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strayblank
21-Mar-2018, 01:17
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angusparker
21-Mar-2018, 01:36
Now is the time to start. There is something of a renaissance in analog photography right now. B&W 4x5 film will be around for at least another 30 years.

As for resale value if you buy pretty much any decent condition 4x5 camera, and two modern lenses and a few holders you’ll be able to sell them back for more or less the same price you bought them for.

There are also some very cheap but adequate new options like the 4x5 Bulldog and the Chroma which will not hold their value as well but are a cheaper way to get into LF. Think of owning them as paying a rental fee.

8x10 is a whole different level of expense and complication for relatively modest benefit over 4x5. So I’d start with 4x5 and learn the craft and if (big if) you decide to go bigger you can always sell you 4x5 rig.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

ventdesable
21-Mar-2018, 01:38
would this be a poor investment?

;-) ... No


This is complicated by the fact that many of the brands and models detailed in the books I've read no longer exist. The used equipment remaining from before is then contrasted against modern equipment, like Chamonix or Calumet, which I have absolutely no knowledge of. So where ought I begin? Considering the tenuous future of film negative production,

Well, maybe you should take a mono-rail into consideration. For instance, you can find a 4x5 Sinar F1 or F2 for a price around $ 500.
300 to 500 more for a modern APO 150 mm, 20 for each sheat film holder, 150 a tripod, 300 a spotmeter.

Then you'll have to buy film...

A monorail is symmetrical and this is going to help you a lot in understanding movements (and has the biggest freedom of movements).



I'd really like to get a hefty 8x10, which would probably clear out my savings. Perhaps it would feel well worth it, though. I've considered a 4x5, but my worry there is that by the time I decide I want to try out another camera, I might not be able to get enough resale value out of it to recoup enough cash to upgrade.

You should be able to resale it for the same price.

8x10 quadruples 4x5 in every things ;-)

J

Pfsor
21-Mar-2018, 02:28
Considering the tenuous future of film negative production, would this be a poor investment?

Yes, in the case of your 8x10 choice! Think about the fact that the LF photography will just give you pictures (at your expense!), not any financial reward. In this sense it is not any investment, just an expense. Don't start LF photo with a film format that carries additional problems to solve. Start with a 4x5, more than enough to please you with its photographic results.

Two23
21-Mar-2018, 05:18
I highly advise staying away from 8x10 to start. It will eat money faster than you can replace it. The suggestion of buying a used monorail camera, something like a Cambo NX2, will be a cheap but good entry. I see them selling on ebay for <$400 with a nice lens! They are bulky and not what you'd want to hike all day with, but otherwise you are getting a lot for your money. You should be able to get most of your money back out of something like that. Most all of my camera gear was bought used, generally from ebay.


Kent in SD

Willie
21-Mar-2018, 05:23
A used Calumet 400 series with a lens will set you back under $200 if you look around a bit. 6 film holders, a light meter and a cable release less than $100 more. You can make a dark cloth. Carry bag is simple. Smallish drink cooler from a thrift store if you don't already have a bag to use.

The old monorail cameras are easy to use. The Calumets, Burke and James and Kodak metal monorails were not expensive when new and are still inexpensive on the used market.

A 4x5 enlarger can be had for low cost to "please take this thing off my hands".

If and when you decide to move to a larger format you don't lose much at all because you did not pay much for the gear.

Tobias Key
21-Mar-2018, 05:28
I would start with a 4x5. There are so many things that are simpler. You can develop the film in a tank, not a tray so you don't need a darkroom to do it. Lenses are a lot easier to find and cheaper, you should be able to find a standard lens for under £200. I got a monorail, lens and various boards and accessories for £350, and that was enough to get me started. You can get everything you need online, in a day and be ready to start shooting when it arrives. It would be a lot harder and more time consuming to source a 8x10 kit, things like film holders are just that much more difficult to find. All decent, non-electronic film equipment seems to be holding its value or apprieciating, so if you buy carefully all you are doing is storing your money in that equipment. With luck you should get it all back or maybe even make a profit.

