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Thread: In Praise of 5x7... Post'em !

  1. #1

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    In Praise of 5x7... Post'em !


    5x7 TMY, Pryrocat HD
    Sinar P, 250mm Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar

    5x7: What's not to love ?

    Even the humblest of scanners can make you a great image at 11x14 or larger, with no grain/noise, smooth tonality, and wonderful resolution.
    Last edited by Ken Lee; 15-Apr-2018 at 09:23.

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    Re: In Praise of 5x7... Post'em !

    Ken, splendid rendition. I particularly like the way you've assigned the lightest part of the image to the sharpest focus then let the softness of the remaining place the whole in context. Kind of transports me back to the Hancock Shaker village outside Pittsfield.

    Nate Potter, Austin TX.

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    Re: In Praise of 5x7... Post'em !

    Ken,

    Wonderful. Beautiful tones and composition.

    Indeed, 5X7 is hard to beat. To my taste it is the sweet spot of all sweet spots.

    Sandy King
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    Re: In Praise of 5x7... Post'em !

    Ditto. Ditto. And ditto.

    So why aren't we all using 5x7? Why aren't all emulsions available in 5x7?

    What should I sell to move to 5x7? Right. My 4x5 cameras and holders. Most of the lenses should be ok. Nope. Only 2.
    Wayne
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    Re: In Praise of 5x7... Post'em !

    Here is one. An indoor/outdoor look with a scene of very high contrast.

    Original negative was 5X7 TMY developed in Pyrocat-HD. Shot with 105 mm Fujinon SD.

    Subject is the Ex-Seminary of the Jesuits in Morelia, Mexico, from the second floor.

    Sandy
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    Re: In Praise of 5x7... Post'em !

    "What should I sell to move to 5x7?"

    Don't sell. Just get some cheapo stuff. Finding lenses which cover adequately is not always a problem, since many which cover 4x5, can handle 5x7. And its only an issue if you shoot at infinity. Even "junky" vintage lenses which nominally cover 4x5, will cover all the way to 8x10 at 1:1.... and for 5x7, one-to-one is pretty large ! Those junky vintage lenses perform a lot better when you enlarge them a lot less. And you can use a BetterScanning holder on an Epson scanner - something you can't do with 8x10.


    Richard Ritter put a new red bellows on this old 5x7 Kodak 2A, which I found at an auction. The camera was way-cheaper than even a Chinese copy of a copy of a 4x5. It's still working today, shown here at my posh "studio": a chair next to the window, a potted plant, and some black cloth from the fabric store.

    I bought some 5x7 holders from Eddie for a great price. The lens which came with the camera was an old 190mm Bausch&Lomb Tessar, which I presumed was junk. I didn't have a clue.

    Scanning 2400 spi - even only 8 bit b&w, this 1930's wooden box from Rochester is a 200 Mebagyte monstah !
    Last edited by Ken Lee; 20-Dec-2009 at 16:37.

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    Re: In Praise of 5x7... Post'em !

    "Subject is the Ex-Seminary of the Jesuits in Morelia, Mexico"

    Never mind the huge brightness range, which is remarkable in itself: Man, that has the feeling of the place ! The tired agedness of everything, the power and clarity of the sun, the mystery.

    Years ago, I resided in two monasteries in Mexico. Your photo brings back a flood of memories.

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    Re: In Praise of 5x7... Post'em !

    Steve Simmons praised the 5X7 format for many years. Not many people paid attention to what he was saying.

    Recently, Steve began using the 7"x17" format. He has been writing a series of articles on the Ritter 7"x17" camera. Now, that's a format that can present a real challenge for obtaining film and holders, not to mention cameras.

    I finally began to use my Canham Traditional in the 5x7 mode, and I agree that 5x7 is the "sweet spot". Should have listened to Steve a long time ago.

    I will soon be selling my 8x10 Canham Traditional. Too much to haul around.

    I just searched the B&H website. They list eleven 5x7 B&W negative films. One 5x7 color transparency film, and one 5x7 color negative film. And that's only one of several dealers out there.

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    Re: In Praise of 5x7... Post'em !

    Quote Originally Posted by Gem Singer View Post
    I just searched the B&H website. They list eleven 5x7 B&W negative films. One 5x7 color transparency film, and one 5x7 color negative film. And that's only one of several dealers out there.
    B&W is not a big problem here, but color film is.

  10. #10
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    Re: In Praise of 5x7... Post'em !

    I understand the difficulty obtaining color film for the 5x7 format.

    However, it's the ideal format for those of us that use B&W film and develop it ourselves.

    Color sheet film, whether transparency or negative, is expensive to purchase and process at a commercial lab (assuming that you can still find a lab that processes sheet film).

    Whenever I shoot color, I use 120 roll film or a digital camera.

    If you insist on shooting LF in color, use 4x5.

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