Finishing my first box of 4X5 sheets...

[DDrake]

...and finding the LF learning is steep (for me, anyway). The process (including building a camera) is compelling, but the results? I'm hopeful: put it like that.

I expect the day will come will come when my digital images won't hold a candle to my large format film images, but that day is not today. For example:

Olympus Pen F; Pana-Leica 15mm f/ 1.7



Vs. DIY 4X5; Fujinon 135mm f/5.6; FP4+



Ignore emulsion scratches in upper right corner corner--obviously, I can crop them out, but that makes the composition even more constrained and uptight.

Part of this, I think, is I miss the 15mm FOV (m43--30 mm 135 equivalent). I've been looking at 90mm LF lenses--will these be similar?

Another part is learning to take my time choosing a tripod position—so different from roaming with a handheld camera—and perhaps being willing to shift that position if first choice was a poor one.

One last image: my DIY 4X5, in position to take the photo above (Oly Pen F):


Any comments or critique of these images is more than welcome.

[John Kasaian]

The only differences I see is the 4x5 could use a filter to darken the sky a bit, and wait until the breeze that's blurring the shrubs at the far right passes.
Neither are big deals but would put you in the same ball park as your digi shot since that is your goal.
All in all, good work!

[alfredian]

Well done & welcome aboard. As John Kasaian mentioned, adding B&W filters to your kit is a great addition to your analog tool kit. I carry Yellow, Orange, & Red filters (I favor Nikkor 52mm or B+W), always. The dramatic dark-sky-between-clouds effect is Orange or Red at work. I've done a series of the same scene, UFilter, Yellow, Orange then Red as fast as I could change filters, the shutter speed & film and it's very telling. I also carry a couple of Greens (Nikkor has a Yellow-Green that's amazing in the Spring) and a couple of Blues, plus some Amber "color-correction" ones that I use on B&W.

With filters and patience (waiting for the puffy breeze to die down) you can achieve the results in your upper image. Side note, how much tweaking/adjusting of settings did you do to arrive at the final version of the upper image? I have yet to enter the world of chemistry-picking to have more negative-character modifiers - so far mostly Rodinal or maybe the manufacturer's in-house chemistry for the flat-crystal modern films. Keep poking at the beast and it will eventually move the way you nudge it.-alfredian

[Two23]

I use a whole bunch of different cameras, mostly for the experience. The ones I use the most are: Nikon D800E, Chamonix 4x5, Nikon D500, Gundlach Korona 5x7, Leica IIIc. I use each for different reasons. When shooting color landscapes or architecture, I use the D800E. When shooting sports I use the Nikon D500. (Am planning on selling both and combining function in a D850.) I use film cameras for other things. I like to photo abandoned farms and use 4x5 or 5x7 with either film or Lane plates. I usually use modern lenses (coated, Copal shutter) for those but not always. For portraits I shoot either 4x5 or 5x7 Lane plates usually with a pre-Civil War lens or a lens made c.1915 (e.g. a Heliar.) I also photo b&w landscpes using vintage lenses for the most part and either Lane plates or film.

In no case am I trying to match what I shoot with digital with my film cameras. The D800E is much sharper and the lenses have more contrast etc. I shoot film when I want a more classic look, something that does NOT look so "perfect", which I often see as sterile. My Chamonix does not replace the D800E (or other cameras, ) but instead it gives me more ways to approach photography. The beauty of LF is I can use lenses or media/processes from any period in the history of photography, and that's what I do. Below examples:

1. D500, ice racing
2. D800E, RR trestle North Dakota
3. Chamonix, Nikon 300mm M, FP4+
4. Chamonix, c.1922 Dagor & Lane plate

All of these are different and I chose different equipment to photo them. If I had shot them all using my D800E they would all have a very similar look. Probably not possible to have shot them all with my Chamonix.


Kent in SD

[DDrake]

Thanks everyone for the responses. Just to be clear: the primary shortfall I see with the 4X5 image above is with composition and framing. In fact, I think I prefer the softer, less dramatic sky.

Having said that, the suggestion to use filters makes a lot of sense--with digital images, when converting to B&W, I typically apply setting I've made that filter colors in the RAW file and emulate optical filters. I use yellow and red most often, occasionally green or orange. The digital image above uses a red filter, as alfredian suggests.

Question: I only have one LF lens at the moment. Should I get a filters for that diameter, and use adapter rings as I acquire lenses with different thread diameter? I believe my current lens (Fujinon 135mm f/5.6 W) is 52mm thread. I'd like to get a 90mm lens next, and maybe a 210mm at some point.

[Duolab123]

Thanks everyone for the responses. Just to be clear: the primary shortfall I see with the 4X5 image above is with composition and framing. In fact, I think I prefer the softer, less dramatic sky.

Having said that, the suggestion to use filters makes a lot of sense--with digital images, when converting to B&W, I typically apply setting I've made that filter colors in the RAW file and emulate optical filters. I use yellow and red most often, occasionally green or orange. The digital image above uses a red filter, as alfredian suggests.

Question: I only have one LF lens at the moment. Should I get a filters for that diameter, and use adapter rings as I acquire lenses with different thread diameter? I believe my current lens (Fujinon 135mm f/5.6 W) is 52mm thread. I'd like to get a 90mm lens next, and maybe a 210mm at some point.

The digital filters are a great learning tool. You will know what to expect with the film camera.