Hello from Bay Area, CA

[liaroozendaalphotography]

Greetings LF community,

By way of introduction:
I have been photographing for well over 30 yrs. I started in 35mm and worked for a small newspaper shooting a lot of b/w as well as running the darkroom. I ventured into studio photography a decade or so ago primarily shooting digital where I shoot artists' work for reproduction for everything from web to monographs. In addition, I am working on personal projects which can be seen on social media @LiaRoozendaal. My digital cameras are 42MP which allow me to print images up to 26x17 inches. I am working on a personal project hoping to print up to 60". That brings me to looking into LF film. (I cannot afford a Phase One that can handle that size printing . I am considering an 8x10 monorail camera and scanning the negatives. After some research (Dan Burkholder, among a few others). I understand that for an 8x10 a high quality flatbed scanner works great but that for a 5x4 the resulting file becomes somewhat marginal in quality at larger print sizes and I would have to send the negatives out to be drum-scanned. I am wondering if any of you could point me in the right direction re: camera and lenses and where to look for them.

LF beginner questions:
1) Since I will using the LF camera in the studio only, so I am looking at used monorail cameras such as Sinar, Horseman, and Linhof. It looks like the Sinar Norman is a well-liked camera with loads of options including an option to reduce it to a 4x5 which makes it very attractive as I may want to shoot 4x5 in the future. I am not invested in any brand but I do want a good camera that can work straight out of the box, no light leaks in the bellows or adjustment knobs/rails that need fixing kind of thing. Where to buy? I am not sure large auction sites are the way to go as I am unfamiliar with what to ask and look for. My thought is to either find a reputable LF camera dealer or a site like this where enthusiastic/serious photographers sell their equipment. Thoughts on cameras and pointers to dealers or other sites like this selling LF equipment are much appreciated.

2) Lenses: I understand that for 8x10 a 300mm lens is roughly a 35mm - 50mm lens equivalent and 4x5 (150mm). But that is as far as I got. I am getting confused by so many of the different type of lenses, copal options (lens boards) and which lenses have the ability to connect to strobe flashes (imperative for my studio shooting).

3) List of things I need:
• Camera - which one and what to look for considering my needs?
• Lens + Correct lens board Copal #0, #1, #2, #3. How does that relate to the lens opening and image circle reaching the edges of the film?
• Film holders (with dark slide): should they be new or are used okay if in good shape?
• Loupe - a favorite brand or type?
• Cable release - are there brands to get or avoid?
• Film - best places to buy (is Amazon reliable or are there small shops online I should consider?)
• Light meter - I have a Sekonic L-358 (no-spot) which I think would work fine, correct?
• Am I missing anything (I have tripods)

Budget: is 3-4k a reasonable budget to get started For camera, lens or two, at least two film holders and misc?

I am located in the SF bay area. Any LF photographer who can point me in the right direction locally is very much appreciated.

A great big thank you for your thoughts,
Lia

[Dugan]

A hearty "Welcome!" from the Peninsula.
I don't shoot 8x10, and since Calumet, Gassers, Keeble & Shucat have all gone away..
Lots of good equipment comes through the FS: & WTB: sections of this forum.
For other stuff, I can recommend Glass Key on Sutter St., Oscar's Photo Lab, and SF Photoworks in SF....

[liaroozendaalphotography]

A hearty "Welcome!" from the Peninsula.
I don't shoot 8x10, and since Calumet, Gassers, Keeble & Shucat have all gone away..
Lots of good equipment comes through the FS: & WTB: sections of this forum.
For other stuff, I can recommend Glass Key on Sutter St., Oscar's Photo Lab, and SF Photoworks in SF....

Thanks, it looks like SF Photoworks does some 4x5 processing - color and b/w

[Ulophot]

Greetings from VA and welcome! I, too, am limited to 4x5, but know that you'll find highly qualified experts here, now and in the future.

[nbagno]

Welcome. I sent you an IM in case you want to see a couple of monorails, drum and flatbed scanners in person.

Regards,

Ned

[6x6TLL]

Welcome Lia, check out the ForSale forum, there are 8x10 kits that pop up there regularly. Sinar is good, as are many others.

Lenses - the shutter merely denotes the size of the shutter and hole in the lensboard, 0 being smallest and 3 being largest. You can't choose them, the lens itself dictates what size shutter it mounts to. Larger aperture lenses *generally* use a bigger shutter, but not always. Image Circle is separate, there are tables here and on other sites listing most common lenses and their image circles, so you can check that it will cover 8x10. There's a great lens-primer on this site if you search on the main site (not the forum).
Loupe - anything 4x and up should be fine.
Cable release - as a pro you probably have a few lying around already. Any will work, especially in a studio.
Film holders - used are fine as long as they've been treated well.
Light Meter - incident works well in the studio, use one myself, although a spot is more useful in the field imho.

You'll also need a dark-cloth, I use a black t-shirt.

