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Thread: 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 cameras?

  1. #21
    Nodda Duma's Avatar
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    Re: 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 cameras?

    Whole plate is my favorite format, so whole plate format dry plates will always be available. I’ve been bugging Steve Lloyd at Chroma Camera to produce a WP format camera .. I think it would garner interest.

    Shanghai film will also make WP format film during their ULF runs, and I *think* Adox cuts film in that format if you ask. In any case, you can cut down from 8x10 and do all the other usual things 8x10 shooters do to save money.
    Newly made large format dry plates available! Look:
    https://www.pictoriographica.com

  2. #22

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    Re: 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 cameras?

    Quote Originally Posted by Nodda Duma View Post
    In any case, you can cut down from 8x10 and do all the other usual things 8x10 shooters do to save money.
    I don't know. Buying 8x10 film (139 euro/25 sheets Adox) and then trowing away 30% of it.... After a box or 2 you have got the difference of the lens back if not faster. And I'm not very enthousiast about cutting film in the dark. Had to do it to get some 6.5x9 (cm) sheets out of 4x5 and that was not a nice job.

    So the question becomes how much weight/volume do you save compared to 8x10? Any price difference is quickly made up by the cost of having to cut 8x10 or ordering special sizes.

    Another option would be to go to 18x24 but the only camera that seems to exist is the russian FKD. It is affordable but sheet holders are rare. Adox for instance has film for it (99 euro/25 sheets) but that is it as far as film goes unless you go for the special sizes again. Then again, Foma 100 is the same price for 18x24 as 8x10. I do like Foma 100 in 4x5.

    The question really turns around film. Ok, you can use paper. Did it once, didn't really like it. You can go ancient forms like wet collodium but I don't have the space to set up an enlarger, so a (dark) chemical lab is also out of the question. Certainly if photography isn't your daily occupation (hobby or otherwise). RX film is mentioned but so far I haven't been able to find any larger than dental film which is about visit card size.

    Europe is an expensive backwater for this kind of things.
    Expert in non-working solutions.

  3. #23
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    Re: 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 cameras?

    Quote Originally Posted by Havoc View Post
    So the question becomes how much weight/volume do you save compared to 8x10?
    Depends entirely on your choice of camera, lenses, holders and other accessories that make up your working outfit.

    For those few cases classic and modern where you can make a direct comparison between WP and 8x10 cameras of nearly identical specification, the WP model saves a bit of size and weight. But you're not obliged to make only those comparisons. There such a wide range of camera designs, weights and volumes in both formats, and such a wide range of lenses that are usable on each format, that it's impossible to generalize. Film holder weights vary too, both within and between formats. It also depends on your requirements - how many lenses, of what focal lengths, do you want to carry in your outfit? How many holders do you want to carry? To make a meaningful comparison, you need to be more specific about which cameras, lenses and holders you would realistically be considering in each case.

  4. #24

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    Re: 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 cameras?

    I admire the format and would enjoy making whole-plate contact prints. Perhaps someday when the right subject matter appears, I'll give it a try.

  5. #25

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    Re: 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 cameras?

    I altered the back of a japanese 6,5 x 8,5 ( Tachihara?) to fit 5x7 film holders..
    I wish there was a smaller size close to 4x5..

    Click image for larger version. 

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    stay healthy!

  6. #26
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 cameras?

    Nice job!

    Quote Originally Posted by Bessa72 View Post
    I altered the back of a japanese 6,5 x 8,5 ( Tachihara?) to fit 5x7 film holders..
    I wish there was a smaller size close to 4x5..

    Click image for larger version. 

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ID:	215106

    Click image for larger version. 

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ID:	215107
    Tin Can

  7. #27

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    Re: 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 cameras?

    Seems to me that a lot of people perceive little difference between the 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 format and the 8x10 format. For me there is a great difference between the formats...
    With my Whole Plate 95% of my images are horizontal. With my 8x10 most are vertical.My most used lens for WP is my 90mm SA XL with its IVa center ND filter. Most used lens for 8x10 is a 330mm Wollensack IA Raptar.
    For the past maybe 2 years I have been shooting a lot more WP over 8x10.
    Architectural - WP. Abstract and Close-Up - 8x10. Waterfalls - 8x10. Photomacrography - 8x10. WP - FP4 plus. 8x10 - HP5 plus. (Film choices were determined more by availability of film rather than personal choice. Ordered a lot of WP FP4 plus through Ilford's yearly special order. Just have always used HP5 plus for 8x10 after Super-XX was discontinued, and then Bergger 200 discontinued). FYI: I also shoot 11x14 but have a hard time comparing it to WP or 8x10... seems to be a function of the final contact print size. For me 11x14 prints are just more grandiose. At one time shot 14x17 with an Improved Empire State, but had a hard time previsualizing my compositions with this ULF, and was offered a sum of money for the camera, lens, and holders that was too good to take a pass on. For both the WP and 8x10 formats have tried to use fresnel lenses but with both formats just prefer using the plain GG, Ah something I have in common with both formats. For both formats scan the negatives and make digital negatives to print from. Cost of material savings for Platinum/Palladium huge. The ability to dodge and burn the images in Photoshop, before making digital negatives, very important to me. So if I had to do it all over again today.... I would acquire a (preowned) Leica S2 or a FUJIFILM GFX? with a system of lenses. Then made digital negatives to print from. So why? Am in my mid 70s and transporting my WP or my 8x10 camera up New England gorges and to remote areas in New England (as I once frequently did in the past) is a chapter of my photographic life not to be repeated.
    Comments most welcome...

  8. #28
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 cameras?

    Just got a single WP negative Plate, exposed decades ago

    WP is significantly smaller on my 8X10 scanner

    I got it for historical reasons, and will be posting the scan later today

    I have 1/2 plate film and plate holders of 2 design and cameras to match
    Tin Can

  9. #29
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    Re: 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 cameras?

    Tin Can

  10. #30
    Ron (Netherlands)'s Avatar
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    Re: 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 cameras?

    Quote Originally Posted by Tin Can View Post
    very nice one ! - pity we can't appreciate a somewhat bigger scan
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