soboyle,
One overlooked item in your question is. Where do you live?? USA, Europe, Asia, South Pacific, Australia, South America? Prices and availability varies from region to region.
soboyle,
One overlooked item in your question is. Where do you live?? USA, Europe, Asia, South Pacific, Australia, South America? Prices and availability varies from region to region.
I'd suggest 4x5--lots of film variety, easier to scan, easier to find a processor. A used Shen Hao would be a great camera and do what you want. For a lens, something like a 120mm maybe. Tripod, good tripod head with quick release, maybe four film holders, a focus loupe, and I think that would do it. Meter with another camera or a used incident light meter. Use a black t-shirt for dark cloth.
Kent in SD
Gud blessi Island!
6X17 back = ~6/3/4" if that's important it rules out 4X5. Older Korona like 5X7's can be had for the similar $$ with patience.
I wouldn't even consider 5x7 for film that will be scanned, unless there was a specific reason 4x5 would be inadequate, then I would reexamine that reason. A 4x5 outfit will be superior in every sense except being a smaller format. If you want to do the 6x17 thing, get a 6x9 back for a 4x5 and stitch two frames together in post. There aren't many films left in 5x7, especially if you want to shoot color. Everything is more abundant, cheaper, and with more options from which to choose, in 4x5, compared to 5x7.
If you want something you're not likely to outgrow very soon, skip the press cameras (Crown and Speed Graphics), and, at the very least, move up to a technical camera like the Linhof Technika. Now that I have a metal monorail, I'd never consider going back to a wooden flatbed, but I don't traipse around in the woods all day chasing the light, either. If you want to save weight, think in terms of total kit weight. It's a lot easier to save weight in a tripod than in a camera, and I'd opt for a lighter tripod and heavier camera than the other way around.
Good luck, and have fun!
I almost agree with you Jay, that Sinar is working wonders on your cognitive thought process.Originally Posted by Jay DeFehr
Except you lost me on the light tripod thing. My opinion is you do large format with good, robust professional equipment and if that gets too heavy to lug, drop down to a quality roll film camera or digital rather than compromising.
Or choose to make better pictures so that lugging the beast is worth it.... I just don't see how wandering aimlessly through the woods with any 4x5, hoping to stumble upon some perfect Ansel Adams scene bathed in perfect light, as being all that productive for good photos. It usually results in a lot of boring pictures. If you want to introduce spontaneity and serendipity into your work you'd be a lot better off with a spontaneous camera, like a Lecia, Fuji 6x9, Mamiya 7, Canikon full-frame digital, etc.
Everyone wants the perfect blend of everything but it's impossible. Make a decision about what you want to do and do it right....
I agree, Frank, but within the realm of robust professional equipment there is a range of options. A good, carbon fiber tripod doesn't represent a compromise, except a financial one, and since tripods are bigger and heavier than 4x5 cameras, it's easier to save more weight there than by trying to find the lightest camera, which in most cases really does involve compromise in several areas.
I'm with you on the woods thing, too, but to each his own.
+1 for a Graflex Super Graphic or another metal folding field camera with synthetic bellows. Even 60 year old cameras can be perfectly functional. I sold one with a 135mm Raptar lens (flawless glass and consistently accurate shutter) for $400 here last year and similar deals abound once you've been here on LFF for 30 days.
Cameras may be 1/3 or 1/4 of what you'll spend in the first year in film + processing alone. Buy the best condition gear you can find; ask for light-tight guarantee or money-back in writing. Bellows can be expensive to replace and there's a glut of really nice gear in the LF marketplace yet.
No single type or size of camera fits all photographers any more than any single type or size of wrench fits all kinds of other nuts. My first camera larger than 4x5 was a 5x7 flatbed bought almost 40 years ago and is still used where it is the most appropriate. That size was a better choice at the time, with cameras and film holders and hangers being cheaper than the increasingly popular 4x5. It might accept 6x17 holders, or 5x7 film can be cropped to that format. Often monorail or press cameras are more suitable. Over time almost anyone can accumulate a variety of LF cameras at modest cost. One battery of lenses can be adapted to fit all of them. One or maybe two tripods will fit all of them now and for the foreseeable future.
Many thanks for the answers.
What I've gleaned from the answers is that I need to do more homework to decide which camera will work for me.
Most of my work will be in the field. I will be shooting landscapes and buildings, so I do need enough movement to correct verticals and horizontals. I should have mentioned that before. I tend to shoot near my car, so weight is not critical, although the lighter the better.
For a sample of the kind of work I tend to do see this link here (flash)
http://www.oboylephoto.com/railline5/index.html
or this for non-flash
http://www.oboylephoto.com/railline4/index.html
I tend to shoot at about 35-50mm in 35mm, so a 135mm lens would probably be my first lens of choice.
I need to see what the total cost of a 4x5 would be. What are the other incidentals that are necessary? Film Holders. Focus Loupe? I already have an excellent light meter. Film loading bag. Lens boards. I have an excellent Gitzo CF tripod.
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/matos-begin.html
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