Disappointed

[Wil_Bloodworth]

If you think this is fun now, wait until you forget to pull the darkslide. (you find this after you develop the film and wonder what happened to your picture - what picture?) Or can't remember if you pulled the darkslide (hmmm... do I shoot this piece of film or... did I already?) . Or you pull the darkslide with the holder out of the camera (after you made a picture on that sheet). Or any of about 100 other things you can do to screw up your picture. Then its really fun.

It is a bit ironic... I had Eugene, Michael, and Bob talking me through the steps for my first shot. It probably wasn't necessary (or what it!) but I think it was a good and enjoyable time. So, then when everything was ready, the lens was closed and cocked, Bob says, "Ok, pull the dark slide and take the photo". I reached up and pulled the dark slide... the rear one! Everybody yelled, "NO!"... in slow motion if you can imaging how that would transpire.

Oh well, no biggie. The other four images came out great and I didn't make the "ruin the rear sheet of film" mistake again.

- Wil

[J Ney]

I also need to either bring my DSLR and use it's spot meter or get a dedicated one with the zones on it... which is probably a better idea. My sekonic only does incident readings. I guess I could just sell it and upgrade to a better sekonic.

Also take a look at the Pentax digi spotmeter... it is an actual gem of a tool, especially if you want to fully utilize the zone system. I used to haul around my dSLR but never again! The spotmeter is now my default metering system even if I'm shooting with a camera that has TTL metering.

[Steve M Hostetter]

hello Wil,,,

I'd say ya did purdy good considerin you didn't get any light leaks which is a common beginner mistake

Get ya one of those Jobo expert drums that holds 10-4x5's and quit throwin your money away at the lab..!

That Jobo drum is super easy to load .. there are ridges in there and you just slide your film down in them. There is also a slot that would be in the center of each film so when you feel that slot you know that portion is empty and to slide a film in.

Also, put masking tape on the top of each film holder wrapping it over each darkslide to make sure your darkslides don't vibrate out in your camerabag on the road..

Now after you process your negs have a container that you have drilled 3/8-1/2" holes all around the top in for air and run a wire from side to side to hang your negs on and put a lid on it..! This will keep dust off while they dry.. The container needs to, oh be one of those kitty litter tubs for instance,, nice and deep in case you ever wanna do 8x10 stuff..

I usually drill holes all around the top just under a protruding plastic ridge so to better help keep falling dust out.. Prolly overkill but oh well..

Now If you wanna see all this on a video find that ole boy,,oh whats his name,,,,, Oh yeah, his name is Michael Gordon... He is a member here so just go to the member list and look him up..! He will walk you through the whole process and you'll see there ain't much to it at all..

Oh, and you'll have the nicest negs you could ever have imagined !!!!!!

Well, Good luck Wil !

best regards
steve

[CarstenW]

Filling in the gaps:

The tank referred to is the Jobo 3010. They cost about $300 used. Here is one on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=330417878221

Here is Michael Gordon's video, very nicely done, explains everything well (could be shorter, he tends to say everything two or three times, but then that reinforces the points he makes too):



You'll also need a change tent to load the Jobo, if you don't already have one. A change bag would work in a pinch, but the cloth would probably get in the way. The Harrison Change Tent is popular:

http://www.cameraessentials.com/harr...ging_tents.htm

[William McEwen]

Merg,
I believe that a development "H" instead of a "B" with HC-110 and HP5+ will work best for me. The longer times will allow me to relax more, think more.. - Wil

...scratch more...

Wil, it's always something!

[Carlos R Herrera]

I then scanned the negatives on an Epson V700 at 2400 DPI. That produced a "freakishly huge" file that was pretty difficult to work with.

http://www.westcoastimaging.com/wci/...ptipsmain.html

This has been posted before elsewhere on the forum...

Click on the Guide File Workflow. Rich still uses this workflow even though he has much faster MACs now to work with those huge Tango scans. Why mess with success...

CH

[Steve M Hostetter]

I wouldn't pop the cash for a changing tent considering it's easier to make your bathroom dark and load film in there.. Changing tent will only increase your chances of scratching your negs.
The only time I use a tent is in the field, which isn't often.
You will need a roller base and I found it a good idea to cut some strips of to sided tape and rap the wheels so that your drum doesn't wonder off the rollers. Just cut em 1/2" wide and let em fold over the sides of the wheels so they don't wanna come off when you lift the drum.

[Wil_Bloodworth]

That video using the Jobo is superb. That looks to be about 1000 times easier than using the HP Combi-Plan tank. I just put the HP tank together this weekend and it's got to be about $2 worth of plastic and rubber... far shy of the $80 price tag. It appears the Jobo is far superior to it in every way.

I am assuming you can use any developer using the Jobo. Anyone use the same pyro that he uses in the video? Is there a substantiated value in using it versus Kodak's HC-110?

- Wil

[Darren H]

Will-

All of that is part of the joy and aggravation of large format.

I mainly use Fuji Quickloads-that solves alot of the issues of dealing with holders, dust, developing. There is a cost to that, but for me it has always been a cost I was willing to pay to not have those problems. Of course, I am mainly a color guy.

Now I did borrow a regular film holder and have just finished and sent off my fist batch of hand loaded B+W for processing. I thought the whole process was a PITA, I'll have to see hoe scratched up they are.

I can say so far, I much prefer the easy of use of Quickloads over handloading.

I have spent several years chasing large format landscapes (color E-6) and along the way, I got some good ones. But it is alot of work. Think more work of quality over quanity. There are alot of images I miss do to speed of the camera setup, etc. You gotta be there early, set up, wait for the light.

I was late to the digital game, and I have a 50D. Decent enough and honestly the 20x30's it can do are really good enough for me. Heck the 12x18's I do from my Panasonic LX-3 point and shoot are often good enough. Sure the 4x5 is better, but I dont print that often at 40x50". For 16x20" prints the DSLR is probably easier and "good enough". I do the 4x5 for the experience.

Actually, I usually set up the 4x5 and wait for the light to take 1-2 images of a composition. At the same time I have the 50D working anything else I see. I get images I like out of both. But I can go much longer and much wider on digital.

Its all just a tool to use.

[Brian Ellis]

It takes a while to get used to everything - I was ready to quit after the first few times but I stuck with it and was rewarded. I do a lot of digital these days for a variety of reasons but I still enjoy LF much more.

I would add that if you've been using an excellent digital camera and lenses, if you also used a tripod and your technique was otherwise very good, and if your prints are no larger than something in the 13x20 range, you're unlikely to be totally blown away by 4x5 IMHO. Better, yes, "blown away better," not in my experience. The best DSLRs are better than 35mm, are the equal of my old Pentax 67 system, and are close to 4x5 until you get into larger prints. At least that's been my experience.