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

Do you use the 65mm with a recessed lensboard? I had to on my cameras.
In fact I’m looking at obtaining one for my 75mm as even that causes some difficulties with movements due to bellows compression.
 
To add, if you get say a 300mm and find the bellows are being stretched uncomfortably when using movements, get yourself a top hat lensboard which is basically the reverse version of a recessed board. Even a 50mm one will free up the bellows considerably ;)
 
Do you use the 65mm with a recessed lensboard? I had to on my cameras.
In fact I’m looking at obtaining one for my 75mm as even that causes some difficulties with movements due to bellows compression.

Not needed a recessed lensboard on either camera although it's close on the Wista.
 
There are telephoto large format lenses that require significantly less bellows draw than the focal length
Ah yes, good point, I shall keep an eye out for them as well.
 
The bellows will actually draw to around 350mm, but the bed/standards extend to just under 300mm.


So a 300mm focal length will work fine and still give you some freedom in the bellows for movements.

The Rodenstock Apo-Ronar 300 mm f/9 is small, offers plenty of coverage on 4x5, is light and renders a good IQ.

Contrary to its specs, it actually covers 10x8 without vignetting!!
 
Not needed a recessed lensboard on either camera although it's close on the Wista.
That's good to know. I designed it to work without a recessed board for 65mm lenses, but real world feedback is really useful.


How much movement can you actually get as without a recessed board, an UWA ( 65/ 75mm) will typically function on many ouutfits if shooting landscapes with just a few degrees of tilt.
Architecture however , particularly redressing of verticals can sometimes require quite a bit of adjustments. ( but of course you guys already know this! ;))
 
Architecture however , particularly redressing of verticals can sometimes require quite a bit of adjustments. ( but of course you guys already know this! ;))

You'll be interested in what I'm releasing at The Photography Show then.....Carbon Fibre....sliding rear standard...bag bellows/traditional bellows....rear swing....fresnel...lightweight...shhhhh, don't tell anyone though;)
 
You'll be interested in what I'm releasing at The Photography Show then.....Carbon Fibre....sliding rear standard...bag bellows/traditional bellows....rear swing....fresnel...lightweight..

….and available in 10x8 of course ;)
 
Erm....not this version ;0)

:(

20x16 then, no? :LOL::LOL:

Interested in learning more about what's on offer regardless of format ( proving of course that it's no smaller than 4x5 ;))

What is really required is a light as possible without losing rigidity, 10x8 with interchangeable longggggggggg bellows and detachable extension rail ( Be assured I'm not alone in this search!)

How else am I supposed to do 1:1 with my new Linhof 420mm focal length lens without having nigh on a meter of kite flying material between me and the lens? :ROFLMAO:

I'll search out go go gadget arms to reach the front tilt mechanisms (...'heads of to fleabay':wacky:) and some moon boots to ensure I don't "take off":wideyed::runaway::help::LOL:
 
@Andysnap, do you know which 300 you’re after? I’m not sure on prices at the moment, but the Nikkor M 300 is alleged to be a fantastic lens, and tiny as well. Though more costly, the fujinon A and fujinon C are also exceptionally good.
 
Yes LF is fun [emoji4]

A large black t-shirt works well as a darkcloth as does a jacket,scarf, sweater etc should you get on location to realise the ‘proper’ darkcloth is in another camera bag at home!!

Thé mod54 will accept a max of 6 sheets at a time but I always found that complications arose with several sheets including loading difficulties so I chose to develop one or two sheets at a time.
More chems but less chance of stuffing half a dozen frames in the same session.

Tbh I rarely use my mod54 now, much preferring the orbital and typically I dev each sheet individually.

1/30 @ f/22.....flip i can’t recall the last time I used 1/25...... typically 1/2 - 1/8 , maybe 1/15 and that’s if I’m outdoors.

I’m guessing that you’re using 400 asa film and no filters?

Actually it was Fomopan 100. The day was VERY bright and the sunlight harsh (such is the way up here in sunny Aberdeenshire) The other three were taken at 1/10. It is proving a bit of a challenge with the lightmeter as the times shown are the more modern variety of 15,30,60 and 125 whils the shutter shows 10 25 50 & 100. Still I don't suppose it makes that much of a difference. I have manages to source a stepping ring from 40.5 to 49 mm so filters will be possible. My main problem was paint flakes from the film holders landing on the film. That, hopefully has now been resolved and with a bit of practice the problems of uneven development will be overcome.
I have seen the orbital method on YouTube and wonder if it is worth considering.

I have been using Stand Development for my 120 films out of the 645 pro and was hoping to do the same for the 4x5 stuff as I'm not a great fan of grain. having said that a scan of the neg resulted in a 11,000 wide (900+mm) image. Grain - what grain?
 
Actually it was Fomopan 100. The day was VERY bright and the sunlight harsh (such is the way up here in sunny Aberdeenshire) The other three were taken at 1/10. It is proving a bit of a challenge with the lightmeter as the times shown are the more modern variety of 15,30,60 and 125 whils the shutter shows 10 25 50 & 100. Still I don't suppose it makes that much of a difference. I have manages to source a stepping ring from 40.5 to 49 mm so filters will be possible. My main problem was paint flakes from the film holders landing on the film. That, hopefully has now been resolved and with a bit of practice the problems of uneven development will be overcome.
I have seen the orbital method on YouTube and wonder if it is worth considering.

I have been using Stand Development for my 120 films out of the 645 pro and was hoping to do the same for the 4x5 stuff as I'm not a great fan of grain. having said that a scan of the neg resulted in a 11,000 wide (900+mm) image. Grain - what grain?

The slight differences in speeds between meter and shutter are negligible so I wouldn’t fuss over it.
I have lenses in steps of 1/2. 1/4. 1/8 etc and 1/2. 1/5. 1.10. The meter is in the former format but it’s never posed me a problem tbh.

I’ve just devd the 10x8 sheet that I exposed last week when you had storms in the UK.
I posted a thread and a pic of camera on location.
The resulting neg is slightly underexposed in parts ( it could have done with a soft grad filter I think) .
The more important issue is the slight fogging down one edge. Not a big deal in how it affects the actual scene as a slight crop won’t be detrimental, I am however at a loss as to when the fogging occurred.

I’m on my way out now with the same camera although the sky is looking increasingly overcast.

Oh the joys and frustrations of LF and togging in general.
 
a bit of a challenge with the lightmeter as the times shown are the more modern variety of 15,30,60 and 125 whils the shutter shows 10 25 50 & 100. Still I don't suppose it makes that much of a difference.
I agree with Asha about the 2 being close enough, plus the actual accuracy of shutter speeds on older kit might be more likely to cause any problem. My Rolleicord is set in EVs with a notional halfstop between, but I regularly meter somewhere between the half and full numbers, so close enough.
 
@Andysnap, do you know which 300 you’re after? I’m not sure on prices at the moment, but the Nikkor M 300 is alleged to be a fantastic lens, and tiny as well. Though more costly, the fujinon A and fujinon C are also exceptionally good.

I think the m version is out of my price range however after doing some research I may have a cunning plan . More later.
 
I think the m version is out of my price range however after doing some research I may have a cunning plan . More later.

[emoji848] a symmar s 150mn and à Netto magnifying glass?? [emoji23]
 
Come on Andy @Andysnap , spill the beans and put us out of our misery:LOL:

Having just read a load of bumph on focusing calculations for different movements, my head is already abou to explode without trying to figure out how you're gunna expose frames at 300mm ish focal length without a 300mm ish lens:thinking:
 
I reckon he's going for a crop sensor ...


150mm lens and a 120 back :D
[emoji848] a symmar s 150mn and à Netto magnifying glass?? [emoji23]
Oh you tease!

Come on Andy @Andysnap , spill the beans and put us out of our misery:LOL:

Having just read a load of bumph on focusing calculations for different movements, my head is already about to explode without trying to figure out how you're gunna expose frames at 300mm ish focal length without a 300mm ish lens:thinking:
 
To be honest it's not that exciting. But I found out that the Nikkor Q 300mm lens was the predecessor to the M version and was pretty much identical, they are scarcer but cheaper by a goodly amount and I've got my eye on one.
I found a Nikon catalogue that describes the difference and it is negligible, just cosmetic really, the coatings are different but they are both multi coated and every review I've found is glowing so I will probably go for one of these. Apparently some of the other Q lenses seem to have had a dialyte lens construction but the 300 and 450mm lenses are tessar.
 
Last edited:
How windy is too windy?

Not just when your out and realise the kits about to blow away but for planning, if you're looking at an hours drive so going off the forecast what sort of wind speed would you think, nah, I'll take the anchor RB67?
 
Depends how far you have to walk when you get there Steven. I'd be tempted to take both kits and see which way the wind's blowing (literally!) when you get there. Might also depend on your expected shutter speed with Fomapan, and whether you want the subject to be moving during the exposure? :thinking:
 
This is a good question actually. Going off weather reports at the time for numerical values for wind speeds.

Assuming there is no escape from the wind (which, for most places, you could probably find a sheltered spot?):

I found that anything above 30 mph is practically impossible if you can't shelter the camera with yourself or anything to hand; it just adds too much vibration even for moderately quick shutter speeds. I found that below 20 mph, it was quite easy to take a shot in a moment of lull, or just by shielding the camera with the dark slide once removed.

Anything above about 40 mph I just wouldn't bother setting the camera up. Even with slight lull and with me sheltering the camera, it just wasn't enough.

All this changes though if you can find a sheltered spot, so as Peter says, worth taking it all if you can :)
 
Depends how far you have to walk when you get there Steven. I'd be tempted to take both kits and see which way the wind's blowing (literally!) when you get there. Might also depend on your expected shutter speed with Fomapan, and whether you want the subject to be moving during the exposure? :thinking:


It'll be a landscape shot and I'm not too fussed about a little bit of movement but yeah probably avoid foma it's likely going to be too cold to wait an hour for the exposure!
 
Last edited:
This is a good question actually. Going off weather reports at the time for numerical values for wind speeds.

Assuming there is no escape from the wind (which, for most places, you could probably find a sheltered spot?):

I found that anything above 30 mph is practically impossible if you can't shelter the camera with yourself or anything to hand; it just adds too much vibration even for moderately quick shutter speeds. I found that below 20 mph, it was quite easy to take a shot in a moment of lull, or just by shielding the camera with the dark slide once removed.

Anything above about 40 mph I just wouldn't bother setting the camera up. Even with slight lull and with me sheltering the camera, it just wasn't enough.

All this changes though if you can find a sheltered spot, so as Peter says, worth taking it all if you can :)

So what we need is to take an anemometer and record that along with the shutter speed to get some decent quantitative data. :)

I've been out enough but never really paid enough attention to the actual numbers, just kind of played it by feel.

Forecast is for ~15mph with gusts over 30mph.
 
Last edited:
Tie a kite to the tripod. If the kite's in the air, treat it as a warning that the wind is possibly too strong. If the camera and tripod are also in the air, maybe pack up THE KIT THAT’S LEFT AVAILABLE TO SALVAGE and go home.

[emoji23]
 
I went out again in stormy weather this week.
A bit nuts maybe but unlike the UK that rarely has cloudless skies, here is the opposite and tbh a monochrome landscape photo with a plain grey sky does little for me so when the clouds / storms are around, it’s an opportunity to grasp as it may not return for weeks or even months.
Anyway the rain held off until I got home but the wind was a big problem so went with the heaviest camera (3kg)
I took a strong plastic shoppingbag and some paracord.
The tripod was tethered with three lengths of cord to large rocks located on the ground.
A few large heavy stones ( about 5kg I think)were placed in the shopping bag which was then hung from the center column.
Pointless using the kit bag as it was nearly empty and too light.

Hardest part was under the darkcloth but once that was removed, the camera kit was going nowhere.

240mm lens so bellows extended a bit did make for a kite effect but standing ( or at least attempting to in the gusts) at the side of the camera as a windshield along with the other measures in place has given me the result I wanted.

I don’t know what the actual wind speeds were but the forecast had given in excess of 70km/hr (40+mph) with gusts being considerably stronger .

A bit of a farce I agrée but if we want these results, sometimes extreme measures are necessary.

The paracord and plastic bag are now a permanent part of my LF kit :)
 
This [emoji1]

As if we don’t av enough kit to carry and measurements to make!

Thing is if we assess the weather too much, we potential miss fantastic photo opportunities by choosing to stay at home.

After all you have said yourself that often a reasonably sheltered location can be found and sometimes we’re lucky enough to get a lull in the wind.
 
My tripod doesn't have a hook for some reason so I need to find some shelter or pick my battles.

Actually though under the dark cloth is something I forgot about how bloody annoying it can be. I'm hoping my new smaller one will be better but the one I had before was for a 8x10 camera and if worn on my shoulders reached my ankles!
 
My tripod doesn't have a hook for some reason so I need to find some shelter or pick my battles.

Actually though under the dark cloth is something I forgot about how bloody annoying it can be. I'm hoping my new smaller one will be better but the one I had before was for a 8x10 camera and if worn on my shoulders reached my ankles!

Can you not adopt something like cord from beneath the tripod head to then attach some weight below the column?

Paramo darkcloths are small, lightweight and waterproof..... they don’t come cheap mindst....about 80 quid iirc.
I’d gladly let you borrow mine to try but of course I need it for my own use.
 
Can you not adopt something like cord from beneath the tripod head to then attach some weight below the column?

Paramo darkcloths are small, lightweight and waterproof..... they don’t come cheap mindst....about 80 quid iirc.
I’d gladly let you borrow mine to try but of course I need it for my own use.

LF is a bit Heath Robinson without adding cords and levers! :D

My new darkcloth is pretty good Chinese rip-off of a Paramo one.
 
Afternoobs all!

So I was wondering if any of you good people use a mod54 for your sheet developing? Since trying to mod my SP-445 film inserts and failing hard, I've gone back to the taco method. I'm finding of late that I getting rub marks on the rear (non-emulsion) side which won't come off. As such, I was wondering about the mod54. It's a bit on the pricey side of things, but if it works well, I can see myself justifying the money in time. What have been your collective experiances with the mod54?

Many thanks!
 
It's ok, works fine for me. I find it better to not use all 6 spaces as occasionally 1 will pop out of its slot and rub up against the next slot and there's always 4 marks where the neg rubs up against the holder but otherwise I like it.
 
Afternoobs all!

So I was wondering if any of you good people use a mod54 for your sheet developing? Since trying to mod my SP-445 film inserts and failing hard, I've gone back to the taco method. I'm finding of late that I getting rub marks on the rear (non-emulsion) side which won't come off. As such, I was wondering about the mod54. It's a bit on the pricey side of things, but if it works well, I can see myself justifying the money in time. What have been your collective experiances with the mod54?

Many thanks!
It's ok, works fine for me. I find it better to not use all 6 spaces as occasionally 1 will pop out of its slot and rub up against the next slot and there's always 4 marks where the neg rubs up against the holder but otherwise I like it.


Haven't used mine in ages.

Much prefering the simplicity ( loading, agitation) of the Patterson Orbital tank which also has the advantage of only requiring 300ml of solution.

Fair enough the latter is no longer manufactured but they do come up for sale occasionally and although more expensive than the MOD54, money much better spent imho
 
Back
Top