What should I consider for a view camera with a digital back?

[Leonard Evens]

I've been doing 4 x 5 view camera photography using a Toho FC-45X. I develop my own BW film and have color negative film developed by Gamma Imaging in Chicago. I don't have room in my condo for a darkroom so I scan the negatives using an Epson V700.

For years I've been hoping that someone would produce a moderate priced 4 x 5 digital back I could use, but that hasn't happened.

At age 79, I am willing now to consider buying a digital system, say a 6 x 9 view camera with a digital back. (I am old enough to be willing to spend more now because I don't expect to need the money to live on.) I would be willing to spend something over $5,000, but I don't want to go too much higher.

Can anyone suggest things I should look at.

[Ivan J. Eberle]

Nothing out of the ordinary in asking about 6x9cm view cameras that can handle a MF digital back, but you do realize there haven't been any commercially available, one-shot RGB color/non-scanning digital backs sold made over 20+ years of production that have larger than 645 format sized sensors, right?

Within your price range of $5000, for a camera and a back, what you can today purchase (used) in the way of a digital MF camera and (an obsolete) back, would to my way of thinking be money much better spent on a 35mm DSLR of the D800e or Canon 5DmkIII variety and a top lens or two. Almost any current DSLR will have better color, dynamic range and high ISOs than MF backs of a few years past. With a great lens on a 24MP or greater DSLR, you'll easily capture images with files that will rival the output of how you've been doing your 4x5 work with the V700, at sizes as large as 24"x30". If you want to go bigger, stitching is fairly trivial in Photosphop nowadays. For one-shot larger work, you already own a camera system that will print much, much larger than all but the $50,000 cameras out there-- via a PMT drum scan and hybrid printing.

[Thom Bennett]

Depending on what you are photographing a medium format digital back might work for you and your existing 4x5 system. For example, check this out: https://www.captureintegration.com/store/leaf-aptus-22/. All you would need is a special mount for your particular camera and you could start shooting.

We use the MFDB's on 4x5's and they work great. Sure, you waste a lot of camera shooting down to a 645 format but without the anti-aliasing filters that 35mm digital cameras have the clarity and sharpness is quite impressive. I wouldn't try architecture with it but for studio and close up work it is fine.

[timparkin]

I've been doing 4 x 5 view camera photography using a Toho FC-45X. I develop my own BW film and have color negative film developed by Gamma Imaging in Chicago. I don't have room in my condo for a darkroom so I scan the negatives using an Epson V700.

For years I've been hoping that someone would produce a moderate priced 4 x 5 digital back I could use, but that hasn't happened.

At age 79, I am willing now to consider buying a digital system, say a 6 x 9 view camera with a digital back. (I am old enough to be willing to spend more now because I don't expect to need the money to live on.) I would be willing to spend something over $5,000, but I don't want to go too much higher.

Can anyone suggest things I should look at.

Have a look at this first.. You'd be better off sticking with film as it still produces better detail, tonality and colour than any digital system under $10,000

http://www.onlandscape.co.uk/2011/12...ra-comparison/

Of course if you're after easily produced quick images I would recommend a D800 as has been mentioned and possibly a mirex tilt shift adapter to allow you to Hasselblad lenses plus possibly purchase a nikon 24 tilt shift..

the only digital system in my mind that currently matches colour 4x5 is the IQ180 and even that struggles to match black and white 4x5.

You might be better off purchasing a better scanner - that would be the cheapest way to better image quality

Tim

[Gary Tarbert]

Have a look at this first.. You'd be better off sticking with film as it still produces better detail, tonality and colour than any digital system under $10,000

http://www.onlandscape.co.uk/2011/12...ra-comparison/

Of course if you're after easily produced quick images I would recommend a D800 as has been mentioned and possibly a mirex tilt shift adapter to allow you to Hasselblad lenses plus possibly purchase a nikon 24 tilt shift..

the only digital system in my mind that currently matches colour 4x5 is the IQ180 and even that struggles to match black and white 4x5.

