Am I wacko for even considering LF?

[Ellen Stoune Duralia]

Hi all! Now please don't think me unbalanced but I'm having a tough time making up my mind and would appreciate your input. So here goes... I do product/advertising type photography and am considering getting a LF camera. Am I nuts to even consider using film in this digital world? Are there any pros on this forum that can relate their present day experiences using LF in commercial photography?

I posted a similar question on the photo.net forum and one helpful fellow suggested that to invest in anything non-digital simply isn't a good idea (to paraphrase). True or no?

I'm currently using Canon digital gear but what irks me is that about a year from now, I'm going to looking to upgrade. My thinking is that at least with a good LF system (I'm looking at Horsemans and Sinars), it'll be around for a good while and upgrading will mean getting a new lens or a digital back perhaps.

So what do ya'll think?

Thanks in advance :-)

[Bill_1856]

I'm not a commercial photographer but it seems to me that you need to answer two questions: 1) How valuable is your time, and 2) how pushy are your clients. Make that THREE questions: How hot is your competition?

[Scott Rosenberg]

ellen... weigh the responses you get here by considering the bias of your audience. the contributers to this forum are all large format devotees, many of whom, mysellf included, will continue to use film long after digital makes even more significant inroads. i suspect that you will get a much different response from a forum devoted to digital photography.

that said, there are many talented photographers on this site that use both digital and film, but there are also lots of die-hard filmies here.

my spin, worth every penny you paid for it, and not much more, is that you could invest in a digital system, and a year later, reinvest in the next generation of digital gear as the digi cams get closer to the current LF stuff. or, you can simply buy a lf system and be conteted for many, many years. furthermore, i would think that the movements a view camera offers would be another HUGE advantage over the current crop of digicams for what you do.

good luck,
scott

[Calamity Jane]

I'm not a professional so I can't address the "logic" of your question but I will say that the more WOMEN totting LF gear, the BETTER! ;-)

From a business case, if your clients are (or will) require your product in digital form, you might as well go digital all the way. If your clients want transparencies for offset lith or other optical reproduction, then LF makes sense.

Aside from the business case, you could always join us amateurs who follow the wet work for the sheer joy of the process AND have the advantage of being able to write off the equipment!

[Ted Fullerton]

Ellen,

Is the root of your consideration of LF the film size and qualities, the camera movements, or both?

Is there a specific problem you're trying to solve with your product/advertising photography, or are you thinking, "I wonder if I'm missing something?"

[JZ]

I'd say that among the benefits to using LF, there are two that are most apparent (though certainly not the only ones): Larger negative and perspective control. Being that I've never done any commercial photography, I can't really say if either of these two attributes would be helpful. But, if I had to guess, I'd wager that while the larger negative isn't all that useful if these shots are used in magazines or the like, but I would think that the perspective control may be quite helpful. If you really are just looking for perspective control, then you can always try one of those devices that replaces the normal ground glass back with a digital camera (I believe Calumet has an entire line around this idea). This will give you all of the movements (I believe, never really tried it) of a view camera, and will still allow you to use a regular SLR digital camera.

Granted, this doesn't solve the digital upgrade problem, but then I really don't believe this problem will go away anytime soon.

[Ellen Stoune Duralia]

Jane, I hear ya girl! Wonder why the photography profession is so male dominated?? LOL

Ted, I guess it's a little of everything you pointed out. I want the movement that LF will provide; The film size is pretty darn cool and helpful because I can't afford the out-of-this-world prices for drum scanning (unless I'm billing it to a client) and will be utilizing an Epson to scan with; And yeah, I do kinda wonder what I'm missing. I get some degree of perspective control with my T/S lens and I do like to try and minimize perspective correction in PS as it can degrade the image.

While I will mostly be using an LF (should I decide to get one) in the studio for commercial stuff, I also want to play with some fine art stuff. Maybe a little landscape work but not anything that would require much of a hike from the car!

Keep those replies coming folks - this is fascinating and helpful! Thanks :-D

[QT Luong]

Apparently you are not saying that you are considering moving to LF because your Canon doesn't deliver the quality you need, but rather because of the upgrade problem. Consider that the depreciation rate on a 1Ds/1Ds2 is only 2000$/year, and compare that with the cost of film, processing, and scanning. Add the time savings of the more efficient workflow. I'll think you'll find that in a commercial environment, *provided that the Canon delivers the quality your clients demands* (and I think it does for most clients) it makes much more sense.

[Ted Harris]

Following on with QT's remarks yet another consideration may be portions of the market in which you cannot compete without using LF movements. That does not necessarily mean film. Commerical photographers who make their living shooting for catalogs often use a view camera with a digital back. You should talk with prospective new clients and with members of professional associations such as local advertising council, etc. Get a feel for what you might gain (if anything) from the investment in LF.

[chris_4622]

I'm a beginner in lf but my comments are from the perspective of a consumer. A few years ago I was having a brochure printed (lithograph) and when I went to the professional photog I had him shoot it in 4x5 transparencies. The quality was spectacular.
Any time you are doing something for money rather than fun it changes things so you will have to understand whether your clients know the difference between the formats and are willing to pay the extra for that difference. I'm a woodworker and constantly have to figure out how to make something and make money at the same time. Know your clients, and get the lf gear anyway for fun.