Page 5 of 11 FirstFirst ... 34567 ... LastLast
Results 41 to 50 of 105

Thread: Opinions on upgrading from 4x5 to 8x10

  1. #41
    Drew Wiley
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    SF Bay area, CA
    Posts
    18,338

    Re: Opinions on upgrading from 4x5 to 8x10

    Well I did stockpile into the freezer quite a bit of 8x10 film when it was about a third of the current price. But this year I've shot only black and white in 8X10,
    with just a little 4x5 color shooting. I have way too many color negs and chromes to print already, and I'm currently infatuated with the 300EDIF on my Pentax 6x7. Incredible lens. Really want to get up to Sonora Pass area with it for a few days, and try to get a bit of altitude conditioning before backpacking season in Sept. What is killing me now is the price of museum board. I'm behind about 200 silver prints in terms of drymounting. Some nasty vet bills these past few months, so just have to take it a step at a time.

  2. #42
    Vaughn's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Humboldt County, CA
    Posts
    9,211

    Re: Opinions on upgrading from 4x5 to 8x10

    I went Rolleiflex (1977) - 4x5(1979) - 5x7(1992) - 8x10(1995) - 11x14(~2013, and a new one in 2017). Still use all of them. Nice to build up the muscles and knowledge on the way up. Still learning how to best work with the 11x14.

    I do alt processes with in-camera negatives. I started with carbon printing in 1992 with 4x5 negatives and easily transitioned to 5x7. Using the 8x10 camera was not a big jump from the 5x7, but making 8x10 alt prints was a bigger jump from 5x7 than going from 4x5 to 5x7.

    Give 8x10 a try!
    "Landscapes exist in the material world yet soar in the realms of the spirit..." Tsung Ping, 5th Century China

  3. #43

    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    San Joaquin Valley, California
    Posts
    9,599

    Re: Opinions on upgrading from 4x5 to 8x10

    If you're into making B&W contacts, you can do that with a pretty simple 8x10 kit. The expensive consumables will be film and chemistry. At the economical end will be x-ray film and paper negatives which may or may not satisfy you, but that will cut your costs way down, less per shot than 4x5 if $1 buys a sheet of 4x5 Arista panchro and .30 buys a sheet of 8x10 Fuji x-ray if you want to shoot x-ray film.
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  4. #44

    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Brussels
    Posts
    14

    Re: Opinions on upgrading from 4x5 to 8x10

    I don’t have any experience with 8x10, but there is something about this discussion I find surprising.

    One of the things that I like about using different formats is the difference in what can and cannot be done aesthetically.

    With larger formats I frame differently, adopt different postions, and (most importantly) use sharpness/unsharpness differently. The quality of out-of-focus parts of an image is very different in larger formats. For me, this would be one of the reasons to try 8x10 at least once. (And larger contactprints with alt-processes)


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  5. #45

    Join Date
    Feb 1999
    Posts
    1,094

    Re: Opinions on upgrading from 4x5 to 8x10

    I had a fling with 8x10, but never got the kind of results I was hoping for. For me, there was never a "wow -- look at that" moment with 8x10. For the added weight, cost and fuss of 8x10 over 4x5 (and 5x7, which I've also shot), it wasn't worth it to me. In the photos I produced, I didn't see much difference between an 8x10 contact print and an 8x10 print made from a 4x5 negative. Of course, I'm no Ansel Adams, either. I did, however, enjoy composing scenes on the bigger ground glass.

  6. #46
    Jim Graves Jim Graves's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Sacramento, Calif., USA
    Posts
    904

    Re: Opinions on upgrading from 4x5 to 8x10

    I did 4x5 for several years and now do mostly 8x10 ... but ONLY because I do carbon contact printing with in-camera negatives primarily. I also did a toe in the water try of 11x14 but found it way too inhibiting.

    I would say try 8x10 but keep your 4x5 gear for regular shooting. Going up in size inhibits use and drastically reduces your shooting production. The ease of use, variety of films, variety of lenses, cost differential, etc., etc. of 4x5 ... is exponential in the amount of good shooting you end up doing. Easily 90% of the best shots I have are 4x5s. Why? Because it is so much easier to get out in the field and use it.

    If I'm heading out and am not sure what I'll be shooting, I take the 4x5 ... if I find something great ... I go back with the 8x10. Even then, I often find that the 4x5 shots are better than the 8x10 ... and ... I can use the 4x5 negative in an enlarger and crop and adjust to my heart's content. Of course, if you're scanning and digitally printing you can crop and adjust too ... but I guarantee you won't have as many negatives to work from if you're shooting 8x10 as you would if you were shooting 4x5.

    All that being said ... hey, it's a hobby ... have some fun and try it!

  7. #47

    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Madisonville, LA
    Posts
    2,412

    Re: Opinions on upgrading from 4x5 to 8x10

    Quote Originally Posted by v.kapoor View Post
    Hi all,

    I have been shooting LF for about a year - a Linhof Master Classic. It's a beautiful camera.
    I'm tempted to move up to 8x10. I think the lure of looking through such large ground glass has me under its spell!

