/p/ - Photography » Thread #1251530

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195KiB, 550x868, unknown.jpg

Anonymous Wed 27 Apr 2011 06:19:00 No.1251530 View View Reply Original Report

LF fags,

I've been thinking of getting into LF for some time now, but I have some questions for you learned ones regarding format.

I'm leaning toward 8x10 just because it really isn't that much more expensive than 5x4 and the negatives are big enough to contact print from. From my research, I think it would be impractical to enlarge or scan either format's negative so contact printing will probably be my main means of printing/scanning.

Am I retarded?

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 27 Apr 2011 08:34:00 No.1251535 Report

Quoted By: >>1251550

>>1251530

film is for the birds

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 27 Apr 2011 08:59:00 No.1251550 Report

Quoted By:

>>1251535

CAW-CAW-CAW

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 27 Apr 2011 09:02:00 No.1251553 Report

Quoted By:

your film and dev cost will increase 5-10x with 8x10, plus it's already extremely hard to carry a 4x5, much less an 8x10, around. contact printing is great but that means almost no "editing," as in Photoshop, which can do a lot of great things.

I think a 4x5 scan and quality print has potential to be better than an 8x10 contact print.

And a decent flatbed (epson v700) works very well for 4x5 and 8x10 by the way.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 27 Apr 2011 09:43:00 No.1251594 Report

Quoted By: >>1252411

I recently purchased a 4x5 camera and am not really feeling it.. My house has nowhere suitable for a darkroom (literally every single room large enough to use has a window, including closets) and the nearest lab that will process sheet film to me is 2 hours away. I've shot and developed a couple test sheets and enjoy the results but I can't see myself using it half as much as MF or 35mm.

In regards to enlarging or scanning, I'd imagine for 4x5 scanning or enlarging (another issue i'm having..) would be best. Scanning from a negative will get better results than a 4x5 print. I'd love a 4x5 enlarger but it seems in the past couple years the demand for any used enlarger has gone way up and everyone around me is selling them for more than they retailed for new.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 27 Apr 2011 09:44:00 No.1251597 Report

Quoted By: >>1251638

>>1251585
i always thought stuff was upsidedown and backwards in the ground glass?

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 27 Apr 2011 10:33:00 No.1251638 Report

Quoted By: >>1251711 >>1252411 >>1252412

>>1251597

It is, thats a reflection.

Also I think doing 8x10 contact prints is a stupid idea. You are going through all the trouble of shooting and developing 8x10 only to make a small print. That sure takes advantage of the film's resolution (can you catch my sarcasm in that comment?). Seriously, how much harder could it be to just shoot 4x5 and enlarge it to at least 11x14? Not much harder at all, which I can say because I've done it.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 27 Apr 2011 11:51:00 No.1251706 Report

Quoted By:

It wouldn't be that hard to scan 4x5 by yourself. Since you're prepared to drop money on 8x10 gear, whose lenses don't come cheap, I'd say get the 4x5 and then save for a flatbed 4x5 scanner. The Epson v700 is $600 on Amazon. A 300mm Nikkor in lens board and shutter will set you back $650 used.

It's really a question of the money you have, because photos from either format will look gorgeous at pretty much any size.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 27 Apr 2011 11:59:00 No.1251711 Report

Quoted By:

>>1251638
It's a small print sure, but it's a print that invites you in for a much closer examination and therein lies the magic. Plenty of photographers have made a good name for themselves with contact printing 8x10 and not bothering to enlarge. It's a more than valid path to take and one that's luring me in, it's just not as flexible as shooting 4x5.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 28 Apr 2011 04:24:00 No.1252411 Report

Quoted By:

>>1251575
I'd home dev'ing B&W. I already do 35mm & 120, so it's not a massive jump to working with LF negatives. Plus, I'm all boned up on The Negative and Zone System use (which is kinda one of the reasons I want to get into LF).
>>1251594
Same here. The room I use for getting rolls of film onto reels for developing is a tiny bathroom, and I can only do so at night time.
>>1251638
Ed Weston was clearly stupid then.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 28 Apr 2011 04:26:00 No.1252412 Report

Quoted By:

>>1251638
you are full retard. contact printing is the only way to do some of the highest quality print processes(platinum, palladium). 8x10 is plenty big.

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