Most valuable tools for working LF photographers

[Peter Langham]

film

[Peter De Smidt]

Give lots of thought to your packing/carrying system. A good system makes carrying even heavy loads reasonable. A bad system makes carrying anything an exercise in frustration.
In addition to comfort, you want to consider how easy it is to get to everything. I once went on an 8 day hiking/camping trip on Isle Royale with a 4x5 in a trekking back pack. The pack was great for weight distribution, but it was a top loader, which required a lot of packing/unpacking to use the camera. I didn't take very many pictures. I have a Photobackpacker P3, which is terrific. I"m not sure if they're still available.

I put a piece of brightly colored tape on all things lose-able, such as lens caps, cable releases, meters.... This makes the items easier to spot if they end up where they shouldn't be.

I use a Tewe 4x5 viewfinder to pick compositions. It's not as nice as a Linhof, but it's a lot cheaper. For years I used a piece of mat board with a 4x5" hole, along with a string with knot in it to determine lenses. There was a knot at the hyper-focal point for each of my lenses at f/22. Put appropriate knot on check. Hold card up. If you shoot enough, as in enough to be good with a musical instrument, then you probably won't need such things. If you photograph a couple of times a month, then you might find them helpful.

Regarding standard equipment, get a good tripod and head. Properly treated, they can last for decades. You can have one of the very best cameras, but if it isn't held firmly in the proper position, you won't get great results.

[Heroique]

I'll underscore remarks about a dependable, sturdy tripod – don't scrimp here.

Back home in the darkroom, a quality 4-bladed easel should get the same attention.

Saunders, for example, made no better 4-bladed easels than their VT2000 (16x20 easel – w/ four guide slots for 5x7, 8x10, 11x14, and 16x20 paper) and VT1400 (11x14 easel – w/ three guide slots for 5x7, 8x10 and 11x14 paper).

I don't think they're made anymore, so you may have to search the used market, but they appear often enough.

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A viewing card is the most under-rated field tool in the LF world. Get one, or better, make one. Try it out, and you'll "see" for yourself! Just don't let it monopolize or dictate your vision; rather, use the viewing card as the maidservant of your vision.

[Mark Sawyer]

Your most valuable tool is your brain...

Nonsense! It will just lie to you and get you in trouble. Trust me, I know...

As far as physical tools go, a good tripod, meter, loupe, and filmholders. Whatever serviceable camera and lens will be fine, although those are what most people fret over...

[David Lobato]

Memorization of basic exposure compensations for bellows draw and film reciprocity. Estimates within a 3rd of a stop work for me.

And a capable repair person who knows you can make LF photography much easier.

[K. Praslowicz]

Very high quality cable release. The cheapies kink and have problems way too often.

I used to buy expensive high quality cable releases and they'd still always break on me. Now I just keep an army of the cheapest ones I can get off eBay in my bag and toss `em as I kill them. Main point though, cheap or inexpensive, always have backups on hand.

[Vaughn]

Some sort of note-taking devise. I use Rite-in-the-Rain survey notebooks and a pencil, but others go higher tech. Not only will notes help to figure out what went wrong, they'll tell you what went right...so that you can do it again! One eventually decides what info helps -- rather than a pre-printed form designed by someone else.

I like these: http://www.riteintherain.com/stapled...evel-4-5-8-x-7

I have quite a collection of them filled -- they become my journals of a sort.

Example of how I use them:

[Michael E]

I carry a post-it pad to label film holders with my notes. I later transfer these to my negative filing sheets to keep my notes close to the negs.

[Kirk Gittings]

I do too. I shove the end without the adhesive under the light trap lip so there are no loose ends.

[Eric Woodbury]

I carry a laminated card that tells me what f-stop to use based on focus spread and resultant/expected print size. This is derived from Stephen Peterson and Paul Hazma's articles from Photo Techniques Mar/Apr 1996 (a couple of years ago LOL).

Attachment 138788

I tape a condensed version of this to the side of my cameras. And I stick the reciprocity table to my meter. Lots of stick.

The variability here of "Most Valuable Tools" is amazing.