>And having the option to focus with the film holder in place isn't really an option on 8x10 -- I'd have to go 4x5 for that. Right?
You maybe able to build something on your own. I think Gowland made an 8x10 TLR but wow I wonder how expensive one would be if you could find one for sale.
I still think for spontaneous and quick portraits a 4x5 SLR like the Graflex Super D is going to work really well for you.
Maybe you could build your own rangefinder for an 8x10? That would be neat!
Building an 8x10 rangefinder would be neat, that's for sure. It also sounds like it would be super hard (I don't even know where to start), but like I said...anything is possible at this point!Originally Posted by EH21
One thing is for sure: this thread is getting me all excited again about building cameras and getting my hands dirty. Thanks for that!
Diego, I enjoyed the portraits you made with your room camera and magnifying glass lens. Well done.
Thank you very much! It was 4 years ago and still feels like yesterday.
Want to revisit the idea in my new apartment, but still not sure I want to sleep with the smell of chemicals all around
He did, more than one. The last one that I can recall being offered for sale was in 2012, and the asking price was high four figures. I don't know what happened to it.
I have thought about using laser pointers on either side of the front standard.. kinda like how focuspots work...would need a dead man's switch or foot switch to turn them off just prior to exposure though
An there must be no possibility of the lasers hitting the pupils of anyone. That seems unlikely in a portrait setting.
“You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know
I don't know how prices are in Europe but here in the U.S. you can find old wooden tailboard cameras and metal Calumet C1's like Karsh used pretty reasonable. Put your money into a nice 12" or 14" lens like a Commercial Ektar, Dagor, Heliar or something. Just remember that 8x10's require heavy tripods or camera stands.
Just to throw my two cents worth in - I've been doing 8 x 10 portrait work for a number of years. I started with simple Kodak 2d and eventually moved up to a Deardorf (which I really like). My motivation to going to 8 x 10 had nothing to do with enlargement size. I was starting to do Platinum/Palladium and needed larger negatives for contact printing. I had/have no desire to make digital negs. However, as I got more into it, I found that the 8 x 10 format size had a huge amount of possibilities for lenses. Back in the early 1900's, there we so many being made that are all still around and except for the "cult" names, you can still get a lot of different lens for very affordable prices (under $300). I found that these early lenses have beautiful soft type of affects for portrait type of work. You can find any number of old petzval type lenses that may be just what you are looking for. Of all of my lenses that i use (and I have a lot of them), the one I use the most because of it's softness is the front half of an old Ilex lens that was made for projection equipment back in the 30's. Take the plunge and be open minded on the possibilities.
Regarding cameras - you have received a lot of great info so far. Try to find what fits what your needs are. If you never see yourself taking it out in the field, then an older type of studio camera might be just what you are looking for. Do you want to try to make one? I made my own 8 x 20 and it was a very fun experience. But it is a lot of work. My recommendation is to buy a camera back already made, and make the rest of the camera around it. The camera back is the most critical part and the rest of the camera not that difficult.
Looking forward when you might be putting together a darkroom, consider getting an old fixer upper 8 x 10 and turn it into an 8 x 10 horizontal enlarger. That is what I did with my old Kodak 2D and its worked out great. All I needed to do was get a light source for the back (found an old cold light head), use an old wooden film holder as your negative holder (cut out the interior septum in the holder), make a little track to slide on the darkroom counter and project onto the wall.
Hope this helps and good luck,
Dan
It would be two steps, but you could just make a careful distance scale on your focusing rail and then use a laser measurer to measure and then transfer the focus manually. Still may be quicker than focusing on ground glass and then loading film?
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