Jim Jones
21-Mar-2018, 05:42
Another vote for 4x5. The main advantage of 5x7 or 8x10 is where the larger negative is needed for contact printing esoteric processes. However, these large negatives can be digitally reproduced from smaller negatives. Your first LF camera should be used, not new. It is a learning tool, not a lifetime investment. Only after hands on experience can you know what features you need. The better cameras from several generations ago have most or all of the capabilities of most new products. Many of these, unlike many new cameras, use simple lens boards that are inexpensive and easy to improvise. Perhaps the most significant improvement in lenses in many years is multicoating. However, some hundred-year-old uncoated lenses are still in good use. Remember, great photographs from the past were taken with what seems to us to be primitive equipment. Pursuing the latest and best camera is less productive (but much more expensive) than making the most of whatever equipment is at hand. The one photographic lifetime investment is a tripod. I prefer the old well designed and built Tiltall to new, but more expensive and relatively unproven, designs.

John Kasaian
21-Mar-2018, 06:22
What you want to do with your new camera should indicate to some extent which type of LF camera to choose. Back packing? Studio work? Hand held? Architecture?
Then consider your lens----what does it require as far as bellows length? Size of lens board? Will it be compatible with your camera selection?
That would be a start.

Tickets to the dance can be all over the place. You can still find old US built monorails for $150 or Linhofs for $1000s. My advice would be to look for a camera that's in good condition. No negative ever will tell the viewer the name on the camera used to take the shot, but it will tell you if there are pinholes in the bellows, or the movements don't lock down firmly, or the film holder didn't fit correctly.
Regarding build quality, any of the major brands should be sound if their designs have withstood the test of time, so don't sweat that part of the equation. The important thing is to get out and make photographs.

As far as format, 4x5 is the entry drug. Larger formats are more costly in terms of film, chemistry, film holders, tripods(larger cameras need greater stability) and lenses. Spend your $$ as you see fit.
I prefer 8x10 and have done it on a budget so it isn't entirely out of the question, but it's going to cost.

Willie in post #6 above offers excellent advice, but don't forget the Graphic View I or II

Bill L.
21-Mar-2018, 06:26
Another vote for a "beater" 4x5. You don't say what type of photography you do, but there will be a learning curve, and you will develop preferences for what type of camera you want. An old 4x5 monorail with a couple of older lenses will let you figure out what you want, or if you really want portable and camera movements are less of an issue, pick up a speed or crown graphic. Chances are when you are done, you can sell it for close to what you paid, and pick up the camera that meets your needs. Who knows - the camera may be what you want! I started on an old Graphic View, and I'm going to pull it back out again for some wet plate work.

Cheers!
Bill

Joshua Dunn
21-Mar-2018, 07:12
You don't learn large format on 8x10. You always start on 4x5. You can still get amazing results and EVERYTHING is cheaper. Once you master most of the basics of 4x5 you can consider 8x10 but you may find in unnecessary. You didn't mention what type of photography you are interested in focusing on in large format. If you don't know that's o.k. but it can narrow down what type of camera to invest in. Think of it as two basic choices, a 4x5 folder (usually wooden) or a monorail. The folders are more compact and easy to travel with and can easily capture most subject matter from a technical perspective. Monorail cameras are not quite as portable, a little heavier and more complicated to use but a good monorail system is infinity capable and can grow with you as a photographer.

I have been a long time Sinar user and love the system. Unless you really want a folding camera I would invest in a used Sinar F2. You should be able to find one for around $500. The Sinar system is can suit virtually any type of technical requirement you will ever come up with. As long as you buy the appropriate accessories. What I mean by all these references to technical capabilities is a camera that you want to use super wide angle lenses for architecture has very different requirements than a camera using very long lenses. With a Sinar system as you learn what you want to capture in large format you can customize the camera to suit your needs. Spend carefully on lenses, good sharp lenses with good coverage can be found a decent prices. Don't forget you will need a good sturdy tripod.

You mentioned you took books out of University. Are you a student? If so where?

-Joshua

fotopfw
21-Mar-2018, 10:57
You don't learn large format on 8x10. You always start on 4x5.
......

