Patterson tank and a C-41 press kit (B and H Photo and Freestyle), that led to medium format (Yashica D). After seeing the amazing difference between 35 mm and MF, I made the leap to LF and am amazed at the results I get.

Here are a few things that worked for me:
>Get a good changing bag to load your film holders, and daylight tank
>Process your own film - I have tried B&W, Color Negs, and Transparencies of the three, I personally like Color Negatives (Kodak Ektar 100 suits me well for landscapes). If you have access to a 35 mm film camera, practice on a few rolls of that to get your confidence up. The chemicals are all available on-line and the directions are pretty straight forward. One of the best advice I read on this forum is to stick with one film and one developer.
>Get a good daylight tank to process your film. I used the same Patterson daylight tank I had bought for 35 mm and MF film (about $30 on B and H) to process one sheet of LF film at a time. I recently purchased the JOBO drum with the 4X5 film holder so I can now process 6 sheets at a time.
>Get a good scanner. I'm on my 3rd one because I went cheap on the first two and wasn't satisfied with the results. Finally have an Epson 4990 and couldn't be happier. I understand the Epson V700 and V750 are also very nice.
>You will need at least a dozen film holders. I bought 3 different types used on ebay. Of the ones I tried, I like the Fidelity Elites the best as they are the easiest to load/unload in the changing bag.
>A sturdy, light weight tripod. These can be expensive, I found a good one (cant remember the brand) for less than $100.
> A shoulder bag to carry all your stuff. I found one at a hardware store for less than $20 that works well.
>Dark Cloth or Focusing Cloth. One day I will purchase a genuine focusing cloth, but for now I use a black tee-shirt that works reasonably well.
>Visit this forum often and learn from and be inspired by all the amazing photographers on this site.

[Luke79]

Thx you all for These Great and Rich Tipps , i am starting to love this Community , Great help

Ive got my 4x5 and made my First Test exposures on dated fuji 100c Instant Film , all Went great

I have the following films collected tO Start my work

Fuji fp3000b 4x5
Polaroid 55 20 sheets
Fuji quickloads 20 sheets velvia 100
And efke 25 normal Film this will
Be the First Film
I will develop on my own im excited

Im taking step by step as you see :-)


Im loving the Camera so far !!!!


Thx to all so much and soon posting my first picuteres



Luke

[premortho]

Yeah, Speeders are great. If you will stick with the Speed Graphic and learn what all it can do, you'll be amazed at the work you can do. You will hear about all the Super-Whizzbang Cameras that are so much better, it can be hard to stick to your guns. But that camera is better than 98% of the photographers using one, so just stick to it and take good pictures! And three ways to focus! Four if it has focus-spot!!