Large Format Photography primer: equipment

by Q.-Tuan Luong for the Large Format Page

This article discusses what you need to start large format photography:

• a camera
• lens(es)
• film holders and film
• tripod
• accessories: darkcloth, focussing lupe, cable release, meter

The camera

Which format to use ?

• roll-film Shooting roll-film with a view camera is an interesting combination. There are cameras and backs which let you shoot 6x7, 6x9, 6x12, 6x17. Compared to 4x5, you don't have to deal with sheet film, the cost is very low (lower than for 35mm actually, if the surface is considered), and there is a very wide choice of film. If you chose a 2x3 view camera, it can be actually cheaper than a lot of MF systems, and might not be heavier, especially if you buy lenses with small coverage. However, compared to convenentional MF systems, you gain "only" camera movements (their effect is not always very easy to judge on the small image area) and you loose a lot of ease of use (this might be a plus for folks willing to "slow down"). Another option that I find more interesting is to use a roll-film back with a 4x5 camera. There are 4x5 lightweight cameras wich are not much more heavy than 2x3 cameras. Then you can have the option of doing 4x5 if the opportunity looks very good. Speaking from my own experience and that of other folks, when you come home the 2x3 images will look a bit small if you have shot 4x5, and you will probably think that given the burden of carrying and operating a view camera, you'd rather have the big image. If you use a panoramic format like 6x12, this comparison might not apply.
• 4x5 This is in practice the smaller format where you can use sheet film (2x3 sheet film exists but is marginal). It is by far the most popular format, with lots of cameras, lenses (from 45mm to as long as the bellows will accomodate), film, different type of holders (including roll-film, polaroid, preloaded). For most people that's the format of choice.
• 5x7 The equipment is not really heavier than for 4x5: the lenses are most of the time the same, there are 6lbs cameras. It is mostly the holders which are bigger: they produce an image which is almost two times as large, but is more rectangular, in a format homothetic to 35mm and 6x9. It is large enough to produce decent contacts. but still small enough that it is relatively easy to enlarge. The only significant drawback comes from the scarcity of the film (as of summer 96, the only slide film available in the USA are Kodak EPP and EPR. Euro or Japaneese photographers have Fuji emulsions). One thing that I am really missing is the possibility to use Polaroid film, and quickloads. Processing and printing is more difficult to obtain with labs, and if you want a new color enlarger, you might have to buy a 8x10 enlarger. However, all these problems do not affect b&w photographers.
• 8x10 and larger These formats gives you beautiful contact prints. Contact printing is required for some alternative process (like Platinium). The marginal quality over 4x5 or 5x7 obtained in enlargements is probably noticeable only for the extreme enlargements. The drawback is the size and weight of the equipment, as well as its cost. Older 8x10 cameras can be have for (relatively) cheap, and a Philips camera is not much heavier than some 4x5 cameras. However larger formats (sometimes called Ultra LF) require a considerable amount of work.

What features to look for in a camera ?

• Portable enough. Whereas all the folding cameras are portable and have a reasonnable weight (3lbs - 7 lbs), some monorails are too heavy and bulky to be used in the field. There is a tradeoff here between portability and and versatility (possibility to use many focals and movements), and also rigidity. Usually, for the same features, a wooden camera will be lighter, but often less compact than an equivalent metal field camera.
• Allow you to use your focals of choice All the cameras do what they are designed for with a normal lens. However, with shorter and longer lenses difficulties might arise:
  • Short focals. Some flatbed cameras have very limited wide-angle abilities, due to:
    • large minimum extension,
    • fixed bellows (the bellows compression will make movements impossible unless you have a wide-angle bellows which is shorter and more flexible)
    • beds showing in the field of view
    A recessed lensboard can make up for some problems by allowing a larger lens to film distance than the focal length of your lens. However, they are expensive ($150) and the controls of the lens become hard to reach. A monorail is usually more flexible, since all of them have a small minimum extension, wide-angle bellows. Depending on the nature of the tripod mount attachment, the rail showing in the field of view might or might not be a problem, but there are sometimes optional short rails.
  • Long focals. A camera with bellows which are too short will not allow you to use long lenses, or to do close-ups. The cure for this problem are very limited. You can use on some cameras a combinations of front tilts, or get an extension board (opposite of a recessed board), but this will give you only a few additional centimeters. Here, again monorails are more flexible, since you can usually purchase a longer rail and extension bellows.
• Enough movements for your type of photography. The monorails have all the movements, whereas some type of flat bed cameras have almost none. Studio photography usually requires a great deal of image control, architecture requires shifts to maintain correct perspective. Landscape require the less movements, although to obtain adequate depth of field due to the fact that longer focals are needed for a given field of view, some tilts are often necessary.
• Rigidity and precision of alignment This is all about sharpness. To shoot in windy conditions you need a camera which is rigid enough so that the standards won't move (resulting in unsharp pictures). The locks have to be strong enough so that the standards don't move when you insert the holder. Misalignements between standards or within the back standard to the film plane might cause misfocus in some areas of the image (although this is critical for reproduction work, I doubt that for real shooting it matters). Generally speaking, the metal cameras are more rigid and precisely aligned than the wooden cameras. The lighweight cameras are more likely to have problems here.
• Ease of operation. Geared controls, positive and well placed locks, spirit levels, various scales, zero detents, smooth operation, rear focussing (very important for macro work), etc.., all help. If complicated adjustments are used, a yaw-free design might help. This feature is not relevant otherwise.

Which is best, wood, or metal ?

Metal has technically many advantages. It is more rigid, which result in less flexing and low frequency vibrations. This is good for long extensions. It is more solid, resulting in a more durable camera. If your tripod is knocked over by the wind, a metal camera is quite likely to remain functional with a few scratches, whereas a wooden camera could be totally destroyed. My reversible wooden back broke at the edge, which would have been unlikely to happy with metal. The stability with respect to environmental conditions like humidity and temperature is also better (one day my Canham would focus quite smoothly, one day it would be quite sticky). Last, it is easier to implement small features on metal. Therefore metal cameras tend generally to be more compact, and to offer greater accessory systems like reflex hoods, etc...

Which cameras to consider to get started on a budget?

• Cheapest. A Speed or Crown Graphic press camera (at the expense of movements, not a good choice if you are interested in perspective control or depth of field control. A basic monorail like Calumet CC-400, Omega, Graphic View II (at the expense of portability, at about 8 lbs., they are a little heavy and bulky for hiking), Bender (if you like woodworking). A Burke and James (good movements, more portable than a monorail, might be a bit ratty). $250.
• Cheap. A new Calumet Cadet (a monorail camera). $400. Toyo 45cx. $450. A used lightweight wood-field (such as the Tachihara). $400-$500. A Technika III (metal, flatbed, adequate movements). $600.
• Still reasonable. A new lightweight wood-field (around $700), a used Wista, a used Zone VI. The new Arca-Swiss discovery (maybe too recent to find used) and the Sinar A1 (monorail cameras).

The lenses

What to look for in a lens ?

• Focal. You are probably familiar with 35mm. Pick up your favorite focals and find the equivalent LF focals either using Rui Salgueiro's field-of-view calculator or Ed Scott' comparison tables. Note however that while 5x7 is homothetic to 35mm, 4x5 and 8x10 are both more squarish. More folks are happy with just one lens in the LF world than in 35mm. Personnally, I would tend to err on the wide side, since cropping is not too much of an issue.
• Coverage. A lens projects an image circle which must be large enough to cover the film area without vignetting. The absolute minimun which is required is the diagonal of the format. If some movements are used, the diameter of the image circle has to be larger to cover the film area. The larger this circle is, the more movements you can do. In particular, it is easy to calculate how must shift you can get knowing the image circle and the format. The image circle is usually expressed in a millimeter diameter, at infinity, and at a specific aperture of f/16 or f/22. Stopping down might increase its diameter. Focussing to closer distances always does.

  For general use, make sure to get enough to be able to do some movements, maybe around 180mm for 4x5 and around 230mm for 5x7. Applications like table top and architecture photography often require extensive movements and therefore larger image circles. Lenses with more coverage than you need will be heavy, big, and expensive.

• Maximum aperture. You won't use a LF lens wide open, however a large maximum aperture ( f/4.5 or f/5.6) makes viewing and focussing easier, especially if you are indoors or like to photograph in low light. However, for a given focal length, the faster lens will be larger, heavier and more expensive.
• Portability. Be careful here. Lenses of same focal lengths vary *considerably* in size and weight ! Make sure to see the lens before buying. Generally speaking focal length, coverage, and speed contribute to a big lens, all other factors being equal. That's where modern lenses don't necessarily shine. A significant portion of the weight and bulk can be due to the shutter. Longer focal lengths and/or faster lenses often come with a big #3.
• Optical quality. Basically all the modern lenses (current models from Fuji,Nikon, Rodenstock, Schneider) are good enough, and very difficult to distinguish from each other at the apertures used in practice. For color work, it is generally recommended to stick to those, or to relatively recent multicoated lenses, although a single coated lens properly shaded might work fine. This is less critical for B&W. For details, see a general discussion.
• Fit. Some big lenses cannot be used with some field cameras or with some lensboards. Also, make sure you have enough belows. When using long focal lengths you may consider choosing a telephoto design lens (usually designated with a "T") rather than a regular design lens of the same focal length. These lenses require approximatively 2/3 of the bellows a regular lens would. However, they are usually more expensive, have less coverage, and behave a bit weird with respect to tilts. They are not necessarily more compact or lighter.
• Working shutter.

For a list of recommendations and tests, see http://www.hevanet.com/cperez/testing.html

Film and holders

Conventional vs preloaded film (Quickload, Readyload, Polaroid)

In the first case, you need a dark and relatively clean place to load your film holders (might be a problem when travelling), and to unload them. Dust might be a problem, you have to clean your holders carefully. You cannot have too many holders. With a large number of holders, not only you'll be sure not to run out of film ready to shoot, but you'll have to reload less often, and you can keep exposed film in holders, which makes tracking easier.

Readyloads are from Kodak, Quickloads from Fuji. The readyloads from Kodak hold two sheets of film, the Quickloads hold one. The film is in a paper packet that you put in a special holder (they are made by Kodak, Fuji, Polaroid). Polaroid film can be processed instantly or latter, inside the holder. The other films are processed normally in the lab. Here are the advantages of preloaded film:

• No need to load and unload. Especially nice in the field.
• Almost dust-free. Because they're factory loaded in a clean room, the only dust you get on the film is the dust that lands on it after you pull the envelope/darkslide.
• Lighter/Less bulky. Preloaded film allows you to carry more ready-to-use film (although in the long run, if you are using lots of film, it will end up being heavier) since you don't have the weight of individual film holders.
• Easier to track after exposure. You can just write information on each packet.

• more expensive (a sheet of conventional Velvia 4x5 costs $1.7 vs $2.6 for preloaded)
• only a limited number of emulsions are offered by Fuji (in particular no B&W film), Kodak, and Polaroid (the non-instant film is Fuji film).
• The Kodak system is known to suffer from light leaks
• Less sharp (maybe). In a Camera and Darkroom article, J.Englender writes that the preloaded system do not yield as sharp results as conventional holders due to film flatness problems (the best results are obtained with Graphmatics, then conventional holders, Fuji and Kodak holders, and Polaroid holders). Many people ignore that.
• if you have a lot of film to carry on a long trip, the enveloppes end up adding up.

Conventional cut-film holders

Wooden holders tend to slide better in wooden cameras, and are slightly lighter than plastic holders, but they cannot be found new. As far as new holders are concerned, most people use Fidelity or Lisco holders, which are the cheapest. Some brands make more expensive holders, but nobody has been able to prove that they yield sharper pictures in usual working conditions. The extremity of the dark slide is marked with two colors (black and white) and raised dots so that you can remember whether they contain blank film or exposed film. In addition, there is a tab which is supposed to keep the dark slide locked and prevent you from removing it accidentally, as well as help you identified loaded vs empty holders, but I have found that it tends to be quite unreliable. Riteway makes a holder with a button instead of the tab, which is an improvement, but it is not compatible with some cameras.