I have been a long time Sinar user and love the system. Unless you really want a folding camera I would invest in a used Sinar F2. You should be able to find one for around $500. The Sinar system is can suit virtually any type of technical requirement you will ever come up with. As long as you buy the appropriate accessories. What I mean by all these references to technical capabilities is a camera that you want to use super wide angle lenses for architecture has very different requirements than a camera using very long lenses. With a Sinar system as you learn what you want to capture in large format you can customize the camera to suit your needs. Spend carefully on lenses, good sharp lenses with good coverage can be found a decent prices. Don't forget you will need a good sturdy tripod.
.......
-Joshua

Same here, long time user of Sinar: great system on a lot available for reasonable prices. Started myself with Sinar P2 4x5" went later on to 8x10" (to replace the 8x10" Cambo that was awkward to set up). Now, 8x10" is a lot more volume and weight. I still use the 4x5" often enough to keep it, it's so easy and fast to set up!

Pere Casals
21-Mar-2018, 11:38
I'd suggest you search CAMBO 4x5 at ebay.

You can have one for $200, while a very cheap monorail, it's sturdy, have all movements, and it will allow you to learn what you want from a camera and from glass. Later you can sell it (or not...) and pick LF gear components while having a personal criterion.

A Sinar Norma is a camera I love and I'd recommend, a bit more expensive but very fieldable.

LF gear can be affordable, or very expensive. A higher cost won't deliver better images. Some phtographers may make amazing images by using a plain Coke's bottle bottom as a lens, while others would prefer specialized glass for portraiture, architecture or landscape. IMHO it is very important you get in touch with the whole process before you spend too much money without knowing what you will need/want.

Mistakes you can make in selecting 8x10 gear are x4 more painful than with 4x5. Nothing wrong in starting with 8x10 if one has the determination, but it's harder.

Then, if you are to scan, 8x10 is no problem, but if you want to do darkroom enlargements it happens that a 810 enlarger is like an aircraft carrier, while a 4x5 enlarger is like a bicycle, compared.

Michael Clark
21-Mar-2018, 12:32
Toyo- Omega made some fine 4x5 view cameras that go cheap, $150 and there's a lot around .

Bob Salomon
21-Mar-2018, 13:20
;-) ... No



Well, maybe you should take a mono-rail into consideration. For instance, you can find a 4x5 Sinar F1 or F2 for a price around $ 500.
300 to 500 more for a modern APO 150 mm, 20 for each sheat film holder, 150 a tripod, 300 a spotmeter.

Then you'll have to buy film...

A monorail is symmetrical and this is going to help you a lot in understanding movements (and has the biggest freedom of movements).




You should be able to resale it for the same price.

8x10 quadruples 4x5 in every things ;-)

J

By symettrical are you referring to the type of movements or do you mean that the front and rear both have movements?

Bob Salomon
21-Mar-2018, 13:24
You don't learn large format on 8x10. You always start on 4x5. You can still get amazing results and EVERYTHING is cheaper. Once you master most of the basics of 4x5 you can consider 8x10 but you may find in unnecessary. You didn't mention what type of photography you are interested in focusing on in large format. If you don't know that's o.k. but it can narrow down what type of camera to invest in. Think of it as two basic choices, a 4x5 folder (usually wooden) or a monorail. The folders are more compact and easy to travel with and can easily capture most subject matter from a technical perspective. Monorail cameras are not quite as portable, a little heavier and more complicated to use but a good monorail system is infinity capable and can grow with you as a photographer.

I have been a long time Sinar user and love the system. Unless you really want a folding camera I would invest in a used Sinar F2. You should be able to find one for around $500. The Sinar system is can suit virtually any type of technical requirement you will ever come up with. As long as you buy the appropriate accessories. What I mean by all these references to technical capabilities is a camera that you want to use super wide angle lenses for architecture has very different requirements than a camera using very long lenses. With a Sinar system as you learn what you want to capture in large format you can customize the camera to suit your needs. Spend carefully on lenses, good sharp lenses with good coverage can be found a decent prices. Don't forget you will need a good sturdy tripod.

