Forum: Photography


Subject: Comprehensive Large Format Photography Primer Online

ASalina opened this issue on Apr 04, 2002 ยท 5 posts


ASalina posted Thu, 04 April 2002 at 12:48 PM

Attached Link: http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~qtluong/photography/lf/

I've been reading through these web pages, which are a pretty good beginner's guide to large format photography using view cameras, and I thought others here might be interested as well. These pages might inspire you to get into LF photography because of the increased control of depth of field or plane of focus, and perspective. Not to mention the increased detail of LF negatives over 35mm. Or, they may simply give you a deeper appreciation of the convenience of your 35mm SLR. :-) Whichever, you can't go wrong by browsing these pages, as I'm sure they'll give you a deeper understanding of the relationships between lens and film. The pages presume that the reader has an understanding of basic photographic principles, and you might need your slide rule when following the page on focusing a view camera, but otherwise I think it's interesting and enjoyable reading. BTW: I came across this web site because I'm seriously tempted to buy a Graflex Super Speed Graphic, and set up a darkroom, and wanted more info... :-)

nplus posted Thu, 04 April 2002 at 1:12 PM

Cool site... Be VERY careful when choosing a Graflex Super Speed Graphic, or similar "press camera". They are GREAT cameras IF they are in very good condition. But when they start to fall apart it goes very rapidly and can be next to impossible to use. (Stripped threads, bent clips, choppy focusing movements, etc.) I guess that goes for any camera though. I had one for a while, but then it crumbled. It wasn't really worth the time or money to fix it, so I just kept the lens and bought a "field" camera. I like the "field" type of camera better, they have a wider range of movements, and way more control than the really heavy press cameras. I think my graflex weighed around 6 lbs. My field camera weighs in at around 3-4 lbs. (both are 4x5's) either way I say you should go ahead and get into large format. It gets one to really slow down and concentrate on exposure and composition. really improving ones photography. (once you learn all the controls of course) Great time to learn the Zone System too.


Rork1973 posted Thu, 04 April 2002 at 4:43 PM

The only reason why I haven't moved to anything larger than 35mm is the cost. The same film scanner I have now costs more than 6 times as much when I want to be able to scan medium format e6. And I'm not even talking about having to order and send film by mail (which is pretty unreliable here)..... Basically, you can't live with lf alone, so (for me, personally) it's too expensive to buy a whole outfit without trading anything in :) But, it's a great guide anyway :) (sorry if I sound a bit negative...don't mean too =)


JordyArt posted Fri, 05 April 2002 at 3:20 PM

Large Format? Is that a digital camera with a bigger display?!? ;-) (",)


ASalina posted Fri, 05 April 2002 at 11:40 PM

Attached Link: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0109/01091102kodakprobackplus.asp

Hey Jordy, check the link! :-)

Imagine... A 16 megapixel Arca Swiss... And at $22,000 (US,
for the back alone) it's a bargain at HALF the price!... (NOT!) :-)