Grafmatics are more light and compact, and allow you to shoot in a sequence, but the loading is more difficult, esp. if you want to unload after using a holder only partially. They can be bought only used.

Roll-film backs

For more information, call Polaroid to get a free guide to their film. I have personally found type 52 (gives a beautiful print), type 54 (gives a print not as beautiful, but which does not require coating), and type 55 (gives a print AND a negative), and type 56 (gives a beautiful sepia print) useful. Unfortunately with type 55, the negative is about 1.5 stops slower than the print, so you cannot get both well-exposed. The negative needs also a good cleaning to remain usable. More details on 55. All these materials are B&W. I don't have too much experience with the color materials, but I heard they are quite sensitive to heat.

The tripod

What to look for in a tripod ?

• portability
• stability/rigidity
• working height
• ease of use

Do I have to get a monster tripod for this large format camera ?

The reasons why I think that a light tripod such that the 1228 is plenty adequate for my LF use are the following:

- The real issue is the rigidity of the legs, NOT the weight of the tripod. With this respect, the Gitzos are pretty good. For the weight, I carry plenty enough. I have put a ring at the bottom of the center column, and attach by camera bag to it. The combo has a heavy weight that cannot be beat !

- Some medium format or even 35mm settups are in fact heavier than my LF, but I see NO reason why a heavier camera would require a heavier tripod (as long as it does not collapse, of course). Since regardless of the format, blur due to camera shake is mostly a function of focal length, I would tend to say that very stable tripods are needed mostly for very long lenses. Thus if the 1228 is sufficient to hold a 300mm lens for a 35mm camera (and it is), then it is also sufficient to hold a 300m for a 4x5 in still conditions. Most of my LF photography is done with 120 and 210 mm lenses.

Tripod head with QR system

Mostly because of the weight and bulk savings, many photographers use ball heads. An other benefit is that they work better for 35mm and MF if you use a second format. The Linhof Profi II is good enough for most lightweight LF cameras, however, the heavier and more expensive Arca-Swiss B1 is more rigid, smoother, and has an elliptic ball to prevent flip-over.

A Quick Release (QR) system is not absolutely necessary, but very nice to have, especially if you switch between different formats. You can buy a Manfrotto/Bogen adaptator to use the Bogen hex plates with several ball heads by replacing the stock platform. The spring-loaded Bogen QR system is inexpensive, quick and easy to operate, lock positively and well thanks to the hexagonal shape. If tightened enough, the plates won't slip. However, if you are using at the same time smaller cameras, you might prefer the Arca Swiss system, where you slip the camera plate into a dovetail. With that system, camera plates can be custom made for each camera, which ensures a better fit, while the Bogen plates tend to stick out from small camera bodies. Don't get the generic plates from Arca-Swiss. That would negate most of the advantages of the system ! Really Right Stuff is generally thought to make better fitting plates than Kirk Enterprises.

Accessories

Darkcloth

Focussing aid

Cable release

Meter

Personnally I use my 35mm camera. I like to have the small camera to be able to shoot quickly should something change suddently and produce many images for stock. I also use it as a viewfinder so I don't have to move the tripod around. When I am in a hurry, I use the matrix metering, otherwise I use the a built-in spot meter with the 1/3 stop analog scale in the viewfinder. I just set the same shutter speed and f-stop I intend to use on the LF camera, and then see where different part of the scene fall. Cameras with such a scale include the Nikon N8008s, F4, F5, F100 (N90 has only a f1 stop scale), and most canons, including the Rebel 2000 and the EOS 3. If I use the polarizer on the LF camera, I just put a polariser on my 35mm lens. The 24-120 or 24-85 lenses matches all the 4 focals that I commonly use on the LF camera.

Better focussing screen

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