I'd be hard pressed to decide between a 12 inch Dagor, or a 14 inch Petzval.
I'd be hard pressed to decide between a 12 inch Dagor, or a 14 inch Petzval.
Garrett
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Well, I'm one of the few on this forum who can only afford one 8X10 lens. I picked the most versatile (triple convertable) lens I could find. A turner-reich 12-21-27. I only use the first two. A Packard shutter handles the timing of the light for me.
And good enough! I think my choice of the Fuji W 300/5.6 is partly based on the fact that it was my only 8x10 lens for many many years. Other lenses have slowly come my way (sell a print, buy a lens -- if I already had film!)Originally Posted by premortho
But this was taken with a TR 12-21-28 on 8x10 (in a shutter, though)...using the 28"...
Photography is a simple pleasure, less is more. All the stuff only detracts from the wow moment, when you press the shutter, look at the developed negative in the fixer, see a wet print in the light.
David Cary
www.milfordguide.nz
mdm - I was a subscriber to that very philosophy - minimalist, less is more - for a good part of my time as a photographer. Then, I got into large format, thinking to maintain that paradigm and keep only the barest essentials to make and print photographs that I would be happy with.
It's a nice thought too, but SOOOOOO difficult to stick too! I don't even consider myself a 'gearhead' either (and ALL of us have had our occasional bouts of GAS) but as time goes on, my kit, cameras and darkroom just continues to grow and grow. Getting off topic a bit here I know, but I seem to find there's always something else I need; a new lens, piece of darkroom gear, etc., in order to continue to meet the demands I set upon myself to fulfill my photographic vision. Ad it never ends! Or almost never anyway.
Maybe this should be the subject of a new thread, but: Don't you ever feel the need for some additional piece of gear, or new camera, or what have you, for no other reason than to accomplish whatever you're trying to accomplish photographically? I think there's a difference between lusting after cameras just for the joy of owning them, and seeking out cameras or gear because without them, you just can't do what you need to do...
Anyway, back to the original topic, sorry for running off on a tangent there!
Yes, exactly. Not to further derail this but I hate when people call me a "gearhead" just because I've got many cameras and lots of lenses. Sometimes you need X tool and if you don't have it, you can't do what you want. That's all there is to it.
Anyway, I think I use my 210mm Graphic Kowa the most, or my Nikkor-M 300mm, so one of those. Or both, since they only cost about $800 total so that's still under the $1k budget.
In fact, I have only one lens for 8x10 - a 300mm Xenar
Vaughn, I never used the long cell of my Turner-Reich because the experts on here convinced me of what trash it was. That pic of Yosa-might falls has changed my mind. My goodness, 3 useable focal lengths for around a hundred bucks...imagine! Now to address the other issue brought up here. So called GAS. Just because I only shoot landscapes, still lifes, and an occasional portrait, does not mean others don't have changing situations that require different gear. I do the Minimilist approach because that's the way I see my work...Doesn't work for everyone.
Only one???
Oh well - if casket sets are out, then I'd take a 240mm Symmar convertible. Just to have two in one.
Based on the restrictions applied by the OP, then I'd have to decide between a 450 mm Nikkor-M and a 240 mm Docter and I wouldn't want to, since both are really great lenses. Based on price, I wouldn't have to (or at least not at the prices I got them). I will even add my Kodak 203 mm f/7.7 in this list - I use it on my 5x12 and it is a great little lens.
Sorry, I couldn't keep it to just one lens!
Last edited by Diane Maher; 21-Oct-2012 at 10:04.
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