Jody - About 2.5 months ago I was in your shoes. There has been a lot of learning over these last few months and there will be a lot more over the months and years to come.
I have scoured the site, apug, and many others for all kinds of questions. Youtube videos are also a wonderful learning tool. Google with site:http://www.largeformatphotography.info on the line will be your friend.
Camera wise, I was sitting in two camps. Getting a classic view camera or a press camera. I wanted the view for the movements. But.. I shoot a lot of action so I also wanted something that had a faster focal plane shutter - something like a speed graphic. In the end, I found a Toyo 45D with two lenses, 10 film holders, a case and some other odds and ends. I know I will end up picking up a Speed Graphic down the road to scratch my 1/1000 shutter itch.
Film and developing decisions are important. I've read and my experience is proving out...pick one film and developer combo and use that in the beginning. For me, I went towards the cheaper end. I'm shooting 4x5 Arista and using Diafine to develop. I actually like the Diafine look - it's a lower contrast developer. Like all developers there are a few way to skin the cat in use...and I'm experimenting 4 sheets of film at a time. Diafine is reusable, which lowers the cost.
My advice is to sacrifice a sheet or two of film and practice the loading / unloading film workflow. Make your initial mistakes on something that doesn't have an exposure.
I bought a Paterson tank and a cheap changing bag to load and unload the film holders. I'm using the "taco" method for developing in the Paterson tank. I added a small homebuilt PVC frame inside the changing bag - it makes life a lot easier to move around in there. Buying a more expensive changing tent would have also solved that problem.
As with anything - practice makes perfect and you'll learn from your mistakes. I typically shoot film in increments of 4 - that's how many negatives I can fit in my developing tank. The first time I loaded film, shot, put it in developing tank...it's was pretty much a comedy of errors. It's a lot smoother now.
Shooting wise. I'll use a either a light meter, my DSLR in spot meter mode, or good old Sunny 16 when outdoors to figure the exposure. Right now I'm using my DSLR as the polaroid shot of the scene. For me it is a good learning tool - and record - once the negative is scanned. It's not perfect, but it is helpful to me.
Scanner....I'm still working on this. I have a V700. My scans are not as sharp as I would like and I'm working through adjusting the height of the negative holder to get optimum height. Buying something from betterscanning is probably in my future. Before that I'd like to get my workflow down using the stock film holders. Once scanned, I'll work on the file in Lightroom or Photoshop.
All of this rambling is my current workflow. It took me a month, after the camera arrived, to assemble the rest of the pieces required.
I'm having a blast.
I'm also seeing that 4x5 is a gateway drug to 8x10. At some point in my life, I will go there.
Hope this helps.
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