The results were so far beyond anything I had ever. Pro Nikon gear I was an instant. Your camera store. I couldn't care less. I'm just trying to help you with what I've learned. A 4 x 5 will cost a lot less than digital, even.
It. just takes a lot more concentration and patience. Spend less. than $2,0. It just takes a lot. CAMERASTachihara.
The. best references for this are Ansel. Adams' book one, . I found them so helpful after borrowing. I bought them. Also I subscribe to View.
Camera Magazine. The first two books explain everything. The. magazine keeps you current with gear and other artists' work. There. is tons of great equipment available used and cheap. Honestly 4 x 5. There was a good roundup of currently available. September/October 2.
View. Camera Magazine. LESS than any other format. I paid $1. 50 for my used enlarger.
Every article ever posted to this blog starting from 2009! Thousands of posts!! If you have a few days to spare, browse them all! Butkus library of camera instruction manuals Where FILM camera instruction manuals have been found for FREE since 1997 (donations. 12773 13559: 4x5 Sinar Binocular Reflex viewfinder, use on Monorail cameras to focus without a dark cloth. Good condition, signs of normal use.
- Find great deals on eBay for polaroid and polaroid camera. Shop with confidence.
- Other medium format cameras So, you don't want to have a TLR, what other options do you have? One of your main options in this field would be the Hasselbla.
I. paid $3. 00 for my first 4 x 5 camera including lens. This $3. 00 camera. This $3. 00 used 4 x 5 is sharper. Hasselblad and worlds beyond a $5,0. Leica, Contax. Canon or Nikon. CHEAP. Sure, it costs $3 per shot. I can. blow off a few hundred dollars worth of 3.
I still haven't finished off the $7. I bought 5 years. I personally prefer. Today I use a Tachihara. Adorama. You will need lenses for it of course. There are loads of great. If you are on a. tighter budget, look for a 1.
Crown Graphic. It's what you see used. You can get these for. WITH a perfectly fine lens. An old $2. 00. Crown Graphic will completely eclipse any Nikon, Hasselblad or Leica. The. basic points are to: 1.) Check the shutter. A repair shop can do that.
Check the focus. between the ground glass and your film: if a bonehead assembled the. You test that by shooting. Check for light. leaks in a darkroom with a flashlight jammed inside the bellows. Avoid the heavier.
Speed Graphic with the focal plane shutter, just because it's heavier. FP shutter. I prefer the Tachihara. Graphics because the Graphics are not intended to make it easy. The Graphics are a very. A lot of the art on this site. Crown Graphic. Press cameras like.
Graphic and even the expensive Linhof Technika can be used hand- held. You pop in film. holders and shoot handheld. For faster work you can use a Graphmatic. If you are on a. budget and need to buy new (pretty silly, really) then you can buy a.
Calumet Cadet 4 x 5 monorail camera for $3. Heck, I wouldn't buy new, but. Cadet camera with a brand new lens from Calumet for. Monorails are very flexible if you only work in a.
Forget. monorail cameras for use in nature. As you'll see at the Calumet site. If you have unlimited. Sinar. Others like these because they.
You also will be. Linhof Technika. I also use one of these. It is a precision brick of metal. You are welcome to buy a brand new one for several thousand. You want at least.
Technika IV, introduced in 1. The Tachihara camera takes the same lensboards. The. more recent Technikas have a hinged top to allow rise with very short. I use a 7. 5mm lens on my Technika IV on a deeply recessed board. Using wide angle lenses on a Technika starts to get complicated.
What do I use? I bought. Adorama. com for.
The same camera is sold by Calumet as their . The 4 x 5 camera has been in use for over. I regularly use lenses from the 1. The best photos on my site come from these old lenses, and the. Nikon digital SLR gear. NEW: Rodenstock 4. APO- Grandagon 1.
March 2. 00. 8 Schneider. XL 1. 6 November. Schneider. 6. 5mm f/8 Super Angulon.
Zeiss. 7. 5mm f/4. Biogon. Schneider. Super Angulon. Schneider. Super Angulon. Schneider. Angulon. Nikkor- SW. Wollensak. 1. 35mm f/4.
Nikkor- W. 1. 35mm f/5. Schneider. Symmar 1. Rodenstock. Sironar- n 1. Nikkor- W. 2. 10mm f/5. Nikkor- M. 3. 00mm f/9. Manufacturing. dates for all Schneider lenses based on serial numbers: 5.
