Choosing Your Format ...

[Ron Bose]

How do you guys choose which format you're going to use ?

For instance, this weekend I plan to photograph at a historic village site, which has lot's of old buildings and few people. So which format should I use ? (Rhetorical question).

So how do you guys decide which format to use ?

I certainly don't need autofocus, so Nikon's stay home, I could use MF (Mamiya 7ii or 'blad) or LF. If I use LF, should I take my 5x7 or my 8x10.

So I started asking myself, why would I take an 8x10 ? What does that do that the 5x7 can't ? Do I need a visually complex subject to suit the larger neg ? Or does it come down to the output ?

Quick and easy - digital. Contact printing - 5x7 for a small, 8x10 for a large print ?

Then again, I haven't used my Leica R8 or M6 which are both a joy to use.

I know ... I have too many cameras ... if there is such a concept !?!

[jetcode]

reduction is used in composition given an infinite set of notes, rhythms, and harmonic progression

a composer may write an entire score based on 5 notes

since you are essentially adept at all formats narrow your tool kit to 1 camera and 1 maybe 2 lenses on this trip and work with your tools instead of letting your tools work you

amazing things can happen in the land of the sparse

[Daniel_Buck]

For me, it's a choice of either Digital, 4x5, or 8x10. And the deciding factor is how much space/weight can I afford to bring, and how much time will I have to shoot. (assuming that I'm going to visit a place/subject that interests me)

If I'll have plenty of time and plenty of space, I'll bring the 8x10! If I'll have not as much space, but still some time to work, I'll bring the 4x5 and the digital, combined take up less space than the 8x10, and allow me to go 'trigger happy' with the digital, but still sit down and take some 4x5 shots.

For me, the 8x10 doesn't give me any better results than the 4x5 (I rarely ever print larger than 11x14), I just enjoy working with it more!

If it's going to be alot of hiking with not much time for stopping and picture taking, I'll bring just the digital.

[Ron Marshall]

When I want to travel light I use medium format. If I have more time and don't mind the weight then 4x5.

Larger than 4x5 if I plan on making prints larger than 24x30, or contact prints.

[Walter Calahan]

Why paint in watercolors instead of oil?

Formats are a personal choice that matches a photographer's vision.

I say take the format that works with what you are trying to say.

[Patrik Roseen]

Why would you PHOTOGRAPH the historic village site in the first place?

Why not just visit the place?

Because you want to photograph it...why?

Because you want to enjoy yourself. So which format would give you the most pleasure?

Because you intend to complement your existing photographs into a portfolio. Will the format matter?

Because you intend to use a specific type of printing technique. Which?

How do you intend to photograph the village? Few panoramas or lots of small details/closeups.

Any particular scenery you will be looking out for..or expect to find?

??

Lots of questions we all can ask, but only you can answer!
---------------------------------------

I like to bring only one camera but instead a wide variety of lenses (wideangle, normal and tele).

[Ron Bose]

Patrik,

Very well put. We can lose our way at times and sometimes it's easy to get back on track to fulfillment and sometimes it's not.

Your questions can help reach the answer, especially when your 'gut' can't provide the answer ...

[MIke Sherck]

I suspect that this quandry simply means that you have too many cameras. Camera selection should be pretty obvious; if not, maybe you need to re-think why you're taking the picture in the first place.

Of course, maybe you're really be a camera collector. Then, I suppose, the decision would be made on a different basis and perhaps not be as simple.

Mike

[jetcode]

I remember meeting a guy who had a portfolio printed in Lens Work that just knocked my socks off ... his rig was an 8x10, 360mm f/6.8, and tri-x ... and that's it ...

[Bruce Watson]

How do you guys choose which format you're going to use?

Easy enough. I just have the one camera. So all my film is 5x4 film. I own just five lenses and almost always carry them all with me. None are sitting in cabinets at home waiting to be called ;-)

Why? Because I wanted to really learn LF. And the best way to do that IMHO is to use it. For every shot. Which I do.

Why 5x4? Because I wanted to put the entire kit on my back and hike into the woods with it. And 5x4 is light weight which is excellent for my purposes.

Will I move up in format one of these days? Maybe. But it's been nearly seven years now and I'm seldom tempted. And I still have things to learn about 5x4.

[CG]

Hmmm,

Factors pushing decision towards smaller cameras:
You need to work quickly
You don't need / want huge enlargements
You want to keep the film budget down
Client is just doing web photos.
You want to emphasize grain / "photojournalism look"
Weight and portability are pressing concerns
Airline weight / size restrictions perhaps
You are snapshooting
High shutter speeds needed
Hand holding needed
Extreme mobility needed
Fast lenses will be needed

Factors pushing choices towards larger cameras:
You have time and desire to work more deliberately
You need / want huge enlargements
Film budget is less of a concern
Photos may be used for demanding applications
You want to de-emphasize grain
Weight and portability are not as big concerns
Airline weight / size restrictions are not at issue
You are shooting seriously and seek traditional image perfection
Lower shutter speeds anticipated
Tripod used
More stationary work
Fast lenses not an issue

C

[Tony Flora]

I think you have to take the right tool for the job. There is the right practical tool and the right creative tool. Logistics is important, but I don't think it trumps purpose. If you are shooting for pleasure then I agree with Patrik, what ever gives you the pleasure. If shooting for stock maybe the digital is the practical tool. I want to slow down and get to know some of my subjects better, so I bought a 4x5.

[Vick Vickery]

A historic village is an architectural subject, so I'd treat it as such. For me that means my 4x5 Cambo rail camera for its full movements, a Hasselblad for some overall shots that can be kept level and detail shots that can be handled with its 150mm lens (the longest I have for the 'blad), and a Minolta 35mm or a DSLR for its long reach for out-of-the-way detail shots (like the tops of columns, corners of ceilings, etc.). Regardless of format, you still need full movements for architectural subjects, so take whichever of your big cameras has the most movements.

[redrockcoulee]

I read the OP as not asking which camera for him to take to the historical village but rather how do we all decide between formats. If that is the case, sometimes it is my mood for using one particular camera that decides what or where I am going to shoot. Sometimes it is the final appearance of the image that decides (not a good or bad image but square or rectangular for instance). Sometimes it is the weather, if it is very windy I might not try the LF, especially if it is at a place that I frequent as can always go back with the 4X5. And sometimes it is simply of packing a couple of bags in the car and see what happens when I get there.

I am lucky and unlucky in some ways as my wife is an artist but also a photographer so in addition to her digital set up she will also select whatever system I want to use letting me take the second choice. No actually she will most likely use whatever I don't begin with.

To me shooting one system does not work as there is such a variety of situations and subjects and I am not a good enough photographer to be able to make the best of them with just one type of camera.

For the historical village example it would be either the 'blad or 4X5 plus digital and perhaps 35mm film instead of digital. But there is also the possiblity that I would have both the blad and the 4X5 so would not use the 35mm and maybe in that case not the digital. There is no hard and fast rules for me.

I do think it was an excellent question. While we might shoot with others sometimes we normally shoot alone and it is interesting to find out the thought processes of others who share some of our own interests (LF photography here)

[Hollis]

For me, the options are getting to be too many. Digital, 4x5, whole plate or now, 8x15. Essentially, the later 2 are for wet plate work so that is an easy choice. Either you bring the whole lab or not, not too tough to figure out. But, between the digi and the 4x5 it gets tougher. Im sure I will make some here pull their hair out but my digital can best most any 4x5 scan for output at least up to 40x50, at least. That being said, the aspect ratios are different, the lenses are immensely different and the process/method is different. I love my view cameras because they make me slow down and compose and think and re-assess most aspects of all my shots.

Now, I just got off a boat (yesterday) from a full day of ocean fishing and there is no way in hell I was going to bring my 4x5. I wish I didn't bring the digital either cause now it smells like fish.

[Graham Patterson]

I have learned to work within the limits of the camera I have with me. I don't pine because I picked the wrong bag.

