I started with an Intrepid 4x5 Mk IV (I think that model, it was still without Fresnel lens) - and in hindsight this was a big mistake! I didn't know if I would stick with LF, so I wanted to go cheap. But it drove me crazy with all its quirks and low-quality everything. So much details I had to tinker with to make it work for me (I started with LF pinhole photography, and the light seeping in from nearly everywhere cost me so much time and ruined shots, thus money, to learn where I had to do the tweaking and blackening to fix it, and it was never fully fixable). The Chamonix 45 F2 did away with all these frustrations from the get-go, and needed only very minute adjustments to work perfectly for me. All parts that could potentially let light seeping in are coated matte black or with black felt, the mechanics are so nice and smooth (and mostly adjustable). And exchangeable bellows are an absolute (!) must for such a camera, or you are never able to use all movements to their/your full advantage. You can't use a 90 mm lens for architecture without bag bellows! And the movable back standard is a stroke of genius that I often forget exists on this camera. It is expensive, but worth every single buck it costs. Addendum: 150 mm is the diagonal of the 4x5 negative (depending on the holder a bit less or more), so this is considered the standard/normal lens. As a rule of thumb you could just go with factor 3 to get a better feel of what you will get compared to FF/135 film (works reasonably well), so 150 mm is roughly equivalent to 50 mm (think 45 mm), 90 mm is roughly 30 mm (think 28 or 25 mm) etc.
I had the Intrepid 4x5 Mk4, but needed an upgrade. I just ordered the Chamonix 45F-2, and needed a refresher video. This video was the perfect one. I liked the calm tone of your voice, the right amount of information, and the little video clips here and there. It's clear that you've put a considerable amounts of time and effort to come up with such an awesome video. Thank you!
Very nice video. I’ve been doing LF for a year, so not an expert, but this seems exactly the right amount of information. Short, and easy to understand. Thanks!
Hi Sathya. This is making me smile at the memory of the Gandolfi cameras (and crank up Gitzo tripods), used in the studio where I worked as photographers assistant back in the day. Your Chamonix looks very nice.
Hey Colin, hope you’re well. Glad it made you smile. And what you’re describing sounds quite nostalgic :) Chamonix did a good job with their wooden frame + carbon fibre design.
Thanks @sathyapeacock for this incredible tutorial. I also have the Chamonix 45F2 which is an awesome camera. Beautifully handcrafted! Can I ask, what is the name of the viewfinder app that you mention in the video. I've been looking for an app, but never know which one is best. Thanks!
Thank you for watching! I'm glad it was useful. Couldn't agree more about the 45F2 :) The viewfinder app shows up as 'Viewfinder Preview' on apple app store. Link - apps.apple.com/gb/app/viewfinder-preview/id1216484605
As a professional photographer who worked on 5x4 and 10x8 for many years when film was the norm I can assure you that the zone system, so favoured by Amstel Adams is useless if you are ‘digitising’ the negatives. The zone system requires the exposure, processing and printing to all be part of the system and adjustments made along the way to accommodate the contrast range of the scene to that of the paper.
I agree that it was developed as a part of that yester-era workflow but I think it is still a useful tool to know where you want your highlights and shadows to fall - what detail is important, what is not etc., digitising doesn't magically solve metering mistakes? and I'm not using drum scans here just a home scanner. I could probably guess the numbers with sunny 16 in most instances, but if i'm paying £10 per sheet - I would like to have better control over my metering and to know for sure that i'm metering how I would like to. So, for me and how I work, it works. I don't use it for smaller formats now. Thanks for sharing your opinion though! Do you still shoot film?
Hey, thanks for clarifying the stuff relating large format. Having myself a chamonix camera 45-N2.. I have a question, what loupe do you use (grey one on video) as I see this is 4x? Do you find that magnifying not enough on some infinity focus with long distance objects? I have a peak design 5x and I have some problem seeing things on the ground glass. Thanks for your answer and time. Wht would be the best magnifying for landscape? Cheers.
Hey thanks for watching. Yes 4x is definitely restrictive when wanting to focus on subjects further away. Other large format photographers recommend 6x but not more than that as you might start seeing the details of your fresnel screen. So I’d say try 6x, I’m also in the process of finding me a 6x :) good luck!
Linhof currently produce five 4x5 cameras, in addition the medium format range. All can accommodate film and digital imaging.
Cool good to know
I started with an Intrepid 4x5 Mk IV (I think that model, it was still without Fresnel lens) - and in hindsight this was a big mistake! I didn't know if I would stick with LF, so I wanted to go cheap. But it drove me crazy with all its quirks and low-quality everything. So much details I had to tinker with to make it work for me (I started with LF pinhole photography, and the light seeping in from nearly everywhere cost me so much time and ruined shots, thus money, to learn where I had to do the tweaking and blackening to fix it, and it was never fully fixable). The Chamonix 45 F2 did away with all these frustrations from the get-go, and needed only very minute adjustments to work perfectly for me. All parts that could potentially let light seeping in are coated matte black or with black felt, the mechanics are so nice and smooth (and mostly adjustable). And exchangeable bellows are an absolute (!) must for such a camera, or you are never able to use all movements to their/your full advantage. You can't use a 90 mm lens for architecture without bag bellows! And the movable back standard is a stroke of genius that I often forget exists on this camera. It is expensive, but worth every single buck it costs.