You didn't mention what you plan on shooting, only that it will be in a studio. That said, many here (Bernice will show up in due time I'm sure) advocate beginning with what you plan to shoot and working back from there to determine what you need, both negative size, lenses, etc. It makes a lot of sense, and can help you avoid spending money unnecessarily. E.g. for portraits you won't need much in the way of movements, will probably want a slightly longer lens, possibly with "character" or slightly less contrast and sharpness than the very latest optical designs, while for architecture you usually want a lot of movements and razor sharp optics, often a bit on the wider side of normal. For landscape, probably something in between, but I'm generalizing.

Hope this helps!

[liaroozendaalphotography]

Thanks for your thoughtful response.

At the moment I am shooting an ongoing project I am calling "Benign Neglect". It comprises of found materials shot in the studio in such a way that they transcend either their original purpose and or their 'rustic' history. Here are a few small samples:



I would love to be able to shoot these in a large format.
The reason I mentioned the Sinar monorail is that it seems I can reduce the 8x10 to 5x4 allowing for more options and somewhat less expense. I don't know if there are other brands Toyo, Horseman that make components that do the same thing. The monorail I assume allows for more precise movements so that choice was simple.

This site is a world of knowledge and info.

Much appreciated!

[Bernice Loui]

IMO, begin with 4x5 sheet film. These are essentially table top images. As the film size goes up, trying to manage what is in focus -vs- what is out of focus becomes increasingly difficult. Camera movement can go a significantly ways to aid in this as does placement and composition of objects to be imaged. This is where a view camera has essentially no equal.

Next question, how do you want these would objects to be rendered in your finished print?
This essentially defines the potential lens types.

Studio strobe with the majority of LF lenses is a non-issue for Copal and similar modern shutters. Older shutters like Ilex work fine with electronic strobes as does Compound and countess others. And... shutter speed accuracy is a lesser issue with electronic strobe.

Based on personal experience and having done SO much table top images using LF, Sinar P would be the ideal choice for a studio camera system due to it's abilities and availability. Know once into the Sinar System, it is essentially a "LEGO" camera system that allows virtually any configuration to meet image making needs by mixing-matching Sinar camera parts to make up a camera the fits the image making demands.

~That is the simply and easy part-choice.

~Far more difficult, what about film, film processing and post process to achieve your print image goals? If color images are the intended goal, know the film must be properly exposed, processed and lighting used to expose the sheets of film to be of proper color temperature and all. Give up the idea-belief non-compliant color and density and contrast can be "fixed" by software. Fixing up to some degree is possible, but there are very real trade-offs and problem trying to do it this way. Numerous discussion on LFF on this specific topic. This is why no color sheet film for me in recent times. What once was easy to achieve in color transparency or color negative film has become extremely difficult to not possible today.


Keep discussing.

Bernice

Thanks for your thoughtful response.

At the moment I am shooting an ongoing project I am calling "Benign Neglect". It comprises of found materials shot in the studio in such a way that they transcend either their original purpose and or their 'rustic' history. Here are a few small samples:



I would love to be able to shoot these in a large format.
The reason I mentioned the Sinar monorail is that it seems I can reduce the 8x10 to 5x4 allowing for more options and somewhat less expense. I don't know if there are other brands Toyo, Horseman that make components that do the same thing. The monorail I assume allows for more precise movements so that choice was simple.

This site is a world of knowledge and info.

Much appreciated!

[liaroozendaalphotography]

This is why no color sheet film for me in recent times. What once was easy to achieve in color transparency or color negative film has become extremely difficult to not possible today.

Bernice

Can you elaborate a little more about your experience?

Thank you so much!

[Bernice Loui]

Set aside the camera-lens thing for now as there are FAR more important aspects of what you're trying to achieve that needs to be sorted out.

Go to post# 20
https://www.largeformatphotography.i...ght=elinchrome

It is all relative and depends on the specific goals and demands of the image maker. Film does not behave in the same way as digital color imagers due to the way color sensitive layers in film are made and behave. Overall color balance depends on film exposure, color temperature of the light source, type of lighting and a long list of other related factors.

It would be more productive to discuss your print goals and trying out making a print using your current digital work flow using film as the initial image source. If you could obtain a large image file created from a drum scanner with a excellent film source. Then work with this data base in your current digital work flow system to create a print. That is where an evaluation of film source data base is acceptable to meet your print image goals can begin to be made.

Alternatively since you're in the SF bay area, can send you one each 4x5 & 8x10 sample color transparencies originally made by and use by Kodak back in the 1990's as sales promo material (they will need to be returned in as delivered condition when done). They can be scanned then worked with in your digital imaging system as a alternative to obtaining a high quality large size digital image file. If this can work for you, send me a PM.

Do this before considering any view camera purchase.


Bernice

~this is why no color sheet film for me in recent times. What once was easy to achieve in color transparency or color negative film has become extremely difficult to not possible today.~


Can you elaborate a little more about your experience?
Thank you so much!