Is There ANY Reason To NOT Buy a 5x7 Today... COLOR NEGS Only?

[Old-N-Feeble]

Per the title...

I know that 5x7 film is less popular and, therefore fewer film makers are supporting it. All I'll ever want to shoot is Extar 100 because post-processing will be digital.

I performed a 'shopping' searched for "Kodak Ektar film" without the "quotes" and nothing came up. So my concern is any 5x7 camera I buy (for my needs) will be relegated to 6x17cm roll film and 4x5. Fortunately this camera has a generous 7 inches of rear slide so I could turn the 4x5 adapter back vertically and take 3 images overlapped 1/2 inch and create stitched 5x9 or so. Horizontally I can stitch 3 pieces to get a 4x11 using a wider, more comfortable overlap.

So... is 5x7 Ektar NLA? Anything else available that compares to Ektar 100?

** Posted on APUG also.

[sully75]

You could cut 8x10 into 2 5x7s and a 1x10 inch panorama. People do this (not the panorama part). But cutting film is an excepted technique in LF photography.

Ektar has never been available in 5x7. You'd have to check if it's available in 8x10. Fuji may be a better bet in the long run for LF color but it's all a crap shoot right now.

I have a 5x7 Deardorff available here, price is now $1200 with a few extra goodies (see the bottom of the thread)
http://www.largeformatphotography.in...-accesories%29

[vinny]

as paul said, ektar in 5x7 didn't/doesn't exist. they've axed in in 8x10 too so forget that unless you stockpile it now. Any 5x7 color is hard to find and usually a special order item. Badger graphic sometimes does a special 5x7 order for provia but not for c41 films. What the hell to you wanna stitch frames for? Is 4x5 not enough resolution?

[Old-N-Feeble]

Thanks, folks. I was afraid of that. I can still shoot multiple 4x5 and stitch the scans.

Why do I want more resolution than 4x5? Because I like wider images and don't want to crop 4x5 to get them. I know I could shoot 6x12cm roll film but I want more film area than that. Due to very high drum scanning costs I'll be using a flatbed scanner at home so I need more film area to make that work to my satisfaction. I want the ability to make large prints at very high resolution.

If I can stock up on 8x10 then maybe I'll do that. I just hope I can find a quality film processor who will trust me enough to process the piece with no edge markings.

[jackpie]

If you really have to shoot colour 5x7 then the only readily available fresh film I know is E6 transparency from Germany in 13x18.

http://www.macodirect.de/kodak-ektac...ts-p-1782.html

Get some 13x18 film holders and that will work just fine in a standard 5x7 back.

[mdm]

5x7 Portra is available as a stock item from B&H. For how much longer I dont know. I have a 5x7 but am using a 4x5 reducing back for colour, for the most part.

[Ivan J. Eberle]

Buying a camera for which film is unavailable--so that you can use a cheap flatbed scanner-- seems like no solution at all (but maybe that's just me?)
For what you'll have into all the grief of this you could buy a higher end drum scanner or flatbed and extract better images from 4x5 or 6x12, I reckon.

[Old-N-Feeble]

I thought decent used mid-priced drum scanners cost $5000+. Has that changed since the last time I researched it several years ago?

The camera in question comes with a 4x5 back and has seven inches of rear shift so I can capture the wide images I like with two or three sheets of 4x5 film and stitch them together for 5x8 or 4x10 formats.

I can also use the Canham 6x17 roll film back and stitch two or three vertically moved images together for 8x17 or 12x17 ratios.

I was really hoping that Kodak Ektar 100 was available in 5x7 but, as with many of my wants, that was a pipe dream.

[jnantz]

call freestyle,
i bought a boatload of expired / short date e6 from them
this was years ago, maybe they still have a stash ,,,

[Old-N-Feeble]

Actually, I'm currently selling several boxes of 4x5 and some 8x10 color neg and slide film. I also have some B&W that needs to go. This is because I want to stick to just one type of film and I've settled on Ektar 100. I've learned that Ektar 100 isn't available in 5x7. I can live with shooting 4x5.