LF, VLF, ULF: What's Your Definition of Format Sizes?

[Drew Bedo]

[QUOTE=Reinhold Schable
This is not an attempt to write a dictionary on formats contrary to some acerbic reacions already posted. I'm only interested in how the community uses these terms. It's as simple as that.

Reinhold[/QUOTE]

Ok—seriously then:
35mm—"miniture" (or "Half Frame" if you are a cinimatographer)

Any format on 120 or 220 film—"Medium Format"

4x5 through 8x10 inch—"Large Format"

Anything larger than 8x10 is "Ultra-Large Format"

People will quibble over what to call some of the panoramic formats.

[Drew Bedo]

Reinild :

What everyou call your lenses is less important than knowing what they will do. I know that this is almost the same thing but it is not really true.

Many lenses may cover several formats. There will be limitations and trade-offs. While I CAN mount a 15 inch (380mm) lense on my little Wista 4x5, it will not focus more closely than 30 feet or so (short bellows) . . .and it strains the front standard of this lightly built camera.

In the past, I have used a 75mm lens on my 8x10 Kodak 2-D. This is a lens formulated to cover 2 1/4 “square (6x6 cm) at infinity. I was using it for close macro work where the image circle actually did cover the 8x10 format.

These are both extreme examples to make the point. learn what your gear will and will-not do, and use that knowledge to create the images that match your inner vision.

[angusparker]

Ok—seriously then:
35mm—"miniture" (or "Half Frame" if you are a cinimatographer)

Any format on 120 or 220 film—"Medium Format"

4x5 through 8x10 inch—"Large Format"

Anything larger than 8x10 is "Ultra-Large Format"

People will quibble over what to call some of the panoramic formats.

This seems to be the way most people think - with a small group quibbling over 6x12-6x24 MF formats. Certainly availability of film and expense of running anything over 8x10 (camera, holders, film, processing) make ULF cut off pretty clear to me.

[David A. Goldfarb]

It's not too important, but I call anything on rollfilm "medium format," and I suppose I think of 2x3" sheet film also as "medium format."

4x5-8x10" I'd call "large format"

11x14" and up, today at least, is ULF, though maybe when it was more common as a format used for Hollywood portraiture, furniture photography, and such, it might have been thought of as "LF." I also think it's useful to consider the panoramic formats 7x17" and larger as ULF. There's an order of magnitude of difficulty that enters when you go from 8x10" to 11x14" like custom film orders and handmade filmholders (if you want new ones). There are also smaller formats that require a similar degree of customization, but if you wanted, at least you could cut 8x10" film down to 4x10" or whole plate, which is not true for 11x14" and larger.

Sometimes "custom format" makes more sense than "ULF," even if the formats that are now "custom" were once "standard."

[toyotadesigner]

That depends:

If you derive LF from the area of the involved film surface, your categories are ok with me.
If you derive it from the versatility and movements of a camera, then even a 6x9 Arca Swiss would belong into the LF category.

[ImSoNegative]

I agree that large format would probably start in the 6x12, 6x17 range and end at 8x10 ULF is everything after that

[ImSoNegative]

is there a Ultra Large Format Photography Forum? If there is, about i could do is be a lurker

[Tin Can]

+1

to the second thought

and aren't we calling digital capture LF with 645 digital backs, especially when mounted on full movement cameras?

That depends:

If you derive LF from the area of the involved film surface, your categories are ok with me.
If you derive it from the versatility and movements of a camera, then even a 6x9 Arca Swiss would belong into the LF category.

[NancyP]

I propose MLF, mammoth large format." Hey, you two! bring your forklifts over here, we need to move this thing."

George Lawrence, an adventurous self-trained photographer, made a giant photograph of the Chicago-Alton train line for the Paris Exposition.:
http://robroy.dyndns.info/lawrence/mammoth.html

Maybe you have seen this article, maybe not. It is local history for me. Alton is a 20 minute drive north of St. Louis, and the emulsion was made and processing/ contact printing done in St. Louis.

[Tin Can]

I just learned today and already lost the link, but it was the guy who posts the soft focus lens blog.

Somewhere in his discussion, Mammoth Format was 12/4 plate or 14x17" I believe.

Here is the link, http://antiquecameras.net/petzvallens.html

I propose MLF, mammoth large format." Hey, you two! bring your forklifts over here, we need to move this thing."

George Lawrence, an adventurous self-trained photographer, made a giant photograph of the Chicago-Alton train line for the Paris Exposition.:
http://robroy.dyndns.info/lawrence/mammoth.html

Maybe you have seen this article, maybe not. It is local history for me. Alton is a 20 minute drive north of St. Louis, and the emulsion was made and processing/ contact printing done in St. Louis.