I learned Pinholes in college and I built my own and it was very rewarding and Ilford makes a kit for $100 that comes with film, paper, and film holder to send you film to be processed at a developing company of your choice (one that I use is" The Darkroom" out of California and they are great!).
The lens is where it should start. Everything else follows. Schneider lenses are the best imo. Symmar and you get two lenses. Super Angulon 6.8 and you get awesome results.
Hey Ted, if you're interested in alternative processing etc, have a look at what Chuck Close has done with daguerreotypes, especially for portraiture. Because it is such a slow process, he uses incredibly high power flashes which are pretty hard on the subject but are, in fact, the only way to do portraiture with that sort of process. The finished product is worth the effort IMHO.
Hi Ted - is it possible to please revisit your large format film photography videos? Maybe a comparison to the likes of your Holgas/Diana’s or other film camera. Would love to see some results from these guys! Thanks
You didn't mention the taco method when talking about development. Arguably it's a much easier way to get into developing large format if you're coming from small/medium format and already have the gear,
Unless you really want a lot of movement.graflex are cheap,easy to use and can be adapted to smaller format.during my time in the national guard,I used a crown graphic.absolutely loved it.now im retired, I am going back to 4x5 and a crown.
I have just purchased a 4x5 Sinar F1 camera but have no idea where to begin looking for a normal range lens for it. There is a lot of information on the topic that get me lost. What do you recommend looking for a portrait lens?
Great video. Thanks for the great information. I design and make high end furniture and have read that large format view cameras are the way to go. However, I'm totally lost. One question, how do you get film onto a digital format? Also, once scanned (I assume that's how it's done), can photos be edited in Lightroom? I'm mainly after minimal distortion, perfect lines, the best possible image sharpness, rich color rendition, and the ability to publish the images digitally and on print (catalogs). I have the money to invest in a studio setup and about 12 hours a week for the next 2 years to learn. Any tips?
I bought a full original Calumet 4x5 kit wth the square monorail (like above) that included 300 sheets of Ilford film and 9 film holders, soft carrying bag and a host of accessories for $500 on eBay. But I don't know what type of tripod to get for it, Ted can you help me with this? I am so ready to use my camera I've had it for 3yrs now. Help!
I'm not Ted but I'm more than happy to answer your question, my camera weighs about six pounds my tripod and head can hold a camera of up to 17 pounds... find out what your camera weighs and find a tripod that can hold at least double that.
Either you must have a lot more money than I do, or it’s been a long time since you’ve been on eBay many of the 4 x 5 and 8 x 10 cameras cost a good amount of money! Yes they’re much less than what they used to be, but when you add the cost of the lens and a light meter, plus some film holder you are into some money! And there is the cost of film! I love large format, but it is not cheep. Maybe if you are looking at a 3 to $ 4000 for a Digital camera, then maybe it does seem less expensive. Film is making a come back because of the unique process and results. There is some quality improvement with larger formats but that’s not the main reasons people returning to films. With film you will always have a physical negative! The camera you use in your demonstration would probably cost about $2000 eBay without a lens. After making my statement I realize that this video was made back in 2011, when everybody thought film was dead. Now that people are over the newness of digital, the prices are going up. My apologies to your statement as cheep.
Not the cheapest thing to get into 5x4... just a little perspective: Camera- $1170 Tripod and head- $350 Lense- $450 (just one used, 150mm) Dark cloth- $85 Light meter- $685 (sekonic L758DR) Loupe- $20 (not that great I should get a better one now that I'm taking it more seriously) Film changing bag- $40 Film holders- $250 for 5 holders Developing tank- $89 (Patterson 3reel tank with mod54) Camera bag- $170 (what are you gonna do, carry all that shit in your hands?) Camera wrap- $20 (you wouldn't want your camera to get scratched up) Ground glass protector- $32 (trust me the last thing you wanna do is break your ground glass) Film- $350 this isn't a set number just what I've spent since I've started HP-5 is around $130 for a pack of 100 sheets I've bought 2 packs so far color film is about $45 for 10 sheets I've bought 3 packs so far and ruined all of it! (It was awful) Grey card- $150 (finaly got a nice one from sekonic don't judge me) not necessary but man soooo useful This isn't what everyone will spend I'm sure that anyone can find better deals on used gear. My personal preference was buying new because I'm 100% sure I'll be doing this for as long as film is available. I don't include what I spent on additional film backs because not everyone will work with them. But he's right you end up spending as much as a high end professional camera, but only the camera... unless you're lucky and find a deal on a kit.
I learned Pinholes in college and I built my own and it was very rewarding and Ilford makes a kit for $100 that comes with film, paper, and film holder to send you film to be processed at a developing company of your choice (one that I use is" The Darkroom" out of California and they are great!).
The lens is where it should start. Everything else follows.
Schneider lenses are the best imo.
Symmar and you get two lenses.
Super Angulon 6.8 and you get awesome results.
I got a Speed Graphic with a Ziess lens, 5 holders and film for 350. Im stoked to get some shots tomorrow.
The scanning backs mentioned at 1:22 also have a limitation of being very small in the overall area compared to sheet film.
Such well presented videos. Don't change a thing and thank you. Very informative.
have been wanting to get into large format for a while. awesome video.
love your work Ted!
