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thcthc
3-Feb-2020, 05:39
Hello All

i'm looking for all advice to a setup in 8x10 for portrait

Camera (folding)

lens

eventually enlarger (not too much weight )

thank you

Thc

Tin Can
3-Feb-2020, 05:52
Welcome, study this page

https://www.largeformatphotography.info/

and tell us more about you and your photography

C. D. Keth
3-Feb-2020, 07:03
Like TinCan says, look around. Search a little. This question has probably been asked a dozen times a year for the last 20 years or so. We can’t predict what you want because even aside from aesthetic preferences, portraits can be made with just about any camera, lens, and film.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Corran
3-Feb-2020, 07:09
Beyond the above excellent suggestions, you should know that there is no such thing as an 8x10 enlarger that is "not too much weight." If you are shooting 8x10 and want to do traditional prints you should consider contact prints.

diversey
3-Feb-2020, 07:14
Buy this lens, and then you need not search any other lens any more:o.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cooke-XVa-Triple-Convertible-Lens-8-x-10-Large-Format-Photography/264613363447?hash=item3d9c2f7ef7:g:f7AAAOSweP9eLuvi

Ari
3-Feb-2020, 07:44
Buy this lens, and then you need not search any other lens any more:o.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cooke-XVa-Triple-Convertible-Lens-8-x-10-Large-Format-Photography/264613363447?hash=item3d9c2f7ef7:g:f7AAAOSweP9eLuvi

An expensive proposition, but you're 100% right about the lens!

John Kasaian
3-Feb-2020, 07:48
What sort of look are you going for? Heavy bokeh? Sharp? Somewhere in between?
There are several portrait specialists who work with 8x10s.
You might consider which lenses worked for them, and how they performed.
Kodak Commercial Ektar and Schneider Symmar have had a sizable following for decades.
Wollensak Vitax are very desirable but more rare and expensive.
And of course the Dagor.
Good luck!

Two23
3-Feb-2020, 09:12
And of course a Heliar!



Kent in SD

John Kasaian
3-Feb-2020, 09:41
And of course a Heliar!



Kent in SD

Of course!

Bernice Loui
3-Feb-2020, 09:43
Lighting, Connection with your portrait sitter are often more important than lens-camera-image format size...etc.

~Much about the portrait sitters expression and content of the portrait image produced. Knowing precisely what your portrait sitter and image maker wants to achieve is the primary goal. All the rest are mere means to achieve this.


Bernice

C. D. Keth
3-Feb-2020, 09:54
Lighting, Connection with your portrait sitter are often more important than lens-camera-image format size...etc.

~Much about the portrait sitters expression and content of the portrait image produced. Knowing precisely what your portrait sitter and image maker wants to achieve is the primary goal. All the rest are mere means to achieve this.


Bernice

Learning to work with a subject is MUCH more difficult and will take much more practice than gathering all the equipment in the world.

Two23
3-Feb-2020, 10:12
Learning to work with a subject is MUCH more difficult and will take much more practice than gathering all the equipment in the world.

I agree. A good portrait captures the essence of the person.



Kent in SD

Willie
3-Feb-2020, 12:01
A relative who uses 8x10 for people and portraits switched from slower glass to bigger, heavier f/5.6 300mm lens for the brighter ground glass. Says his eyes aren't what they used to be and the brighter screen made a difference.

In studio he uses a Kodak slide projector to put a slice of light right on the side of the head where the eyes are. He uses Strobes for the portraits and can stand off to the side and tell when the sitter is in perfect position for sharpness on the eyes by seeing the slice of light position. Most sitters move back and forth a bit and this enables him to trip the shutter when they are in the right spot. He shoots fairly wide open and says it does make a difference for sharpness in the eyes for his studio portraits.

Kiwi7475
3-Feb-2020, 12:37
I agree. A good portrait captures the essence of the person.



Kent in SD


Disfarmer doesn’t strike me as someone who cared to know the person and who worked really hard with people.... and yet he seemingly “captured the real souls” of many of his customers.

I mean this with some sarcasm and with a lot of respect for those who do work hard for their clients :-)

mdarnton
3-Feb-2020, 17:51
Some of you are making the unwarranted assumption that because the OP doesn't know 8x10 he doesn't know portrait.

C. D. Keth
3-Feb-2020, 18:08
Some of you are making the unwarranted assumption that because the OP doesn't know 8x10 he doesn't know portrait.

Fair enough. My assumption is and was that somebody with more visual experience would have told us better about the aesthetic goal of gearing up to shoot 8x10.[emoji2369]


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mikeber
8-Feb-2020, 14:04
Well, it’s supposed to cover everything in the optical domain. If so, it’s not that expensive.

Fr. Mark
18-Feb-2020, 10:54
The intrepid camera folks have a nice new 8x10. They've made a light source/film holder/enlarger adapter back for their 4x5. Something similar could be done for 8x10 to make enlargements that wouldn't have to be moved with chains and a gantry. That said, contact prints are pretty cool.

Tin Can
18-Feb-2020, 15:00
Tailboard cameras are prefered for Portrait http://www.vintagephoto.tv/shoulder.shtml

at least 2 reasons

1. the front standard can hold up almost any lens and doesn't need to move

2. rear focus is better at keeping 'Head' size constant while focusing

A 'modern' metal camera that is basically a full movement tailboard is the very strong Calumet C Series 8 X 10: a review right here in the forum

https://www.largeformatphotography.info/calumet/calumetc8x10.html

Jim Galli
18-Feb-2020, 21:17
Disfarmer doesn’t strike me as someone who cared to know the person and who worked really hard with people.... and yet he seemingly “captured the real souls” of many of his customers.

Apparently his customers had souls.

I will recommend a book, not a camera or lens. Long out of print, Professional Portrait Lightings by Charles Abel from 1947. There's one starting at the auction site for $40. It's an 80 or 90 dollar book. 8X10 was still in full stride when it was done. A lot to learn from the guys who were just making a living. Our reasons to do it now are different, but the equipment they used is still around and honestly, not worth very much.

thcthc
19-Feb-2020, 12:26
Hello
thank you for all the advice
i finally found a nice Burke and James 8x10
now just have to wait to receive it
and this week end going to see a 360 mm in belgium
i will let you know the following events

Peter De Smidt
19-Feb-2020, 12:54
That's great. Have fun!

thcthc
20-Feb-2020, 04:06
thank you Peter

i'm thinking to use also the camera as enlarger with an adapted back and a DEL light head ( i allready get a column about 1.2 meter high )

ic-racer
20-Feb-2020, 07:48
There have been many threads and posts on using a view camera as an enlarger. Especially since LED light sources can be easily obtained. However, I have not seen many explanations of how people are holding the negative in place. If it were me, I'd get a extra film back and replace the ground glass with clear glass. Then I'd make over-sized clips that can hold two pieces of glass together and sandwich the negative with a piece of AN glass on the top. This is a little crazy but if using a 'LED light panel' I don't see why velcro around the perimeter of the modified back would not hold the light panel in place. Either way, I'd be interested in what you come up with. I'd probably NOT try to mount an 8x10 view camera on any column. I'd use it horizontal.

cowanw
20-Feb-2020, 16:21
I second the motion for Professional Portrait Lightings by Charles Abel. I have two copies for my retirement fund although they have dropped a bit in cost, damn.
I am taking the liberty of reprinting this from a long ago post.
For them that don't know this is a 1947 book presenting 100 professional portrait photographers, presumably members of the Photographer's Association of America, and portraits and lighting diagrams of their work.
Goerz Dagor x2
Goerz Ceclor x2
Goerz Dogmar x2
Voightlander Heliar x15
Vitax x5
Velostigmat x9
Verito x13
Varium x2
Beach Multifocal x3
Cooke Anastigmat x2
series 11 Cooke x3
Cooke x1
Cooke Portrait x3
Cooke series Vl x2
Cooke Telephoto 1
Graf Variable x2
B&L Tessar x7
B&L Sigmar x
Struss Pictorial Lens x1
Ilex Paragon x3
Ross x2
Pinkham & Smith x2
Dallmeyer x4
Darlot x3
Zeiss Tessar x3
Contax Sonnar x1
Gundlach Radar x1
Hermagis x1
Steinheil Cassar x1
Eastman x1
Kodak x1
Of further interest is that yes this is very much an 8x10 aesthetic, largely with 8x10 cameras and 14-19 inch lenses,BUT it is also a product of the immediate post war years. That is reflected in the large variety of film sizes used on those cameras, as a conserving effort..
11x14-4 times
8x10-17
5x7 reducing boards-39
6 1/2x8 1/2-2
4 3/4x6 1/2-1
4x5-7
Double split on a 5x7 reducing back-3
Quad split on a 5x7 reducing back-9
35mm-1

jnantz
21-Feb-2020, 11:26
I second the motion for Professional Portrait Lightings by Charles Abel. I have two copies for my retirement fund although they have dropped a bit in cost, damn.
I am taking the liberty of reprinting this from a long ago post.
For them that don't know this is a 1947 book presenting 100 professional portrait photographers, presumably members of the Photographer's Association of America, and portraits and lighting diagrams of their work.
Goerz Dagor x2
Goerz Ceclor x2
Goerz Dogmar x2
Voightlander Heliar x15
Vitax x5
Velostigmat x9
Verito x13
Varium x2
Beach Multifocal x3
Cooke Anastigmat x2
series 11 Cooke x3
Cooke x1
Cooke Portrait x3
Cooke series Vl x2
Cooke Telephoto 1
Graf Variable x2
B&L Tessar x7
B&L Sigmar x
Struss Pictorial Lens x1
Ilex Paragon x3
Ross x2
Pinkham & Smith x2
Dallmeyer x4
Darlot x3
Zeiss Tessar x3
Contax Sonnar x1
Gundlach Radar x1
Hermagis x1
Steinheil Cassar x1
Eastman x1
Kodak x1
Of further interest is that yes this is very much an 8x10 aesthetic, largely with 8x10 cameras and 14-19 inch lenses,BUT it is also a product of the immediate post war years. That is reflected in the large variety of film sizes used on those cameras, as a conserving effort..
11x14-4 times
8x10-17
5x7 reducing boards-39
6 1/2x8 1/2-2
4 3/4x6 1/2-1
4x5-7
Double split on a 5x7 reducing back-3
Quad split on a 5x7 reducing back-9
35mm-1

that lens is mythical !

cowanw
21-Feb-2020, 11:45
?as in not actual?

Jim Galli
21-Feb-2020, 12:00
I second the motion for Professional Portrait Lightings by Charles Abel. I have two copies for my retirement fund although they have dropped a bit in cost, damn.
I am taking the liberty of reprinting this from a long ago post.
For them that don't know this is a 1947 book presenting 100 professional portrait photographers, presumably members of the Photographer's Association of America, and portraits and lighting diagrams of their work.
Goerz Dagor x2
Goerz Ceclor x2
Goerz Dogmar x2
Voightlander Heliar x15
Vitax x5
Velostigmat x9
Verito x13
Varium x2
Beach Multifocal x3
Cooke Anastigmat x2
series 11 Cooke x3
Cooke x1
Cooke Portrait x3
Cooke series Vl x2
Cooke Telephoto 1
Graf Variable x2
B&L Tessar x7
B&L Sigmar x
Struss Pictorial Lens x1
Ilex Paragon x3
Ross x2
Pinkham & Smith x2
Dallmeyer x4
Darlot x3
Zeiss Tessar x3
Contax Sonnar x1
Gundlach Radar x1
Hermagis x1
Steinheil Cassar x1
Eastman x1
Kodak x1
Of further interest is that yes this is very much an 8x10 aesthetic, largely with 8x10 cameras and 14-19 inch lenses,BUT it is also a product of the immediate post war years. That is reflected in the large variety of film sizes used on those cameras, as a conserving effort..
11x14-4 times
8x10-17
5x7 reducing boards-39
6 1/2x8 1/2-2
4 3/4x6 1/2-1
4x5-7
Double split on a 5x7 reducing back-3
Quad split on a 5x7 reducing back-9
35mm-1

no, as in silver bullets I must have ;~'))

jnantz
21-Feb-2020, 19:50
?as in not actual?

i've only heard of 2 people in the last 25 years who had one
and knew what it is. im guessing there
will be ( or maybe already is ? ) some sort of cult that worships
that lens, i mean it's got one of the coolest wollensak V names ever too !

Two23
21-Feb-2020, 20:36
There's a Varium on ebay at the moment for a big pile of money.


Kent in SD

jnantz
22-Feb-2020, 19:55
There's a Varium on ebay at the moment for a big pile of money.


Kent in SD

that is pretty amazing .. they never show up on Eboink
not sure it will sell though, that seller always sells thing for outrageous prices
as does the guy who for 5 years has been selling a royal portrait lens he claims is a veritar for $5500$