You mentioned you took books out of University. Are you a student? If so where?

-Joshua

In the USAF photo school at Lowry AFB in the early 60s they gave us 810 Deardorffs to start and learn on. A 45 came later! 35 and MF were not part of the course!

Bob Salomon
21-Mar-2018, 13:25
Toyo- Omega made some fine 4x5 view cameras that go cheap, $150 and there's a lot around .

Don’t get any of the plastic ones!!!

jose angel
21-Mar-2018, 13:37
Looks like I`m the party pooper here. My excuses.
First, because I`d only shoot film if traditional darkroom printing is the printing method. If you want to scan the film, directly shoot digital and enjoy the much wider creative options of modern printing. Or, if you don`t want to print, shoot digital and save your money for memory and gear updating. Film based images are quite expensive (and sometimes, ingrate) if you have to pay others to make the work.
Second, I partially differ with others above; while I agree that 4x5" is the way to start, IMHO what makes traditional photography worth it is the original or vintage methods. I agree that film and paper will be here for a while, but I find it somewhat lacking; vintage processes keep better the beauty and charm of "real" photography. Palladium/platinum, carbon, wet plates, etc. ask for larger formats. But it is true that better to learn/start with the smallest one (cheapest, easiest to find and use).
So if you plan to make the whole traditional process, I`d say go ahead. But if you just plan to do some kind of hybrid/incomplete process, I`d say think it twice. Anyway, you already shoot small formats, so you can have an idea. Or buy cheap gear and try it.
Just my honest opinion.

William Whitaker
21-Mar-2018, 13:42
A used Calumet 400 series with a lens will set you back under $200 if you look around a bit. 6 film holders, a light meter and a cable release less than $100 more. You can make a dark cloth. Carry bag is simple. Smallish drink cooler from a thrift store if you don't already have a bag to use.

The old monorail cameras are easy to use. The Calumets, Burke and James and Kodak metal monorails were not expensive when new and are still inexpensive on the used market.

A 4x5 enlarger can be had for low cost to "please take this thing off my hands".

If and when you decide to move to a larger format you don't lose much at all because you did not pay much for the gear.

+1
I sold a Calumet CC-400 a few years back for even less than that. It's a bare-bones camera, butt-simple and great to learn on. Besides, it was used by Ansel Adams to illustrate movements in Camera & Lens, the first book of his Basic Photo Series. So, it's a book-worthy camera. 4x5 is big enough to contact print. Get comfortable with that and then re-evaluate the whole 8x10 thing

Jim Galli
21-Mar-2018, 15:35
4X5's are HO gauge trains. 8X10's are Lionel 0 gauge tinplate. I hope you do the 8X10. A fine 8X10 contact print on AZO is a brute force assault on the digital that all your buddies are doing which are all the same.

Then, there's other stuff, like soft focus that no computer will ever be able to duplicate.

OK, that ought to be enough fodder for argument for the next 3 pages or so.

Jac@stafford.net
21-Mar-2018, 16:07
[...] Then, there's other stuff, like soft focus that no computer will ever be able to duplicate

Ever since first seeing Jim Galli's soft focus works, I just plain quit the aesthetic. Too rarefied, subtle, complex! I've tried. (http://www.digoliardi.net/Jim_Koszis_1-4_web.jpg)
.

Jim Graves
21-Mar-2018, 21:10
Where are you located? Maybe you can meet up with one of us and try out a 4x5 and 8x10.

Bill Poole
21-Mar-2018, 21:14
First, because I`d only shoot film if traditional darkroom printing is the printing method. If you want to scan the film, directly shoot digital and enjoy the much wider creative options of modern printing.

I have to respectfully disagree with this. Scanned film images have their own character, whether displayed onscreen or printed with all the "creative options of modern printing." I love shooting medium and large format (as well as digital) for so many reasons, even though these days when shooting film I have to switch to a digital workflow for display and printing. It's all good. Choices are good. No way of working is wrong. And I would never recommend that someone not shoot film simply because they could not print wet. Shooting film is fun, no matter how you do it. And you end up with the big honking piece of film to file away to maybe print wet someday--or to rescan and print digitally as the technologies improve.

