Roll film on a 4x5 - experience to share?

[Kevin M Bourque]

Hi All -

Anyone out these have experience with 120 roll backs on a 4x5 field camera? I h aven't tried it myself yet, and I wanted to tap into your collective knowledge. Is it a practical alternative to lugging a MF camera around? Anything will hel p, but I am especially interested if you have used a Canham or Ebony, since I am considering these cameras. I mostly work out of doors, with a wide variety of lenses.

Fun facts to know and tell? Pitfalls to avoid? What works, what doesn't?

Thanks in advance!

[Pete Caluori]

Hi Kevin,

I think the first question you should ask yourself is do you want to shoot MF or LF. If MF, get a MF camera and you'll be much better off.

I have a Canham and a Calumet roll film back; both work extremely well. Some considerations... The back will add some weight to your load as they're pretty heavy. Depending on your lens selection you may not be able to compose the shot on roll film. Remember, a 6x7, 6x9, 6x12 etc. back will only see a portion of the total 4x5 ground glass view that you see. The "effect" is your lens' will "appear" to be almost twice their actual focal length. Though I haven't experienced this, I have heard of problems keeping the film flat in the holder.

Personally, I think roll film holder have their place, but they are not replacements for MF cameras. Good luck!

Regards,

[Trevor Crone]

Kevin I use Horseman 6x9 and 6x12 roll backs on an Ebony. They are well made, re liable in that they hold the film absolutley flat and their frame spacing is goo d. Also they are easy to load. The downside is they are fairly heavy, expensive and you have to remove the focusing screen to fit them on the camera. And yes in my opinion this is a far better alternative to MF given the "viewcameras" versa tility. Regards, Trevor.

[paul owen]

Kevin, I own Horseman 6x9 and 6x12 backs and agree that they are very well made, if a little on the heavy side and a bit too expensive. But I find myself using them less and less. I prefer to use the 5x4 negative which is easy enough to crop (especially to 6x12) yet retains the advantages of the larger negative. I still use the roll film holders for films that are not available in LF such as APX 25. Regards Paul

[bmgmusic]

B&H sells two Wista holders for only $269. This is really cheap compared with those Horseman and toyo models. I almost think BH made a mistake. I got the 6x7, for DX. You may notice there is another 6x7 model which costs $369. Only difference is DX model add a plate at its back. They say it can be inserted in front of ground glass like a usual film holder. Actually it's quite thick, hard to insert. I always use it as a standard back(remove gg first).

One thing to watch out. The holder apparently has been used by someone else when I received it from BH. This made me very unhappy. I haven't finish the first roll yet so I don't know if there are other defects than cosmetics. If its function OK, it's a steal. If not, I'm going to screw them. BH is not always that good as many people said. Good luck.

[David_892]

I use a calumet C2 6x7 holder, and find (apart from the fact I don't have a wideangle eqivalent for it in my LF lens selection) that it performs well frame spacing is consistant, although a little low as to have the frame numbers in the image.

[R. McDonald]

I agree with pete's coments and would add that I too have not had the film flatness problem. (that's how I aquired both of my old Calumets) I'm now looking for a third for another kit. But I would like to add that my main use is at customer request and if I need to use the full movements of the LF camera. I'm sure it's been discussed but, I have placed markers on my glass for ease of composure on the glass. I would add that I know a few people who use only roll backs on 4x5, because they think sheets are a hassel(this is certinly an inexpensive way to get the movements for corection).

[TAN K H]

I think it's a great idea if you want to have the ability to control depth of field, etc. Personally, I like the 6x9 format, and even 6x12.

My experience with Horseman rollfilm holders have been excellent. I highly recommend them. No film flatness problems so far. And they are really well made. Price wise they are fairly good too.

I'd also like to give advice about buying used holders - some well used ones tend to have frame spacing problems (I have a 6x7 Wista that exhibits this problem, but it was a gift, so no lost). Better to have a money back gurantee in hand when you buy one such. Personally, I'd try to buy a new one to avoid any such problems (which may be unfixable due to obsolete parts, etc).

[Ellis Vener]

kevin I've used Horseman 6x9, 6x12 and Sinar 6x7 roll film backs with a Sinar C , Arca Swiss F, and Canham DLC cameras and have had no problems. I only wish I still had the Sinar back and the Horseman 6x12. Using a rollfilm bac k on a 4x5 is slower than using a medium format SLR or rangefinder but in some ways more versatile. If you have a 65mm lens on 6x8 it is the equivalent ( in horizontal coverage) of a 90mm. A 300mm becomes the equivalent of a 600mm.

Do not assume that your actual field of view is 6x9cm , You'll have to test and mark the groundglass, the Canham is premarked and is very close to the Horseman dimensions.

[Doug Paramore]

Kevin, The roll film holders have been around for many years and they do work, though not as easily as 4x5 holders. In my humble opinion, they work best on press cameras where the viewfinder can be masked for the smaller negative and the roll film back locked in place. I have used a Calumet roll holder for years, and before that a Graflex holder. Both worked well when I did my part. When used as a slide-in holder, the springs on the back of the camera need to be plenty strong. The holder is quite heavy. You have to be especially careful when shooting upward and make sure the weight of the holder does not pull it away from the camera back, causing light leaks and an out of focus situation. Overall, the roll backs work well unless you plan to do some wide angle work without a bag bellows. Then the short lenses become a problem with many cameras. The widest I use is a 90mm, which gives me a normal lens perspective with 6x7 film. The 4x5 normal lens of 150-160mm gives you a nice portrait lens for 6x7 film. The roll back is another tool to expand the LF system. It is not as easy to use as a regular 6x7 camera, but it will do the job. It also lets you use just one set of lenses and one camera body. The roll holder is lighter than a Hassie or Bronica, etc.