January 1. 92. 2 1. January 1. 92. 5 2.
June 1. 92. 8 3. 00,0. February 1. 92. 9 4. April 1. 93. 1 5.
June 1. 93. 2 6. 00,0. August 1. 93. 3 7. October 1. 93. 4 8. September 1. 93. 5 9. May 1. 93. 6 1,0.
November 2. 1, 1. September 4, 1. 94. May 2. 0, 1. 95. 2 4,0. October 2. 9, 1. 95.
February 2. 6, 1. May 1. 9, 1. 95. 9 7,0. February 1, 1. 96.
March 1. 4, 1. 96. February 2. 1, 1. February 1, 1. 96.
September 2. 1, 1. January 1. 8, 1. 96. October 6, 1. 96. November 1. 5, 1. June 2. 2, 1. 97.
September 1. 5, 1. January 1. 97. 7 1. October 1. 98. 3 1. January 1. 98. 5 1. August 1. 98. 6 1.
November 1. 98. 8 1. January 1. 99. 1Schneider. Optics (lenses)Manufacturing.
Rodenstock lenses based on serial numbers: (From. You should subscribe. I do!)5. 0,0. 00. Large. Format Lenses (Nikon UK)Catalog. Nikon Large Format lenses (in Japanese, sorry)FILMYou.
Tri- X, Velvia, etc.) that you use in any other format. Each holder weighs. You. also can buy film already packaged into paper sleeves that can be used.
Polaroid film holder. I prefer the Polaroid holder since it works. Fuji, Polaroid and Kodak. The Kodak or Fuji holders only work with. The. quickload systems save you from having to load holders yourself in. They also allow. you to pack a lot more loaded film since each sheet is in a paper. Of course the lightest.
I can shoot at f/5. This presumes your camera is.
If your ground glass is improperly positioned you may. The. fast load systems have to claim great flatness since they don't usually.
I. get great and consistent results with the Kodak holder and 2- sheet Kodak. I. get varying results with the single- sheet Fuji sheets. I get the best. results with the Polaroid holder. The inch of film closest to the loading. Fuji or Polaroid holder sometimes will move a little bit. If you experiment. I. try to shoot at f/3.
Fuji system to eliminate any film flatness. Sometimes the film is held flat, sometimes not.
Few people see. this since most people shoot 4 x 5 at f/3. I try to shoot at bigger apertures to eliminate diffraction.
Try it. yourself and see. I tend to see things that most people don't, so don't. Also sometimes. the fast load systems work great, too. The. fast load systems may be better for night work since they use pressure.
Try it and see. That's how I learn all this stuff. I. use both systems depending on how cheap (conventional) or lazy (quickload). I am for any given project.
DUSTDust. is sometimes a problem. You have to load your film yourself. Occasionally I'd get a speck on. These would. be an obvious single speck, not zillions of tiny ones.
My. lab made a suggestion and ever since I've had no problems. They suggested. I tap the edge of each sheet on the table just before loading. It's worked, although I think I've been. Of. course today dust isn't a problem since color work is printed electronically. B/W is best printed optically and you. Excellent retouchers, many of whom are probably gone. I vacuum my holders with a Shop- Vac if.
I'm home. LABSMost every city has professional labs that run 4 x 5. Camera stores are not professional labs; check your Yellow Pages. I. use Chrome in.
San Diego for all my E6 (Velvia). They do mail- order if you have. For 4x. 5 black- and- white. I. don't shoot C4. Mesa. Photo, also in San Diego, processes 4x. C4. 1 color negatives.
Tell them I sent you. Dark Cloth. I made my own. I put Velcro on the edges and camera to keep it on in. Visit any fabric store and try the different fabrics by. I used a soft. fabric and folded it over for double thickness. Focusing. Loupes. I use a 4x, rubber- bumpered, extended Toyo.
It's intended. for use under dark cloths or hoods on ground glass screens. I got it here. LINKSFocusing the View Camera Where. Help me help you top I support my growing family through this website, as crazy as it might seem. The biggest help is when you use any of these links to Adorama, Amazon, e. Bay, Ritz, Calumet, J& R and Scan. Cafe when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live.
It costs you nothing, and is this site's, and thus my family's, biggest source of support. These places have the best prices and service, which is why I've used them since before this website existed. I recommend them all personally. If you find this. If you've gotten your gear through one of my links or helped otherwise, you're family. Thanks! If you haven't helped yet, please do, and consider helping me with a gift of $5.
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