Why do you shoot 4x5 (or 5x7, 8x10, etc)?

[Bill_1856]

I don't do it very often, and (unfortunately) don't do it very well. But it gives me the feeling of mastery of the medium which I don't get with other formats.
Technically, LF is a PITA compared to 35mm, MF, or Digital, and unless you're making HUGE enlargements or contacts there would appear to be little advantage. I do it because it makes me slow down and appreciate being a photographer. In a sense it's like working in the darkroom, which I have come to really hate, but I'm sure that it makes me better at composition and technique. As a retired scientist/engineer I also enjoy working with fine equipment, especially when it's (even) older than I am.

[Christopher Perez]

I use 4x5 for perspective/image controls

I use 8x10 for contact printing

I use both formats for processing controls (one sheet at a time, if needs be)

[Joseph O'Neil]

In no particular order...

1) Tonal rendition & quality in B&W;
2) use of movements;
3) I actually find it easier than 35mm or 120 (but don't ask me to explain how or why)
..and if all that fails, then I fall back on...
#4) by defect of mental incompetence


joe

[Emrehan Zeybekoglu]

1. Movements.
2. You can adjust your composition on the GG.
3. You obtain rich colors and tonality.
4. Instead of dealing w/bells & whistles you focus on (sorry for the pun) the composition.
5. You can develop your negatives individually.
6. Ag is longer lasting.

Cheers..

[Emrehan Zeybekoglu]

Let me make one correction to my previous post:

I answered the question assuming that smaller formats would be mostly digital in our day and age, although I myself still use silver. Other than that my first five answers are the valid rewasons for me.

[Gordon Moat]

1. Movements
2. Might as well use 4x5 when I am taking shots from a tripod (as opposed to 35mm or medium format)
3. More like going to a location and drawing a scene or subject
4. Planning and composition advantage to ground glass over smaller viewfinders
5. Good source for big printing needs

Two reasons for 4x5 over larger large format:
1. Readyload or Quickload systems
2. Ability to fit all needed items (except tripod) while meeting airline carry-on restrictions

I do still use 35mm and various medium format cameras for some work. There are advantages and disadvantages I find in each format and various camera systems. I also rent digital backs or D-SLRs as needed, if a client absolutely feels they must have direct to digital capture.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat

[Ole Tjugen]

Time.

Using LF slows me down enough to see what the final picture will actually look like, so the success rate is sky high compared to the smaller formats. Better tonality, movements and the near total compatibility of a wide variety of lenses are important bonuses.

[Capocheny]

I do it because it makes me slow down and appreciate being a photographer.

...I also enjoy working with fine equipment, especially when it's (even) older than I am.

Hi Bill,

You hit both nails on the head as they apply to me as well! Back about 8 or so years ago my life was running rampant and waaaaaaaaaay out of control due to my work committments and other social obligations. As a result, I consciously wanted to slow it down somewhat. Well, I first did that by changing my writing instruments and went from a ball point/rollerball to fountainpen. The big problem was that I soon became a collector of beautifully made fountainpens!

So, what next? Well, I was shooting a lot of street images back then and thought about the next logical step toward continuing on my path to "slowing down." A friend introduced me to the sins of e**y and I soon discovered the large format camera section. Well, one thing lead to another and I ended up with not one... but two brand new in box Sinar cameras (an X and F2!) An authorized dealer was getting out of LF and, therefore, selling his remaining stock. I also ended up buying an Auto-shutter from him. The rest is, as they say, history!

I wanted to be able to shoot out in the field without the need for booking a donkey or Sherpa to lug my gear around. So, I picked up a Dorff 5x7... and, now, an 8x10!

For the time being, I'm looking to use the 8x10 for contact printing and the 4x5/5x7 for enlargements.

Isn't life grand?

Cheers

[Mike H.]

Specifically because I discovered that all those photographers getting detail in their prints that I couldn't obtain with 35mm were using large format cameras. I therefore joined a large format class at school and bought a 4X5 ARCA-SWISS field camera. Aha! I started getting lots more detail. Movements, the admiration of awe-struck strangers, increased muscle mass from carrying loads of equipment, access to readyloads, my own darkroom, a slower life style as I tried to figure everything out, etc., those all just followed. None of them were thought of in advance. Only more detail. And more detail. Someday I want a 20 X 24 camera, the ability to scan and photo shop the negatives, a printer that'll put out a new 40 X 48 negative, and the ability to contact print the same with stunning silver paper available to no one else in the world. I'm not crazy. Really. Just want detail.

[JW Dewdney]

For me,
It's simply an issue of composition. I can't seem to decently compose on 8x10 or bigger. 35mm doesn't really work for me either - the composition just seems to fall apart. medium format and 4x5 ground glass seems to be the way to go. Interestingly - when I draw - my most successful compositions are also small. I figure it's related somehow.