Call me crazy but...

**Shootar401** · 2-Oct-2012, 18:59

Originally Posted by Roger Cole

I'm also tempted to get a DSLR but that's a different thing for different purposes and wouldn't really repl.....

I had a Nikon D3 and D300 once. Meh.

**Shootar401** · 2-Oct-2012, 19:00

Originally Posted by Drew Wiley

Yeah, I'd call it dumb ... who want to take a Speed Graphic when you could carry a nice
8x10 on vacation instead?

Don't tempt me. That's my next purchase if I can sell off one of my 4x5's and reorganize my camera situation.

**Roger Cole** · 2-Oct-2012, 22:44

Originally Posted by Shootar401

I had a Nikon D3 and D300 once. Meh.

Well if I get one I've pretty well decided on a Pentax, mainly because I have K mount lenses that will work with it. Plus the Pentaxes have internal VR which works with any lens. Should make my k mount lenses handy. But again, it would mainly be for record shots, family events, that sort of thing.

**David Starr** · 4-Oct-2012, 09:37

Mine's been reduced to a Busch Pressman 4x5 & I don't regret it at all. I can use it handheld with the rangefinder & 135mm raptar, or since I opened up the front of the bellows frame, I can use my 210mm Caltar, 135mm Nikor or 90mm Nikor & focus on the ground glass. Also got a flash gun and a bunch of press 25 & screw base bulbs. Fun city.

**Peter Gomena** · 5-Oct-2012, 08:50

I once hauled a Crown Graphic to NYC on a vacation. It was easy to hand-hold and really not a hassle to carry. With one lens a meter and a few holders, it doesn't need a huge camera bag. One of the things I remember most about it (I now longer own the camera) is how well balanced it was for hand use. It was light enough for use with a fairly lightweight tripod.

Peter Gomena

**Lenny Eiger** · 5-Oct-2012, 11:00

There are very interesting, and lightweight, not to mention gorgeous handheld options for 4x5,. I would also add that I have an aluminum monopod that weighs about 5 ounces or so, those can help a little with the stability, if needed. Half a dozen holders weighs very little.

Of course, there is also the Mamiya 7 II, which weighs like a 35mm but the lenses are unbelievably sharp. Personally, I wouldn't use 35mm. It doesn't scan well and one seems to be two steps back already in the quality. But quality is not what everyone is after, so that's all just my opinion.

None of these things are that expensive, why not get one of each. Then you can choose the right tool for the particular vacation....

Good luck,

Lenny

**jmccl@yahoo.com** · 8-Oct-2012, 18:46

I'm getting the crazy bug too. Just thinking about doing something different than the rest of the world. From the reading I've been doing, a Graflex seems to be a fairly cost effective way into the LF world and they fold up nicely in what appears to be a reasonably durable package for field carrying. I'm a long way off from acting on this impulse, but that photo of GC really stirred my apperture. What was the camera out on the ledge? Or is the Graphic so great it can photograph itself?

I have figured out that I would need some film holders that I would have to load in a dark closet and then carry out on a shoot, but I'm trying to find out if there is some kind of a product that the exposed film could be put into until I get to a processing lab. I don't have the space for a dark room to develop my own stuff, so I'd only be a half-fast LF photographer

. Any ideas on light proof paper sleeves that you could put the exposed film in? Can you just stack exposed film in a light tight box and not have chemical bleed between the sheets?

This site is going to be my undoing and push me over the crazy edge.

**Roger Cole** · 8-Oct-2012, 19:17

Originally Posted by Lenny Eiger

There are very interesting, and lightweight, not to mention gorgeous handheld options for 4x5,. I would also add that I have an aluminum monopod that weighs about 5 ounces or so, those can help a little with the stability, if needed. Half a dozen holders weighs very little.

Of course, there is also the Mamiya 7 II, which weighs like a 35mm but the lenses are unbelievably sharp. Personally, I wouldn't use 35mm. It doesn't scan well and one seems to be two steps back already in the quality. But quality is not what everyone is after, so that's all just my opinion.

None of these things are that expensive, why not get one of each. Then you can choose the right tool for the particular vacation....

Good luck,

Lenny

A Mamiya 7 with lenses is not "that expensive?" This must be a new usage of the phrase "none of these are that expensive" with which I was previously unfamiliar.

(Says the guy who just flew a rental airplane 2.2 hours with a flight instructor in the last three days, checking out in a new-to-him plane and reviewing the autopilot in the other before taking it on a trip. We make ways to afford things if we enjoy them enough. That was cheaper than a Mamiya 7, but it only lasted 2.2 hours.)

jp · 8-Oct-2012, 19:34

Originally Posted by jmccl@yahoo.com

I'm getting the crazy bug too. Just thinking about doing something different than the rest of the world. From the reading I've been doing, a Graflex seems to be a fairly cost effective way into the LF world and they fold up nicely in what appears to be a reasonably durable package for field carrying. I'm a long way off from acting on this impulse, but that photo of GC really stirred my apperture. What was the camera out on the ledge? Or is the Graphic so great it can photograph itself?

I have figured out that I would need some film holders that I would have to load in a dark closet and then carry out on a shoot, but I'm trying to find out if there is some kind of a product that the exposed film could be put into until I get to a processing lab. I don't have the space for a dark room to develop my own stuff, so I'd only be a half-fast LF photographer

. Any ideas on light proof paper sleeves that you could put the exposed film in? Can you just stack exposed film in a light tight box and not have chemical bleed between the sheets?

This site is going to be my undoing and push me over the crazy edge.

If you're doing B&W, you can put the exposed film into a light tight box such as a combiplan tank and develop it at home without a darkroom. Just gotta load it in the dark. Graflex is a good choice for many people, and has been through much of the 20th century. people who put away exposed film after shooting such as while traveling, use a light tight film box like the film was purchased in. Just mark the box so you don't mix the new stuff with the exposed stuff.