Alan Gales
21-Mar-2018, 21:14
There is nothing wrong with starting with 8x10 if you can afford it. Shooting 4x5 is a lot cheaper though. I shoot 8x10 b&w but I can't afford 8x10 color film. Some people shoot x-ray film due to it being cheaper than b&w film.

Most of us do not keep our first large format camera. We learn on that camera and then find that we desire a different camera after we learn what we like and don't like in a camera. You will probably be no different. Used large format cameras have bottomed out in price. If you buy a used camera at a good price and then sell it later you should lose very little money. The best deals are usually from someone who is selling a monorail with at least one lens, a few film holders and maybe a case.

Large format is a lot of fun. Jump in and get your feet wet! :)

Peter De Smidt
21-Mar-2018, 22:08
Where are you located? Maybe you can meet up with one of us and try out a 4x5 and 8x10.

This is a great idea. One of us is probably not that far away. You could try a bunch of stuff under the guidance of someone who knows how to use it.

ventdesable
22-Mar-2018, 01:59
By symettrical are you referring to the type of movements or do you mean that the front and rear both have movements?

Yep ;-)

I mean that as front and rear standards are identical, it is then a lot easier to understand how things are going. And, you can select one movement at a time compared to a folding where you have front standard tilt and shift that are locked by only one knob for instance.

I see that I'm not the only one to refer to a monorail...

J

ventdesable
22-Mar-2018, 02:06
You don't learn large format on 8x10. You always start on 4x5. You can still get amazing results and EVERYTHING is cheaper. Once you master most of the basics of 4x5 you can consider 8x10 but you may find in unnecessary. You didn't mention what type of photography you are interested in focusing on in large format. If you don't know that's o.k. but it can narrow down what type of camera to invest in. Think of it as two basic choices, a 4x5 folder (usually wooden) or a monorail. The folders are more compact and easy to travel with and can easily capture most subject matter from a technical perspective. Monorail cameras are not quite as portable, a little heavier and more complicated to use but a good monorail system is infinity capable and can grow with you as a photographer.

I have been a long time Sinar user and love the system. Unless you really want a folding camera I would invest in a used Sinar F2. You should be able to find one for around $500. The Sinar system is can suit virtually any type of technical requirement you will ever come up with. As long as you buy the appropriate accessories. What I mean by all these references to technical capabilities is a camera that you want to use super wide angle lenses for architecture has very different requirements than a camera using very long lenses. With a Sinar system as you learn what you want to capture in large format you can customize the camera to suit your needs. Spend carefully on lenses, good sharp lenses with good coverage can be found a decent prices. Don't forget you will need a good sturdy tripod.

You mentioned you took books out of University. Are you a student? If so where?

-Joshua

Hello,

I disagree on the first part : learning on an 8x10 is a lot easier than 4x5. It is due to the ground glass size. Comfortable on an 8x10, tinier on a 4x5 ;-). But I do agree with the rest of it. Every thing else is a lot more complicated and expensive.

J

Jim Galli
22-Mar-2018, 04:53
I have not found 8X10 to be significantly more expensive than 4X5, but alas, must admit there was a learning curve in that discovery. It took several cameras before I landed on my "keeper's". Still, auction houses like the ubiquitous ebay mean that with some fees, if I didn't buy too stupidly, I can recoup a large percentage of what I bought to learn with.

Tin Can
22-Mar-2018, 06:38
Never too late or too old to start.

You could spend very little.

Buy any size X-Ray film. Find a cardboard box. Make a pinhole. Shoot a picture. Develop and contact print.

Repeat until you want something different.

Not better.

morecfm
22-Mar-2018, 07:29
I started with 4x5 and now have a lightweight Horseman field camera. I just got an 8x10 that needs some work. My opinion is to start out with 4x5 and when you get comfortable and want to go to 8x10 then go for it. I'm keeping the 4x5 stuff because I'm not going to lug the 8x10, big and heavy tripod, and other associated items into the woods.

rbiemer
22-Mar-2018, 08:45
Lots of good suggestions and info here so far.
I am absolutely new to 4x5, I bought my first lf camera last summer and my decision about which camera was was based on what I wanted to photograph and my budget.

