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campy
7-Mar-2016, 17:59
I had dabbled a little with a 4X5 Crown Graphic and developed my own negatives but I wasn't very good at it, but I think I want to play a little more. I have access to a RB Home Portrait 5X7 camera and I thought maybe if I go with xray film my mistakes won't be so costly. But now I am thinking that if I'm going to try again why not go for it all with 8X10. So my next question is what's a good way to start with 8X10? I have been thinking of maybe an old wooden camera that's in good condition so I can also display it when not in use. Preferably a camera that cost around $400 if that's possible.
Am I dreaming?

I forgot to add that I can also get a Seneca 8x10 that has some minor pinholes and is missing some hardware to lock the rear into position and looks like it wouldn't take much to complete it if I could find the parts.

Michael E
7-Mar-2016, 19:26
$400 can be done. But what was wrong with your 4x5"? It might be a good idea to work out those bugs first before buying more equipment. Most of the time, the problem is not the camera. My experience: The bigger the format, the bigger the possibilities to mess up.

jp
7-Mar-2016, 19:50
I have a b&j 8x10 that came to me in that price range without lens. Do not forget the higher cost of tripod and film holders for that format, where 4x5 is substantially more affordable. Consider all system costs. Results come from practice not dabbling or dreaming.

jnantz
7-Mar-2016, 19:52
you can fix pinholes with India ink and white gloo. and if you don't have the slotted holders or 5x7 bag mag, it
will be hard to use those fun cameras.

have fun !

campy
7-Mar-2016, 21:03
$400 can be done. But what was wrong with your 4x5"? It might be a good idea to work out those bugs first before buying more equipment. Most of the time, the problem is not the camera. My experience: The bigger the format, the bigger the possibilities to mess up.
The 4X5 is long gone.

campy
7-Mar-2016, 21:04
you can fix pinholes with India ink and white gloo. and if you don't have the slotted holders or 5x7 bag mag, it
will be hard to use those fun cameras.

have fun !

There are 3 or 4 proper film holders for the 5x7.

campy
7-Mar-2016, 21:06
I have a b&j 8x10 that came to me in that price range without lens. Do not forget the higher cost of tripod and film holders for that format, where 4x5 is substantially more affordable. Consider all system costs. Results come from practice not dabbling or dreaming.

If I use xray film the cost of 8x10 is low. I have a tripod but would need film holders.

Tim Meisburger
7-Mar-2016, 22:39
Go for it! Why not. Either 8x10 or 5x7.

jose angel
8-Mar-2016, 04:17
There is nothing wrong if you decide to start with 8x10".
But from a practical point of view I`d shoot 4x5" or 5x7". If you`re in a budget, the 8x10" choice is a bit risky to my taste. You`ll be very limited... but in the other hand, you only need a camera, a lens and a film holder to enjoy. Or a pinhole. Or made your own wet plates, I way prefer them over over any kind of film.
Again, the 8x10" thing is quite limiting. X-ray film may be cheap (not so much around here), but 4x5" sheet are cheaper and ready to use. Everything else is also much cheaper.
Maybe the most important thing.... Do you have an enlarger? Personally, 4x5" and 5x7" are too small for a contact print. If you don`t plan to enlarge, I`d directly get a 8x10" to print by contact. If you`re a bit handy, you could shoot out of almost anything.
Funny... looks like you have some kind of "LFworm"... :)

mdarnton
8-Mar-2016, 05:39
It's possible to pick up an 8x10 for cheap, but you have to be really devoted and diligent to find one for that money. My Agfa-Ansco cost me $120; I found holders for $25 each. Lenses were a little more, though. I have a little bit of everything in cameras, but 35mm and 8x10 get the most use, followed by 5x7, but I am scanning and printing digitally, not contact printing.

ottluuk
8-Mar-2016, 11:33
My experience is very limited but I'm pretty happy with the road I've taken so I'll share what I've done so far. I started small (in terms of negative size).