You might be better off purchasing a better scanner - that would be the cheapest way to better image quality

Tim

I am doing some scans on an Imacon at the moment which have already been scanned on a V700 this comment may start a lively debate the difference is more dramatic than i thought it would be ,And as the hype suggests but closer to a drum scan than the V700 ,But not quite as the hype suggests , To be perfectly frank for colour work i find the V700 a little dissapointing .It is a great product for the price but with what you loose in absolute detail you may as well just shoot with a D800 or simular .After drum scanning a few last month and now scanning with the Imacon , I have commited to buy another 200 sheets of colour from Badgers , If i stayed with just the V700 the order would never had been placed . Cheers Gary

[Daniel Stone]

Personally, I'd recommend having some drum scans done of your favorite 4x5's.

Here are a few scanner operators(all have been active here on the forum):

Lenny Eiger www.eigerstudios.com
James Beck www.jamesbeckdigital.com
Ian Mazursky www.prepressexpress.com

pricing IMO is very fair, considering what you get. Personally, I decided to purchase a used drum scanner, and its been a fantastic investment in my photography vs using a flatbed(even wet mounted).

-Dan

[Light Guru]

I've been doing 4 x 5 view camera photography using a Toho FC-45X. I develop my own BW film and have color negative film developed by Gamma Imaging in Chicago. I don't have room in my condo for a darkroom so I scan the negatives using an Epson V700.

For years I've been hoping that someone would produce a moderate priced 4 x 5 digital back I could use, but that hasn't happened.

At age 79, I am willing now to consider buying a digital system, say a 6 x 9 view camera with a digital back. (I am old enough to be willing to spend more now because I don't expect to need the money to live on.) I would be willing to spend something over $5,000, but I don't want to go too much higher.

Can anyone suggest things I should look at.

Check out these adapters.
http://fotodioxpro.com/index.php/len...rs.html?cat=13
They require you to stitch your images together afterward in photoshop.

[Nathan Potter]

Leonard, I am roughly in your mode of finding it difficult to get around with my 4X5s and sundry equipment. Although on a recent trip I still did mostly 4X5 I also used a Nikon D800E with various old and newer lenses. Of particular interest was the Nikon 24 mm tilt/shift. Also a 21 mm Zeiss Distagon. After examining the results at home I was even very impressed with the images from the old 75 - 150 Nikon zoom I have had for years. The D800E seems to be a pretty viable alternative for me, although I'll use it for a backup mostly in the near future.

The image quality exceeds the Epson V750 scanned 4X5 negatives by at least a fair margin but I've not run any resolution targets with the D800E yet (need to work that out).

Of course as mentioned above one can do panoramic stitching for still subjects and obtain resolution that is pretty astounding. I've tried a few of these recently with good success. For me a more valuable advantage is found in multiple exposures where 2 to 4 images are taken at bracketed exposures then combined in HDR software.

That setup is not inexpensive and not counting the older Nikon lenses that I have had I guess I've spent just about $5000 so far. I will venture that very top quality resolving lenses are required to really exercise the D800E sensor and these are not cheap.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[Bruce Watson]

Can anyone suggest things I should look at.

Well, I know that you're concerned about weight. This may sound perverse, but if you think about it, it might just work for you. IDK; it's just a thought. How about an m43 mirrorless camera like the Panasonic GH3, or the Olympus em5?

The m43 system is almost the inverse of LF with it's small sensor, but that sensor size is what allows the whole system to be small and light. Considerably smaller and lighter than a full frame DSLR like the much higher resolution Nikon D800E, and much less expensive.

You'd probably be making a bunch of exposures and stitching, and correcting for convergence, etc. in Photoshop. But will that actually take more time than it takes to properly set up an LF camera, then process the film, scan it, etc.? Once you get the workflow down, it'll probably be close enough.

You asked for suggestions; this is an interesting compromise maybe.

[RichardSperry]

Hasselblad FlexBody or ArcBody with a digital back perhaps.

There's a shift tilt Rollei, XAct, or something.

Maybe there is a back for the Fuji 680, dunno.