So, I bought an Intrepid. There certainly are better cameras out there but I wanted something to hike with which meant light weight and my budget was fairly small so that ruled out, for me, a lot of options. And, frankly, I wanted an actually new camera.

With the pound vs dollar rate at the time I paid, I was all in for camera, lens, film holders, chemicals, a daylight tank, and some film at about $500 USD.

I am still happy with that choice. I am NOT saying you need to or should make that same choice, I am suggesting that you consider what you'll want to photograph and that consideration ought to help you sort through the options.

If buying used is where you end up at, I will say that I think condition trumps brand almost every time.

One other thing, for me, is that none of my photographic equipment is a financial investment. It all is an investment towards, well, joy. I am not looking to make money with or from my photography, so the return for the money I spend on it is measured in satisfaction from engaging in this hobby of mine, the pleasure found in seeing some well made photo of mine hanging on a wall--or refrigerator :), and, largely, in the enjoyment of getting away from all the day to day BS that can surround us.

The OP mentions university: are you lucky enough to have a class available for LF photography? If so, I would suggest taking it. You'd get the chance to use a 4x5 camera and get a feel for what that is like and it becomes much easier, I think, to learn when you have the chance to do so in real life.

Good luck!
Rob

John Kasaian
22-Mar-2018, 09:56
Never too late or too old to start.

You could spend very little.

Buy any size X-Ray film. Find a cardboard box. Make a pinhole. Shoot a picture. Develop and contact print.

Repeat until you want something different.

Not better.

Yup!

consummate_fritterer
22-Mar-2018, 13:51
No activity from the OP for 36.5 hours, since the initial query. I hope we didn't overwhelm him/her. Much good information given here. Surely the OP will respond with answers to questions and more information soon so we can better focus our advice.

I just did a search for "strayblank" and found new registration on at least four forums including this one as of yesterday or at least within this month. So he/she may be busy researching other subjects.

Joshua Dunn
22-Mar-2018, 15:02
In the USAF photo school at Lowry AFB in the early 60s they gave us 810 Deardorffs to start and learn on. A 45 came later! 35 and MF were not part of the course!

With respect I doubt our friend is working with the budget of the Air Force. But I wish I was!

-Joshua

Bob Salomon
22-Mar-2018, 15:05
With respect I doubt our friend is working with the budget of the Air Force. But I wish I was!

-Joshua
Might not have as much but they gave us very old cameras and one old lens and tripod. Certainly not state of the art in the early 60s! In fact the stuff was older then the USAF when we were issued it!

Joshua Dunn
22-Mar-2018, 15:06
Hello,

I disagree on the first part : learning on an 8x10 is a lot easier than 4x5. It is due to the ground glass size. Comfortable on an 8x10, tinier on a 4x5 ;-). But I do agree with the rest of it. Every thing else is a lot more complicated and expensive.

J

That may be true but given the cost difference between 4x5 and 8x10, from cameras to lenses, tripods and not to mention learning to process the film, I would always suggest starting with 4x5. Especially given that the in the original post explained a concern for keeping costs down.

-Joshua

snommisbor
22-Mar-2018, 22:04
My first was a Crown Graphic. Great simple camera and it comes with the lens. Simple movements and a cheap way to get into it. Once you decided you want to go deeper, sell the Crown Graphic and get a nice field camera.

Dan O'Farrell
23-Mar-2018, 14:01
No activity from the OP for 36.5 hours, since the initial query. I hope we didn't overwhelm him/her. Much good information given here. Surely the OP will respond with answers to questions and more information soon so we can better focus our advice.

I just did a search for "strayblank" and found new registration on at least four forums including this one as of yesterday or at least within this month. So he/she may be busy researching other subjects.

Or, maybe just somebody who has no interest in this subject, but wants to poke a finger in a lot of pies...

There are a lot of weird people in the world....

MMMmmm... think about it .....