Dear ultra-large format photographers! I just recently got into your big league by purchasing a 24 x 30 cm (about 10 x 12 inches) camera made in Germany around 1903... I am currently getting the camera in working order and hope to have everything ready for use by May. shooting. In this regard, a question for experts: how many holders do you usually take with you when shooting, planning to shoot landscapes that you can’t get close to by car?
Experience allows us to make mistakes much more confidently ...
Huh, this so depends on the situation, are you taking a bush plane into remote area for 10 day excursion, a day long hike, an afternoon, or just an hour?Originally Posted by Pechoretc
25-30 years ago when I was young and fit I used to take a 4x5 with 3 lenses on hikes into remote areas that took a day or two. I took box of film, a change bag but only a single film holder. I found I only took a couple of images for each set up so it was best to limit film holders.
Now in my 60s with arthritis I'll hike an hour if I need to, but only taking the bare minimum one lens, one holder, one goal of a specific shot i'd preplanned
I shoot near my home
The bigger the film, the fewer DDS
Tin Can
Generally 5 to 6 holders...4x5, 5x7, and 8x10. With 11x14, perhaps 3 holders. I often expose two negatives for each image and even still, 80% of the time I come back with unexposed film. The other 20% of the time, I only use one sheet per image and wish I had more holders with me.
Always exceptions...
"Landscapes exist in the material world yet soar in the realms of the spirit..." Tsung Ping, 5th Century China
In my experience, the bigger the camera format the more the holders weigh in proportion to the camera, and also of course the more expensive the film is. Therefore, I may take 10 holders of 4x5 on a day trip with 2-3 film types (slide, slow B&W, fast B&W) but 4-5 holders of 8x10 and 3 of 11x14.
8x10 and larger I take about 5 each.. 4x5 maybe 10 or if it's a bag magazine one of them too .. but it doesn’t mean I’ll use them ( oh. These days most of the time there’s paper in the holders) ...
Last edited by jnantz; 11-Mar-2024 at 05:59.
3 of one film and maybe a couple of others for special films.
For 4x5, I usually take between 8 and 20 film holders, when I am using the 7x17 or 12x20, I take 3 film holders because of the weight and slowness the process using ULF gear.
Well, 4x5 plastic holders weigh about 200g each, and the 8x10 equivalents around 620g. I presume a 10x20 holder is heavier. After the camera, tripod, lens exposure meter and a bag to carry it, film holders are the big optional weight. I'd probably stick to three 8x10 holders, and six 4x5, but I probably do not spend as many hours straight 'in the field' as some.
So much depends on terrain, weather, how you carry gear, and whether you have another person along.
5 8x10 on hikes along with a small changing tent and a box of film. For 4x5 I take 8-10 as there is room in my backpack. In 25 years, I've run out 3x due to taking multiple exposures with changing light on the same subject hence the boxes of film. In my car I'll take 20 4x5 (in two cases) and 10 8x10 holders but no film boxes.
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