Dear all,
I am considering shooting large format because I am dissatisfied with the tonality of my digital 35mm (A7R III if anyone cares). No matter how much technology (CMOS, Pixel Shift) a 35mm sensors stays 35mm I guess.
Also I find the lack of image control limiting (tilt and shift lenses are a niche thing and probably never offer the freedom of a monorail or field camera).
And of course I admire the craftmanship, the real understanding of focal plane, depth of field, the Zone system and of course shooting analogue.
But the choices are sheer endless and I don't get to try a view camera around here (Switzerland) let alone look at 8 x 10 prints. So I would have to buy one directly
So my first question is, is 11 x 14 of much finer quality and subtle tonality than 8 x 10? Is 11 x 14 too impractical for a solo hiker / landscape photographer?
What kind of 8 x 10 could you recommend me? I would like to shoot landscapes, architecture, portraits with ambient or flash, the occasional macro and product photography, long exposures I guess anything I can. So it
should be "portable" for the hikes. Are there portable monorail cameras? I mean I'm young and healthy and gear is the rock photographers have to carry like Camus' Sisyphus with a smile.
I thought about getting a 8 x 10 by Intrepid but read and heard that working with it can be a bit a hassle. So I might as well get a real 8 x 10. If it's like working with a bad ballhead I'd rather avoid that. I heard good stuff about Deardorff.
I generally don't care how it looks like, it's jus a tool and I would like it to be as precise as possible and durable.
I also have no idea how much tilt/shift/rise/fall I will need due to my lack of experience. Do you often find yourself in a position of lacking movement? Or do only hardcore architecture photographers need that much mouvement?
Thank you for all the kind souls who take time to respond to such an open ended question and I wish you the best in the pursuit of timeless images.
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