Originally Posted by
Corran
Let's do a thought experiment. Say you decide to buy a high-quality camera and a few good lenses with plenty of movements, if possible.
11x14:
Chamonix 11x14 - $4250 (new), maybe less if you can find a used one, but that's doubtful
4 film holders - $600 maybe, just a guess
Nikkor 450mm f/9 normal lens - $650
Computar 305mm f/9 wide-angle - $1000, if you can find one at a decent price in a shutter
Artar or similar 24" lens - $1000, in shutter
25-50 sheets of film - $500+ depending on new or secondhand deals, just a guess
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$8000+ and you will be burning a lot of cash on film as time goes on.
How about 8x10?
Chamonix 8x10 - $3200 (new), around $2500 used, and they do come up for sale on occasion here. There's also a lot of options on the second-hand market, down to even $500 or less for an old Korona or similar, which are still good cameras.
4 film holders - $200 used
Schneider Symmar-S or similar 300mm f/5.6 normal lens - $300 or cheaper and easy to find
Graphic Kowa 210mm f/9 wide-angle - $450 or so
Nikkor 450mm f/9 - $650
50 sheets of film - $250 or so for FP4+ straight from B&H, and you don't have to wait for a once-a-year run or try finding secondhand
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$4500 max and if you go with a cheaper used 8x10 perhaps as low as $2500 for the whole kit.
Now assuming you are digitizing your negatives and are an expert at that already, your typical $500-1000 scanners can't fit an 11x14. So now you need to spend lots of money on outsourcing scans or maybe get a high-end flatbed and spend another $1000-2000 outfitting that, if you are lucky.
Just running some numbers for fun. I almost bought an 11x14 camera a long time ago. It was pretty inexpensive as 11x14 cameras go, but I didn't. I'm glad I didn't and when I found a 8x10 for peanuts it was fun to jump into a bigger format. 4x5 is still the bread-and-butter of my LF passion. I personally do not find it lacking, and I've made some pretty big prints - as big as I can reasonably make and mount without spending a fortune on presentation. A 36-inch wide print from a well-done 4x5 negative has detail even with your nose pressed onto the print. I wouldn't hesitate to go bigger - though I also have an excellent scanner which makes pulling that kind of resolution off a negative easier.