During these days in lockdown I attempted to take close-up images with my large format camera. But some questions arose:

- what lens can I use?
- does my camera have enough bellows draw to focus this close-up?
- how far from the subject should I position the camera? (8x10 viewcameras are always cumbersome to move around when fully deployed)
- how much light-loss should I compensate for?

So, I made a Google sheet that can answer all these questions.

Link to spreadsheet (you will have to make a copy of this file to edit it. Once opened, click on File -> Download)



How to use the spreadsheet

You need to input these three pieces of information in the yellow boxes:

1. Select your camera format in the drop-down menu.
2. Measure the length of the subject you want to photograph (long side).
3. Input the focal length.

The spreadsheet with tell you:

1. how much bellows draw you need,
2. how far to place the camera (film plane) from the subject.
3. how far the subject will be from the lens
4. how much light is lost due to magnification (both the stops lost and the multiplication factor for the exposure time).

Additionally, by entering the f-stop used (for example f/32), the spreadsheet will estimate the depth of field.

For convenience, there is one column with imperial units, and one with metric units. Let me know any comment or question you may have.

I tested the spreadsheet several times and it works great, really improving the workflow. Here is one of the results, which was taken close to 1:1 magnification: