New to LF. Format advice requested.

[dbriannelson]

Hi folks. Looks like a few old friends are here already.

My photography is taking another turn. The last several years have been all 6x7 B&W, but as a lease dispute has pretty much put the darkroom into storage I'm looking for a format for contact printing. I'm having trouble living with nothing but film scans and miss silver.

My background in LF is pretty thin. I have a Horseman VH-R (which is currently loaned out) and have done some 4x5 in photo school about 20 years back. What I am now considering are 5x7 and 8x10 formats.

My questions are:

Is a contact print from 5x7 satisfying? That is, will 8x10 blow me away so badly I should just go there first.

Is 8x10 so unwieldy to use that I'll be grabbing the big Pentax rather than lug everything to the truck?


I know these are subjective questions, but I'd like to hear some opinions from folks who've spent the time and money already.

-Don

[Ted Harris]

You are going to hear all sides of the story for sure but in the end you are the only one who can make the decision. First 5x7 contact prints are quite satisfying. Second, it's a new world where you can make digital negatives and then contact print much larger.

My absolute preference is 5x7 ovr larger formtas and over 4x5. I shoot 8x10 when I absolutely have to but the gain in size and weight of the gear just doesn't make it worthwhile for me .... not true for others though.

[Nick_3536]

5x7 is a different shape then 8x10. I always want to crop 8x10. Which is why I tend to lean towards enlarged 4x5 over 8x10 most of the time. Now 11x14 would be nice I think.

5x7 isn't a very big print. Some subjects will work better IMHO then others.

8x10 cameras widely vary in size and weight. Some are lighter then some heavy 4x5s. I keep wondering about those new Argentum cameras. They sound lighter then my Mamiya RZ.

[steve simmons]

I don't think anyone else can answer these questions for you. I personally like 5x7 contact prints but my floor may be another man's ceiling.

Thee is an article called

Getting Started in Large Format in the Free Articles section of the View Camera web site along with an article on 5x7.

www.viewcamera.com


steve simmons

[David Louis]

For contact printing I prefer 8x10 over 5x7. The prints are easier to doge and burn and have more substance. As for inconvenience, a 5x7 is just as unwieldy as an 8x10, so I go for the bigger format. Finally, film and film holders are more readily available in 8x10 than 5x7.

[Oren Grad]

For my taste, negatives 5x7 and smaller can work for contact prints with some subjects. 6.5x8.5 and larger work well with just about anything.

Re size and weight, the Pentax 6x7 is itself a beast. If you're used to that, an 8x10 outfit need not be unwieldy. A camera toward the light end of the range, with one compact lens, three holders, a focusing hood and a middleweight tripod, is well within carrying capacity for most people and is plenty enough for enjoyable and productive field work with an 8x10.

You might even be able to get away with less of a tripod, because that big honker of a focal plane shutter in the P67 places huge demands on a tripod mount, far beyond what the weight of the camera alone might imply. The leaf shutters in LF lenses are a delight by comparison.

[Bill_1856]

I love the 5x7 format, but find 5x7 contact prints too small to visualize fully. (Think of how often in the past you've printed your 6x7 negatives onto 5x7 paper -- not often, I'll wager). They're just too small.

[Jim Galli]

It'll boil down to what you enjoy the most won't it. I've got a fabulous little Minolta Autocord that can make the smoothest nicest negs on 120 I've ever seen. I'd compare it to anything I've ever done with a P67 yet it's like a feather around my neck. But I don't use it. For some reason I just love the entire process of setting up an 8X10. I love the look of the contact prints. If you've got time to kill wade through some of the pages at my web site. Newest stuff is near the bottom, like the Goldfield Courthouse.

[Gene McCluney]

The main thing about shooting in large format is that it is NOT an impulse activity. With your Pentax 6x7, you can just grab your camera, pop in a roll of film and go. With large format, you have to plan ahead, possibly even scout locations before taking the equipment out. You have to consider weather, wind and accessability away from your car. Just how far are you willing to carry 40 lbs or more of equipment and tripod? You also have to pre-load your film holders in advance, and estimate the number you think you may need. A good large format day may be exposing as few as one sheet, or maybe 10, but certainly only a few sheets. You will learn to visualize what the camera will see before even unpacking the camera.
Even with all this bother, Large Format is definately worth it.

[Oren Grad]

40 lbs or more of equipment and tripod?

It's not all that difficult to assemble a compact 8x10 outfit, as described in my earlier post, that will fit within 25 pounds.