4x5 vs 8x10

[Rich14]

Guys,

I don't know the history between you, but any time a thread goes in this direction, this forum is the loser.

What you're doing has nothing to do with the topic and is unnecessary.

I'd be glad to get you some 14 oz. gloves and see who can lift his arms after about 2 minutes of what will be essentially a no-hitter.

Rich :-)

[Drew Wiley]

(??) I just put somebody on Ignore.

[Jim Andrada]

Hey gang - can we get back to the OP's question and quit the personal criticisms? Let's argue with each other's ideas, not with each other!!!!!

[xkaes]

Hey gang - can we get back to the OP's question and quit the personal criticisms? Let's argue with what each other' ideas, not with each other!!!!!

I agree, and that was exactly what I was trying to do when I wrote:

"I've done a lot of close-ups in B&W and Color from 8x11mm to 4x5" and made lots of LARGE prints -- up to eight FEET. I've got some GREAT (in my opinion) SIX foot prints taken with 35mm Kodak Plus-X. Sure, you can see the grain from a foot away, but due to the subject matter and normal viewing distance, it works great -- again, in my opinion. I've done the same with my Mamiya RB67 and TOKO NIKKI II 4x5. Yes, the 4x5" results have less grain -- depending on the film used. For example, my 35mm Ektar 25 shots hold up pretty well when compared to my 4x5" Agfacolor 125 shots. Another example? Back in the 80's, Peterson's Photography did a comparison of 35mm Agfapan 25 and 4x5" ISO 125 film and could not find any difference in the final prints."

I've never attacked anyone's ideas or approaches. My attitude has always been "Do what works for you. Don't just simply copy someone else's method. Check it out yourself." But apparently that "gets under the skin" of a few people.

[Drew Wiley]

Repeating a published myth helps nobody. There is nothing wrong with making big prints from 35mm; but they're going to look very different from LF prints. And this is a LF forum, where nearly everyone recognizes the inherent distinction. But one doesn't necessarily need a LF camera. Translucent flat subjects like leaves or flower petals can be sandwiched in a negative carrier and projected onto large film. And in the past, this was even done directly onto Cibachrome or dye transfer printing matrices.

[Jac@stafford.net]

I am with Leigh on this matter. Totally.
8x10 introduces four times complexity without
yielding anything better than 4x5" for all practical purposes.

[Drew Wiley]

This

Anything bigger than 20X24, and the enlargements from 8X10 really stand out. But I print optically and like prints that hold fine detail even with close-up viewing. But 4X5 is logistically more convenient.

[xkaes]

The original question was about the benefits for large prints of LF vs MF. Some, including myself, have said the move may or may not be worth it. I have provided my evidence, as well as published results, with results exactly as mine. We all have different standards, but these results are hardly "myths". I make large prints from 4x5" film on down. I'm happy with them, and that is all that matters.

I'm as capable, as anyone, to try to degrade or diminish what others do, with silly, barbed nouns and adjectives, but I try not to stoop that low.

[ndwgolf]

Before I bought my Chamonix 45-F2 recently it helped me a lot to start at the end of the pipeline instead of at the beginning (which is the camera):
- how do I develop my sheet films stainlessly, I hate stains so I’d rather avoid tray-development. What developing tanks can I find and where, to develop my 8x10 or 4x5?
- can I get filmholders for 4x5 and 8x10, and where?
- how do I want to move with the whole pack: walking, bike, car, backpack, bike-pack, trunk
- is my tripod stable enough; do I need something else and more expensive for 8x10 than for 4x5; and the same for the tripod head/ball head

The answers to these questions led me to start with 4x5 with scanning of negatives at first. Along the road I’ll decide whether I go back to wet printing again.

How do you like your Chamonix 45-F2 ............I just bought one yesterday to use for traveling as my Chamonix 8x10 is just to big for traveling around Asia

Neil