Seeking solid advice and LF camera kit

[Mr Macgee]

Seeking solid advice and camera kit,

I have a project requiring LF format, my experience is in Medium format. I need to be able to travel from city to city to take tight head shots and from the knees up. The amount of distance between camera and subject is approx. 6-8' max. due to the space restraints, I can't go farther. The client wants 8x10 negs & polaroids ($$$) for drum scans.

My question is what kind of lens & bellows do I need for both type of shots? The client wants the finished shot to have a narrow depth of field & vintage look.

I am also seeking to purchase a complete LF kit for this purpose/project and would like to know where I can find one soon. I've already been looking at eBay.

Thanks

Mr Macgee

[Bill_1856]

I thought that trolls were only on photo.net.

[Jim_6220]

A friend of mine is selling a Sinar F2 outfit with everything you would need (lenses, tripod, bag bellows, film holders - the works) -- It's in absolutely pristine, like-new condition. Let me know if you might be interested.

[John Kasaian]

IMHO Deardorff V8 with a 14" Commercial Ektar and a 10" WF Ektar would do the job. If you needed to use more modern lenses 360mm and 240mm G Clarons would also work, as would the brand new mc offerings from Rodenstcok in equivalent focal lengths.

Cheers!

[John O'Connell]

John is right about the 14"/360mm lens for the headshot. Although it seems short compared to focal lengths in other formats, the limitations of 8x10 leave you with few other options. You'll need a camera with at least 24" of bellows to allow for comfortable extension, 28" if you can get it.

The slightly longer option would be a 450, but the required bellows draw for someone with a small noggin would be in the 36" range, and you might not fit that setup into an 8' length (distance to background + depth of subject + 36" to lens + 36" to film + room you need to compose).

You'll need some way to verify and maintain subject distance after composing, and you'd be surprised at how much light you need. Expect to be exposing your film at effective f/32 or f/45 after factoring in the extension---even if you work fairly wide open for 8x10. Search the archives for details on what works for people who attempt 8x10 closeup work.

Tough to recommend a wideangle without knowing why your space is so limited. Are you shooting inside a van? Does your rear end need to fit within that 6-8 feet? Wideangles are the bane of 8x10, as they tend to be either ancient, rare, expensive, and/or huge outside of the common 240mm/10" focal length.

[Mr Macgee]

Great info, Thank You

I have to apologize for asking such dumb questions (trying not to be a troll, sorry Bill)) but large format is a different animal than MF and I'm trying to be respectful and not waste your time but I'm brand new to Large format. The info your giving me will be very useful.

With the info above and to answer the question, I think the max distance will be approx 6' from front of lens to subject which will hopefully give me enough working room for the camera and extension. I can probably achieve about 9' of total working room and I'm working on getting more room from the client. It's not in a van but in a booth at a convention going from city to city.
It's definitely an "off the wall" assignment & unconventional but it's actually for a fun documentary project.

I think I can achieve enough light for f45 but that's a lot of light. The problem is trying to get a set-up for getting the knees up to head shot with such minimal distances. I knew this would be a problem but I'm hoping of some way to solving it. I'll try searching for LF 8x10 close up's.

So far, it looks like I need a camera with about 24+" of bellows and a lens of approx. 240 mm to 360mm or 10" to 14" and lots of light. I'll be shooting B+W and will not need a super sharp lens but more an older lens like a Voigtlander.

Does this sound right?

[Ole Tjugen]

Knees to head will be about 5 feet or 150cm. Since the film is 25cm, that gives a magnification of 1:6. So your lens should be 6 times as far from the subject as from the film plane. That again means you're looking for a lens with a focal length around 1/7 of your working distance - or about 210mm.

In that focal length I'll recommend an "antique": The 210mm f:6.8 Angulon. Don't laugh until you've tried one, please!

For headshots you'll need a longer lens, and a lot more bellows. It's about 1:2, so ideally you should have 60cm of bellows extension. A 480mm will do nicely. 360mm is a little short, but good for "head and shoulders". On the other hand - if your camera has rear focusing, it might be convenient with a lens that gets you the correct framing without moving either subject or camera, so a little bit longer than 480mm? Front focusing goes the other way - you might find it easier with a 300mm...

One of the major differences between MF and 8x10" is that with the latter, just about everything indoors is in the macro range. And so the bellows factor and reproduction ratio get important.

[Bill_1856]

My apologies, Mr. Macgee. First time poster asking about a fairly technical matter involving buying 8x10 camera, several lenses, and 8x10 Polaroid system. You gotta admit that it broadcasts "Troll" at the top of it's voice. Good luck. Incidentally, since you're already familiar with MF, to get the equivilant 8x10 focal lengths for a given perspective, just multiply by 240/56=4.3 (the ratio of negative long side size between 8x10 and 6x6). So if your 'Blad required an 80mm lens, then your Deardoff would need an80x4.3=344mm lens (approximately 14").

[John Kasaian]

What model Voightlander as you considering? I don't know for sure but a Heliar in the 14" range may not cover 8x10. If you're looking for a soft portrait lens there are lots of Wollensaks floating around, each with it's own "look" ---maybe some Wolly fans will chime in to guide you down that road. If you like the Karsh look, I think you'll find that the 14" Commercial Ektar or a late model Ilex (or Congo) copy will deliver the goods.

Good luck!

[Ted Harris]

Another thought,

You might want to consider showing your client some samples from 4x5,both regular film and polaroids (T55 negs for scanning and T72 for prints) scanned with a drum scanner. Unless the client has some specific reason for 8x10 then the 4x5's should give you excellent results with a drum scan. OTOH assuming the client is bearing the cost and knows the cost of 8x10 polaroids then the client is always right <smile>.