If photography is not the primary reason for the trip, take something with low impact on other activities. One a trip to Europe recently, I took a fixed lens 645 rangefinder - I knew I'd use it more than other options when there is a lot of walking around.

An afternoon wandering in the country at my own pace makes the 5x4 attractive.

Type of subject: really wide, really long lenses? Big negative? Macro features? Movements?

Travel or location restrictions: Tripod not permitted? Airlines? Rough end of town?

Do I just feel like a change? Are the film holders loaded, or can I just the 6x9 back?

I think the selection makes itself.

[Anupam]

If your format doesn't choose itself, you have too many.

[Eric Brody]

I agree that you (and I as well) probably have too many cameras. But at the time of purchase... each seemed so appropriate. Oh well.

In practice, I try to use the largest format compatible with the subject and conditions. My default first choice is my 4x5 since it is my largest negative but often it is not the best choice. When I hike, uphill usually, (both ways), I tend to go with the 6x7 RF since it makes terrific images for its size and weight and tolerates a light tripod. As a happy medium my 6x6 SLR is perhaps the most versatile, medium tele, medium wide and tubes for closeups. For birds and wildlife, the digital SLR, and my longest lens, for family, the digital point and shoot.

That's it.

Eric

[John Kasaian]

Logistics sway format choice for me, as well as which format film holders do I have loaded at the time. :)

[Scott Kathe]

To add to the confusion: are you going to shoot color, black and white or both? If you are doing both, which has it's own issues, pick a camera with interchangeable backs. You can leave the rangefinder home or better yet send it to me so you won't have to think about it again;)

Will you need/want perspective control or tilt for altering the plain of focus?

I would stick with one camera and two or three lenses, that's my 4x5 setup and it works for me. However, I just picked up a really nice RZ67 with WLF, 110mm lens, a 120 back and a 220 back for a slightly 'faster' style of shooting with less expensive film and processing thrown in. I'm going out tomorrow and will probably bring the 4x5 kit. Format choice can cause paralysis, at least for me, so I only bring one type of camera with me at a time. I've tried a DSLR as a light meter with my large format work and it completely befuddles my workflow. But then again I'm not a very experienced large format photographer...yet.

Scott

[John Kasaian]

How do you guys choose which format you're going to use ?

For instance, this weekend I plan to photograph at a historic village site, which has lot's of old buildings and few people. So which format should I use ? (Rhetorical question).

So how do you guys decide which format to use ?

I certainly don't need autofocus, so Nikon's stay home, I could use MF (Mamiya 7ii or 'blad) or LF. If I use LF, should I take my 5x7 or my 8x10.

So I started asking myself, why would I take an 8x10 ? What does that do that the 5x7 can't ? Do I need a visually complex subject to suit the larger neg ? Or does it come down to the output ?

Quick and easy - digital. Contact printing - 5x7 for a small, 8x10 for a large print ?

Then again, I haven't used my Leica R8 or M6 which are both a joy to use.

I know ... I have too many cameras ... if there is such a concept !?!

Are the building such that the movements offered by your LF cameras would be beneficial? Which LF format do you have that has the best selection of lenses and movements (front rise, I'm guessing) for architecture?

Will you be shooting interiors and will you need to cart around lighting equipment?

Are the people going to let you take their pictures? Are they reinactors? Or are they villagers who dislike outsiders?

IS there a reason for big negatives? Do you plan on making huge enlargements? Contact prints?

How invasive are you willing to be? Are you bent on carrying around a tripod and film holders or would you prefer the spontaniety of handheld photography?

It's all stuff to consider.

[cjbroadbent]

If your'e not taking an 8x10, you might as well stitch digital. So there are no excuses: take 8x10.

[Ron Bose]

Thinking about it ...

This question really arises from the worst case of 'photographers block' I've ever encountered. I'm at a point where I'm questioning why I photograph. In the past, in similar situations, I've used the sheer mechanics of large format to help me through the loss of vision. Now that isn't even helping.

Thankfully this hasn't affected my wedding work, but maybe my wedding work has affected my 'real' photography ...

Thanks for all that have responded with pragmatism, but I believe I need to work on some philosophy ...