It really depends on what you want to get out of LF. I mostly wanted more control over the image – basically camera movements with good precision. To be honest, medium format has enough detail for my uses. So I bought a nice (but affordable) 4x5 monorail and a roll film back. But I got lenses that cover 5x7 if I ever want to go down that road. I've been shooting 6x7 with this setup for a while. The cost and hassle per shot is lower this way and I've gained useful experience with using movements and composing on the ground glass. The camera is bulky but solid and precise, has massive direct movements and the lenses don't run out of coverage. There's room for experimentation. So when I progress to sheet film, I'll hopefully ruin somewhat less of it.

Another way to think about this is how you might produce the desired end result from various formats. If you want it scanned, there are (expensive but excellent) dedicated scanners for medium format film. For 4x5 and up, you're left with flatbeds that inherently deliver lower resolution (and throw away some of the detail – but you might not care because of the sheer area of the sheet) or paying for drum scanning/Imacon service. If you want to print with an enlarger, consider how much room do you have in your darkroom. Also consider that finding a 4x5 or larger enlarger might not be easy depending on where you live. Not all countries have had a tradition of amateurs shooting LF film...

One way to bypass these troubles is to contact print. And this is the scenario where going straight to 8x10 would make a lot of sense.

campy
8-Mar-2016, 14:53
I would do contact prints which another reason for wanting 8X10. I had the darkroom and I'm just not that patient which is never a good thing when doing large format.

John Kasaian
8-Mar-2016, 16:20
Remember there are film holders, a heavy tripod, loupe, dark cloth(which will need to be larger than one for 4x5) and of course a lens to round out your kit. To find all this stuff on a budget will take time so why not play with that 5x7 in the meanwhile?

Drew Wiley
8-Mar-2016, 17:01
Finding 5x7 filmholders in decent condition is becoming dicey. But you might get lucky. Some people are happy with 5x7 contact prints, but they are a bit small.
Lugging around 8x10 gear is either fun or a chore depending on your physical conditioning and where you tend to go. I simply put mine in an old external-frame
backpack and strap the tripod to that. But then you'd need more lenses for the extra coverage.

campy
8-Mar-2016, 17:35
I have a tripod and dark cloth. I won't be doing too much, I just want to play around with it for the summer.

Sirius Glass
8-Mar-2016, 17:43
Large format allows one to screw up in ways that are not possible in 35mm nor medium format. If you are having problems with the Crown Graphic, you need to first get past making those mistakes. If not those mistakes will follow you.

Learn the use the Crown Graphic without having mistakes before you move on. That would free you up to make new mistakes, which will come with the new equipment.

Again if you do not clear up the existing problems, you will have a harder time sorting out what will go wrong when you use the new equipment.

campy
9-Mar-2016, 11:53
Large format allows one to screw up in ways that are not possible in 35mm nor medium format. If you are having problems with the Crown Graphic, you need to first get past making those mistakes. If not those mistakes will follow you.

Learn the use the Crown Graphic without having mistakes before you move on. That would free you up to make new mistakes, which will come with the new equipment.

Again if you do not clear up the existing problems, you will have a harder time sorting out what will go wrong when you use the new equipment.

I no longer have the Crown Graphic.

jnantz
9-Mar-2016, 12:10
There are 3 or 4 proper film holders for the 5x7.

if they are the slotted holders, why not !
its a great camera. being the "portrait" model
it isn't a RB ( rotating back ) i don't think, so you will
need to keep that in mind. if they aren't the "proper" film holders
for the graflex, and you have a reducing back for the 8x10 camera you
have in that collection, sounds like a perfect match ... the big 8x10 camera
the Big Brass lenses, and 5x7 film/paper. and if you are lucky, you can get
a bright bulb, and make contact prints with the new paper ADOX has just released.
its a silver chloride contact printing paper, so it is slow and long scaled, and perfect for big negatives.
making contact prints with RC or regular FB paper ( that isn't silver chloride ) is a lot of fun too.
( and the bulb doesn't need to be as bright )

good luck !