patrickcheung
14-Apr-2013, 19:23
Hey guys!
Apologies in advance for the silly questions... I'm new to all this, and just a little confused. There's a whole sea of information here, which I've spent about an hour looking through. I just want to confirm what I've found!
I recently picked up a 4x5 Crown Graphic with what appears to be the graflok back... but I'm not too sure. In all honesty, I've never handled a large format camera before, nor have I ever seen the back one one! The back I own looks a lot like the one shown here (borrowed from this website (http://lommen9.home.xs4all.nl/holders/), a very helpful website), which I believe is the Graflok Back:
http://lommen9.home.xs4all.nl/holders/P1020452_300.jpg
Here's a photograph of mine, Graflok back right?
93370
Summer is coming up and I thought it'd be fun to shoot a few instant frames, memories I can hang up on my studio desk, or pass out to friends. I'd really like to avoid the expensive routes like buying old Polaroid film, or dying pack film.
So... from what I've read so far, Fuji stopped production of their 4x5 instant films (plus, I can't seem to find any of it on B&H, Freestyle, or the local Henry's), which leaves 3x4 Fuji FP-100c instant film. And to use that film, I'd need a Polaroid 405 back? And if I have a Graflok back, I'd be ready to go once I have the holder and film? No need to modify anything, right?
And the only way that I'd shoot 4x5 instant pack film would be with the Fuji PA45 or Polaroid 550 back, but films for those are out of production and would probably be really pricey?
I'm wondering if it would be more cost efficient to buy an SX-70 and some impossible project film. There's an SX-70 for sale locally now for $125, PX film is $28.35 per pack of 8 shots here. A 405 back on ebay costs at least $260 after shipping, plus I might get hit by an import tax, bringing the entire package closer to $300. A pack of FP-100c (10 shots) is about $10 here. If I were to use it only for the summer... It would definitely be a better investment to go for an SX-70. But if I were to do this long term... it would be better to go for the 405 back, plus... shooting 3x4 instant film on a Crown Graphic would yield beautiful results (though, the SX-70 might be faster, a tad more fun and portable).
Aii... so many options!
Apologies in advance for the silly questions... I'm new to all this, and just a little confused. There's a whole sea of information here, which I've spent about an hour looking through. I just want to confirm what I've found!
I recently picked up a 4x5 Crown Graphic with what appears to be the graflok back... but I'm not too sure. In all honesty, I've never handled a large format camera before, nor have I ever seen the back one one! The back I own looks a lot like the one shown here (borrowed from this website (http://lommen9.home.xs4all.nl/holders/), a very helpful website), which I believe is the Graflok Back:
http://lommen9.home.xs4all.nl/holders/P1020452_300.jpg
Here's a photograph of mine, Graflok back right?
93370
Summer is coming up and I thought it'd be fun to shoot a few instant frames, memories I can hang up on my studio desk, or pass out to friends. I'd really like to avoid the expensive routes like buying old Polaroid film, or dying pack film.
So... from what I've read so far, Fuji stopped production of their 4x5 instant films (plus, I can't seem to find any of it on B&H, Freestyle, or the local Henry's), which leaves 3x4 Fuji FP-100c instant film. And to use that film, I'd need a Polaroid 405 back? And if I have a Graflok back, I'd be ready to go once I have the holder and film? No need to modify anything, right?
And the only way that I'd shoot 4x5 instant pack film would be with the Fuji PA45 or Polaroid 550 back, but films for those are out of production and would probably be really pricey?
I'm wondering if it would be more cost efficient to buy an SX-70 and some impossible project film. There's an SX-70 for sale locally now for $125, PX film is $28.35 per pack of 8 shots here. A 405 back on ebay costs at least $260 after shipping, plus I might get hit by an import tax, bringing the entire package closer to $300. A pack of FP-100c (10 shots) is about $10 here. If I were to use it only for the summer... It would definitely be a better investment to go for an SX-70. But if I were to do this long term... it would be better to go for the 405 back, plus... shooting 3x4 instant film on a Crown Graphic would yield beautiful results (though, the SX-70 might be faster, a tad more fun and portable).
Aii... so many options!