Addendum: 150 mm is the diagonal of the 4x5 negative (depending on the holder a bit less or more), so this is considered the standard/normal lens. As a rule of thumb you could just go with factor 3 to get a better feel of what you will get compared to FF/135 film (works reasonably well), so 150 mm is roughly equivalent to 50 mm (think 45 mm), 90 mm is roughly 30 mm (think 28 or 25 mm) etc.
Thanks for sharing your journey with the LF and some insights. Glad Chamonix is working out for you.
I had the Intrepid 4x5 Mk4, but needed an upgrade. I just ordered the Chamonix 45F-2, and needed a refresher video. This video was the perfect one.
I liked the calm tone of your voice, the right amount of information, and the little video clips here and there.
It's clear that you've put a considerable amounts of time and effort to come up with such an awesome video.
Thank you!
Hi Khalid, glad you found it useful. Enjoy the Chamonix!
You teaching skills are excellent.. Im new to large format and viewing your videos..learning a lot from you thanks for sharing your information !
Truly appreciate that. Thank you for watching and letting me know that it was helpful!
Very nice video, I also have a 45F2 and it's a really great large format camera. Sub!
Thanks Adam! Indeed it’s a special piece of equipment 😊
Your delivery of information is a very nice speed and simplicity
Thank you!
I Love shooting with my Chamonix 45F2, best 4x5 camera I have owned. Thank you for such a nice video.
thank you for watching! glad you enjoyed it.
Very nice video. I’ve been doing LF for a year, so not an expert, but this seems exactly the right amount of information. Short, and easy to understand. Thanks!
Hey, thanks for watching and the feedback!
This was amazing as ever, can't wait for part 2!
ah thanks dude :)
Have you made a Part Two? I can’t seem to find it here on TH-cam. Thanks. I appreciate this video very much.
Thanks for a great video.
I look forward to viewing your large format camera movements (front and back) video.
Thank you for watching! Glad it was useful :)
Hi Sathya.
This is making me smile at the memory of the Gandolfi cameras (and crank up Gitzo tripods), used in the studio where I worked as photographers assistant back in the day.
Your Chamonix looks very nice.
Hey Colin, hope you’re well. Glad it made you smile. And what you’re describing sounds quite nostalgic :)
Chamonix did a good job with their wooden frame + carbon fibre design.
Thanks for your incredible video which is very informative for me who is now seriously thinking about buying a large format camera.
I’m glad it was useful! Thank you for watching :)
Great but always take a backup cable release
Thank you! Solid advice :)
Really helpful stuff! Easy decision to sub
Thanks a lot for watching! Glad it was helpful 👊🏽
Very informative
Thankyou!
Thanks @sathyapeacock for this incredible tutorial. I also have the Chamonix 45F2 which is an awesome camera. Beautifully handcrafted! Can I ask, what is the name of the viewfinder app that you mention in the video. I've been looking for an app, but never know which one is best. Thanks!
Thank you for watching! I'm glad it was useful. Couldn't agree more about the 45F2 :) The viewfinder app shows up as 'Viewfinder Preview' on apple app store. Link - apps.apple.com/gb/app/viewfinder-preview/id1216484605
As a professional photographer who worked on 5x4 and 10x8 for many years when film was the norm I can assure you that the zone system, so favoured by Amstel Adams is useless if you are ‘digitising’ the negatives. The zone system requires the exposure, processing and printing to all be part of the system and adjustments made along the way to accommodate the contrast range of the scene to that of the paper.
I agree that it was developed as a part of that yester-era workflow but I think it is still a useful tool to know where you want your highlights and shadows to fall - what detail is important, what is not etc., digitising doesn't magically solve metering mistakes? and I'm not using drum scans here just a home scanner. I could probably guess the numbers with sunny 16 in most instances, but if i'm paying £10 per sheet - I would like to have better control over my metering and to know for sure that i'm metering how I would like to. So, for me and how I work, it works. I don't use it for smaller formats now.
Thanks for sharing your opinion though! Do you still shoot film?
@@SathyaPeacock I used to shoot mostly on a Sinar P1, although I did have a Cherry wood Wista that I used for a while.
I’ve got the same camera, same film holders, same tripod and tripod head 😂
Ha great minds :)
Hey, thanks for clarifying the stuff relating large format. Having myself a chamonix camera 45-N2.. I have a question, what loupe do you use (grey one on video) as I see this is 4x? Do you find that magnifying not enough on some infinity focus with long distance objects? I have a peak design 5x and I have some problem seeing things on the ground glass. Thanks for your answer and time. Wht would be the best magnifying for landscape?
Cheers.
Hey thanks for watching. Yes 4x is definitely restrictive when wanting to focus on subjects further away. Other large format photographers recommend 6x but not more than that as you might start seeing the details of your fresnel screen. So I’d say try 6x, I’m also in the process of finding me a 6x :) good luck!
yaaaaaaaay
Hi Antonio, hope you’re well.
hope daddyhood is all you hoped it would be!@@SathyaPeacock
Ah thank you, easily the most rewarding experience I’ve ever had 😊