    What's your opinion on the upgrade, especially now as things become more and more expensive?
    Lens, film, processing, etc.

    Thank you!
    I'd shoot 4x5 for another 5 years and then decide. If expense is a concern, I'd stick to 4x5 or at best 5x7. I shot 4x5 for years, but haven't shot any for well over 10-15 years. I shoot mostly 8x10 or 135, if I want something smaller, I generally go to 57. My 45 camera is actually a 57 (V5), so there is no size savings there and since I have both 45 and 810 enlargers, negative size is not an issue. But again, if cost is a factor, I'd stick with 45, plus the fact that most folks contact 810 which may or may not suit your fancy.

  8. #48

    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    SooooCal/LA USA
    Posts
    2,802

    Re: Opinions on upgrading from 4x5 to 8x10

    If you are new to large format, today's main reason for it is to not just machine gun a subject (with seemingly endless chip space),but slow down and concentrate on a "one sheet/one shot mentality, and yes any LF format will slow you down plenty...

    Then there is the "bigger is better" mentality, but has been well pointed out in this post that there are trade offs as one goes larger...

    Keep shooting the 4x5 for now, because if you can't get good results from it, you won't if you go larger...

    The Tek is a good camera, but very hard to get the most out of the movements if you don't know what movements to apply from experience first... A monorail is a much better learning tool as you try different movements as you watch the GG... I think movements are my best reason for LF, and I have seen where larger formats do not respond as well when they are applied...

    And as mentioned, enlarging bigger LF films open bigger cans of worms...

    Steve K

  9. #49

    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Tucson AZ
    Posts
    1,822

    Re: Opinions on upgrading from 4x5 to 8x10

    I started with 5 x 7 about 50 years ago and it's still my favorite. I have a couple of nice 4 x 5's and a couple of 8 x 10's. The 8 x 10 is fun but it isn't enough bigger than the 5 x 7. I think I'd really like a vertical 7 x 17 or 8 x 20, but realistically I'll stick with the 5 x 7 and 4 x 5. I often think that Whole Plate (6 1/2 x 8 1/2) would be ideal.

  10. #50

    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Posts
    31

    Re: Opinions on upgrading from 4x5 to 8x10

    I have a love hate relationship with 8x10. I love using the camera, composing the image, thinking about how to make the image better, the technical challenges, dropping the negatives on a light table and looking at them, enlarging 8x10 vs 4x5 or 120 (6x6, 6x7, 6x9, 6x12) is a joy. I really enjoy printing 8x10 more than the other formats using an enlarger. I hate the cost, the decreasing film emulsions available, the weight and size when travelling. After nearly being arrested (twice) going through TSA to get on a plane and telling them in no uncertain terms could they open or x-ray a number of boxes coming on the plane with me, I just mail the film to locations where I will be travelling and mail the film from there to a processor for color, or back home in the case of B&W. I feel that for most of the images I make (mostly landscape and some still life), 8x10 has allowed me to produce a better print. This has all been in a wet darkroom with an optical enlarger onto fiber paper. I am beginning to explore scanning and digital output. Yes, I'm one of those guys who never accepted digital for the purpose of making my art. I am slowly coming around to it, particularly for color. I still believe that film is a better capture method for me than digital, but it is hard to argue with the results of digital output. Going the digital route, I am not seeing a massive difference between 4x5 and 8x10 for prints under 24"x30". This could be for any number of reasons, I'm still in the learning stage with digital. I have a feeling that in the future I will shoot less 8x10 due to the digital output changing the way I capture the image. 6x12 become an interesting choice because it allows one roll film holder instead of a stack of film holders, it allows me to more easily go through TSA at the airport, it allows me to continue to use the 4x5 camera for perspective control, and it is darn near the size of 4x5... and if digital output is used to create the end product... well, it works. I am kind of warming up to the wider format of 6x12 as well. HOWEVER, at the end of the day, for B&W, I still enjoy using the 8x10.

Similar Threads

  1. Upgrading a Sinar F1 to 8x10?
    By jonbrisbincreative in forum Cameras & Camera Accessories
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 25-Jan-2016, 14:50
  2. Upgrading Arca to 8x10 or Deardorff?
    By hon in forum Cameras & Camera Accessories
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 10-Nov-2014, 18:53
  3. Zone VI 8x10 opinions?
    By Chris Dunham in forum Cameras & Camera Accessories
    Replies: 17
    Last Post: 23-Nov-2009, 21:59
  4. which kit for upgrading to 8X10 OR field camera
    By Thalmees in forum Cameras & Camera Accessories
    Replies: 19
    Last Post: 23-Sep-2009, 19:32
  5. Zone VI 8x10 - Pro? Con? Opinions?
    By R Mann in forum Cameras & Camera Accessories
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 29-Jun-2009, 15:30

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •