Large Format photography group - From "zero to hero!"

Ahh damn, sorry to hear that chap! Hope you're up and running soon. It's a shame that the shutters are not made (to my knowledge) any more.
 
steveo_mcg said:
Aye that's what I need, guess I'll just have to careful with the few frames I manage to make till I'm ready to order some film.
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Why not stick in a Wanted ad here and you might get lucky for less cost?
 
Woodsy said:
Ahh damn, sorry to hear that chap! Hope you're up and running soon. It's a shame that the shutters are not made (to my knowledge) any more.
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Don't they? Really is worth getting them repaired then, Dwindling stock and all that.

I'm really fighting my GAS here to just go and buy another 150 while I wait the thick end of a month to get these back from Miles.


Peter B said:
Why not stick in a Wanted ad here and you might get lucky for less cost?
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Good idea.
 
steveo_mcg said:
Aye that's what I need, guess I'll just have to careful with the few frames I manage to make till I'm ready to order some film.
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Thé clear plastic A4 document sleeves are ideal for protecting your sheet film negs if you haven't got dedicated pouches
 
Aye, that's the way I was heading. Good to hear it wasn't a completely daft idea.
 
This really is turning into my bogey format. Got my shutters back all sorted, timings sound right.

Shot four frames last night, two each of the same composition. Luckily I put one frame from each composition in the tank because I didn't have the centre column secured and managed to blitz one of them. The other I seem to have so completely muck up the exposure that you can't see the light leak...

Trying the other two with a longer development to try and get an image.

I never so completely mucked up 120, I did however enjoy shooting the frames so I think I need a better developing method than taco.

Edit: these ones are a little over developed my "bugger it just add 5 minutes" approach to trying to recover from shooting the film a couple of stops out isn't exactly scientific. They look okay so I'll have to find an hour tomorrow to scan them.
 
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Hello, New on this forum and this may not be the right place for my post but perhaps someone may be able to help. My interest is in telescopes and astrophotography and am working on a diy Schmidt astrocamera, focal length 500mm at F/3. I plan on using 5x4 sheet film cut down to circles just under 4ins diameter. These will be held to the curved film holder (I hope) by a magnetic ring. Now, I'm on the scrounge for a failed negative or two that would otherwise be thrown away and with which I can test my film holder plan before committing myself to perhaps a lot of useless work. Of course, more than happy to pay for postage etc. Can anyone help?
Cheers David
 
Firstly, welcome to the forum. You've come to the right place we've got loafs of dodgy negatives round here. I'm sure I've got a couple of 5x4 failures I can send you. PM me you address and I'll drop a couple in the post.
 
David, if you just click on an avatar it brings up an information box, in there is a start a conversion tab, just click that and you can send Nick a message. Best not to let too many people know where you live..... Although in here its probably not much of a problem.:D
 
You've sold all those cameras Andy, you deserve a new one...

If you don't buy it, somebody else will, that would be a tragedy...
 
Noooo.. the voices, the voices in my head... why won't they stop?
 
Aluminium? You know how light that would be! It would be like carrying a 35mm point and shoot. But large format! Buy it!
 
Re Film negs and Raglan Surf. I'm not too sure if my PMs are getting through, Nick but if they are not, many thanks for the two 5x4 negatives.
David
 
David Cartwright said:
Re Film negs and Raglan Surf. I'm not too sure if my PMs are getting through, Nick but if they are not, many thanks for the two 5x4 negatives.
David
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They are and you're welcome.
 
I bought a lens recently, a Merito RR 5x7, in a Wollensack Junior shutter. The three speed shutter, B-T-I, has a pneumatic piston with a nipple of about 5mm diameter. Does anyone have any suggestions about what sort of tubing I could use? I think I can sort out a bulb.

Frustratingly, the lens focal length isn't engraved on the barrel and it appears to have lost the riveted on plate with the f-stop values on. I would expect the focal length to be about 210mm if it is a standard 5x7 lens. Assuming that, I can calculate the approximate f values in a few postions across the range.

Incidentally, the lens was made in Liverpool by W. L. Parkinson Ltd.. The company went into receivership before the first world war.
 
I just decided to read this thread having scrolled past it several times. Then I stupidly looked on Ebay and found large format cameras are potentially affordable (that means up to a couple of hundred quid for me). I really like shooting medium format so large format interests me.

So I'm considering dabbling, however the different types and sizes are a bit of a mystery. I want something that isn't a nightmare to carry (although I wouldn't be walking miles with it), and is easy enough to use to be a good intro into LF. I assume smaller sizes are subsequently cheaper to purchase and develop.
I've seen Graflex, Cambo and Toyo come up as possibles, actually saw a Toyo one for £70 so I assume they're at the lower end of the spectrum.

Can I get the negs developed at a lab or is home dev the way to go? And would I be able to scan the negs with my v600?
 
ARRRGGGGHHHH!




Had a free 90mins before sunset so thought I'd try and reshoot in the area I messed up with the RPX 25, Yomped up the hill got set up as a thick band of cloud came over the hill along with some apparently 10mph wind. After 10 minutes trying to focus with my t-shirt blowing in my face, having to use on hand to hold the loop, one to focus the rail and one to keep the cloth from my face I gave up. Just in time for an unforecast rain shower! Even after the shower moved over it was so dark my exposure with the Foma 100 would have been over a minute which would have just been a mess in this wind.

My dark cloth is too wide at the neck so just comes off the camera and the t-shirt I keep round the rail is too light and thin so I can't use it unless its flat calm and I'm using the 150mm f5.6 so I can see the gg.

Are proper dark cloths usesable in windy conditions? If not I'm going to have to move this on, its rarely flat calm here and I can't be arsed fighting with the damm things.


TLD: ARRRGGGGHHHH!
 
Some have fastenings rather than being a simple (possibly corner weighted) sheet. I use a Paramo; the Walker is similar. I like the Paramo because it's waterproof, and the press studs along its length let it be fastened around my neck as a cape - rain protection if wet, and one less thing to carry if dry.
 
ohh, press studs and raincape sound like a plan, Its not actually waterproof but the cloth is just polyester so should take a good coating of nikwax. I've just ducktaped the hell out of it and it does now fit better round the gg but its still six foot long I was just going to cut it but actually I could glue some more velcro on to the cloth to roll it up in use on the camera and unfurl it for weather.

How long is your cloth?
 
2 feet 10 inches top to hem.

Edit to add - but it's a 5x4 camera I'm using it on.
 
Mine is nearly 6ft. drapes from my shoulders and nearly touches the ground when I'm standing!! Thats why I'm thinking part time rain cape.

I'm also using a 54, do you find this length adequate or would you go longer with experience?
 
It probably depends on how you work; the Paramo is my second cloth, the first being a weighted sheet of material and about the same size. What makes the Paramo better for me is that you can fasten it round the rear of the camera, rather than just draping it, and this means that I get a reasonable light seal without having to hold it. There are cloths that are made as sleeves - you can wear them round your neck as a scarf and then pull one end over your head and attach it to the camera, meaning you're looking through a light proof tube. The Paramo can be clipped to work like this.

I find that I'm working fairly close to the ground glass, and I use a pair of strong reading glasses to let me compose. By strong, I mean the strongest I could find, so I can view from a very few inches. And can't see my own feet clearly with them on! I've got used to working this way. I think I'd find a six foot cloth rather overwhelming to use, unless I had a larger camera.

The biggest problem I face is the cloth collapsing into my field of view and a smaller area makes this less of a problem; so unless I found from trying someone else's larger cloth that it worked better, I wouldn't go larger. The answer to the collape is to apply tension; easier if the cloth is smaller and clipped together.
 
This one has an elastic neck to bind round the rear standard but beyond that is a plain cloth. Going to mod it to make it slightly more useful, make the neck narrower, close it up for a few inches to make a bit of tunnel, put some weights in the corner and add some way of making it shorter so I can try and work out what length suits me
 
What is this thing called a darkcloth .......

8186282944_d12ce09ff3_c.jpg



Never used one never will.

If you are finding them that much of a problem I would suggest improvising a viewing hood if there isn't one available for your camera system.

The reason I tediously always suggest Sinar is it's all readily available and cheap but they were not alone in making viewing hoods and I have seem other makes and indeed other cameras adapted to use another manufactures hood.
 
I'm not sure if I should be posting this here or in the Show us your Hooley'd pictures thread!

I decided to see if I could use a Paterson Orbital for stand developing using Caffenol.

I spend most of yesterday afternoon taking seven still life shots of flowers using my Crown Graphic.

When I removed the Paterson Orbital from the changing tent the ruddy lid wasn't on properly, so 4 shots probably ruined. Ok, well I still have 3 shots remaining "safely" stored in a Paterson reel tank. At least that's what I hoped. It seems that either the centre tube wasn't in properly or you just can't use an Orbital for stand developing, or at least it seems I can't as out of those 3 sheets only one had an image on and that was unusable.

All in all, out of 7 sheets of film only one was in any was usable and I'm not really happy with that one. Here's what I managed to salvage:

Flower in a vase by wickerman6, on Flickr
 
It may only be one shot but I think its a cracker. (y)
 
Apologies for lowering the tone but I love the image of you guys wandering the moors in a howling gale, capes blowing in the wind :D


PeterSpencer said:
I bought a lens recently, a Merito RR 5x7, in a Wollensack Junior shutter. The three speed shutter, B-T-I, has a pneumatic piston with a nipple of about 5mm diameter. Does anyone have any suggestions about what sort of tubing I could use? I think I can sort out a bulb.
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5mm i/d sounds like syphon tubing, I use a soft plastic tube a little smaller than that for bleeding brakes on my bikes. Best bet would be to measure it and check for something a little bit smaller on ebay. I can't give you an example as the bay's blocked by the proxy at work but from experience there are usually loads of sellers of bits like that. The other option is sites like The Hose Shop but you might have to buy a few metres of tube as a minimum purchase.
 
Strappy said:
Apologies for lowering the tone but I love the image of you guys wandering the moors in a howling gale, capes blowing in the wind :D
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Just add a deerstalker and a large demonic dog on Dartford the Pentlands and thats me at the weekend!!
 
Strappy said:
Apologies for lowering the tone but I love the image of you guys wandering the moors in a howling gale, capes blowing in the wind :D
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its usually a case of chasing it around the floor swearing when it blows off rather than some romantic image of it swirling around our shoulders while we peer knowingly into the distance.
 
I've got a part used box of expired 4x5 film in the freezer. It's a 20 sheet box. I've opened it in my changing bag and had a feel inside, and as far as I can tell, there are two unopened bags and one that is open but feels about half full. Does that mean there is likely to be 12 or 13 sheets left? I.e. do they usually package them in 5 sheet bags? I've absolutely no idea about large format film, so sorry if this is a 'doh, obviously' question!

I'm never going to shoot it, so give me a shout if you want it and I'll send the details. Would be great if I could swap it for a couple of rolls of anything medium or 35mm format.

Thanks

J
 
What is it? My Foma and FP4 are both in a single bag. I might have some 120 to swap I really need to check what I've got...
 
1988?! Jeez, that film has been expired longer than I've been alive...
 
FujiLove said:
LOL - may be the first time on this thread that the film is older than the cameras.
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Yep. I've got a swap for you. No cash involved. Don't wanna tread on any toes..
 
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