Hey Ted, if you're interested in alternative processing etc, have a look at what Chuck Close has done with daguerreotypes, especially for portraiture. Because it is such a slow process, he uses incredibly high power flashes which are pretty hard on the subject but are, in fact, the only way to do portraiture with that sort of process. The finished product is worth the effort IMHO.
Hi Ted - is it possible to please revisit your large format film photography videos?
Maybe a comparison to the likes of your Holgas/Diana’s or other film camera.
Would love to see some results from these guys! Thanks
?
tip there is an ipod light meter app you can download for free and I've heard reports that it is very accurate
Ted, can you do an episode on how to put the camera together especially the back grid?
So, now we have 2018 and there is resurrection of film photography. More people start shots 4x5,35mm. Ektachrome is back ...yip pee !!!
Yeah unfortunately Fuji just missed the boat discontinuing their FP-100C and 3000 black and white polaroid film very useful when tweaking exposure
Wondering what your opinion is on using the mod45 in a daylight tank for developing 4x5 negatives?
You didn't mention the taco method when talking about development. Arguably it's a much easier way to get into developing large format if you're coming from small/medium format and already have the gear,
I wonder, what happened to the flickr group?
Unless you really want a lot of movement.graflex are cheap,easy to use and can be adapted to smaller format.during my time in the national guard,I used a crown graphic.absolutely loved it.now im retired, I am going back to 4x5 and a crown.
I have just purchased a 4x5 Sinar F1 camera but have no idea where to begin looking for a normal range lens for it. There is a lot of information on the topic that get me lost. What do you recommend looking for a portrait lens?
Great video. I actually have a developing tube I think holds 4 sheets. Thanks. I'm subscribing.
Great video. Thanks for the great information. I design and make high end furniture and have read that large format view cameras are the way to go. However, I'm totally lost. One question, how do you get film onto a digital format? Also, once scanned (I assume that's how it's done), can photos be edited in Lightroom? I'm mainly after minimal distortion, perfect lines, the best possible image sharpness, rich color rendition, and the ability to publish the images digitally and on print (catalogs). I have the money to invest in a studio setup and about 12 hours a week for the next 2 years to learn. Any tips?
Hey! You can process your scanned negatives using NegativeLab Pro, a Lightroom extension.
Is it adapted Cambo Legend?
thanks for the videos, they are so inspiring and interesting! Keep making them! :)
I bought a full original Calumet 4x5 kit wth the square monorail (like above) that included 300 sheets of Ilford film and 9 film holders, soft carrying bag and a host of accessories for $500 on eBay. But I don't know what type of tripod to get for it, Ted can you help me with this? I am so ready to use my camera I've had it for 3yrs now. Help!
I'm not Ted but I'm more than happy to answer your question, my camera weighs about six pounds my tripod and head can hold a camera of up to 17 pounds... find out what your camera weighs and find a tripod that can hold at least double that.
Bring back the old intro theme😉
Thanks, a very interesting series.
even tho the video is old, its a bit ironic having a profession photographer talk about really hi res cameras when the video is in 360p
that probably depends on what you are shooting
Thank you
Great Video!
great, thanks so much.
Either you must have a lot more money than I do, or it’s been a long time since you’ve been on eBay many of the 4 x 5 and 8 x 10 cameras cost a good amount of money! Yes they’re much less than what they used to be, but when you add the cost of the lens and a light meter, plus some film holder you are into some money! And there is the cost of film! I love large format, but it is not cheep. Maybe if you are looking at a 3 to $ 4000 for a Digital camera, then maybe it does seem less expensive. Film is making a come back because of the unique process and results. There is some quality improvement with larger formats but that’s not the main reasons people returning to films. With film you will always have a physical negative! The camera you use in your demonstration would probably cost about $2000 eBay without a lens. After making my statement I realize that this video was made back in 2011, when everybody thought film was dead. Now that people are over the newness of digital, the prices are going up. My apologies to your statement as cheep.
He said it. Normal lens. Portraits. Pay attention.
Not the cheapest thing to get into 5x4... just a little perspective:
Camera- $1170
Tripod and head- $350
Lense- $450 (just one used, 150mm)
Dark cloth- $85
Light meter- $685 (sekonic L758DR)
Loupe- $20 (not that great I should get a better one now that I'm taking it more seriously)
Film changing bag- $40
Film holders- $250 for 5 holders
Developing tank- $89 (Patterson 3reel tank with mod54)
Camera bag- $170 (what are you gonna do, carry all that shit in your hands?)
Camera wrap- $20 (you wouldn't want your camera to get scratched up)
Ground glass protector- $32 (trust me the last thing you wanna do is break your ground glass)
Film- $350 this isn't a set number just what I've spent since I've started HP-5 is around $130 for a pack of 100 sheets I've bought 2 packs so far color film is about $45 for 10 sheets I've bought 3 packs so far and ruined all of it! (It was awful)
Grey card- $150 (finaly got a nice one from sekonic don't judge me) not necessary but man soooo useful
This isn't what everyone will spend I'm sure that anyone can find better deals on used gear. My personal preference was buying new because I'm 100% sure I'll be doing this for as long as film is available. I don't include what I spent on additional film backs because not everyone will work with them. But he's right you end up spending as much as a high end professional camera, but only the camera... unless you're lucky and find a deal on a kit.
You talk very fast.. Breathe lol