What to do with 5x7 negatives?

To me, 5x7 seems a nearly ideal size. But what to do with the

negatives? I don't have a 5x7 enlarger, and the Epson 3200 only

takes 4" wide negatives? Are they only for contact printing? What

do current users do?

Microtek has scanners that can scan 8x10 tranparent documents.

LF enlargers are getting give-away cheap. It's gotten to the point that it would probably be cheaper to buy a 5x7 enlarger than a scanner that will scan 5x7 negatives. Just depends on which way you prefer to work, and how much space you have, I guess.

epson just came out with a scanner with a 6x8 tranparancy adaper that is sort of

inexpensive, and it is supposed to be "the bomb" ...

jay is right too - enlargers are sold for not too much $$ these days so, you might be able

to find an omega e4 and for not too much $$ you'll be set :)

( don't have the scanner, but i have the e4 :) )

I picked up an Agfa Duoscan T1200 for about $100.00 a while ago. It's not the fanciest scanner, but it handles up to 8X10 and does a good job.

bill -

 

if you end up finding an enlarger, but need work done on it &C

there is a place http://www.khbphotografix.com/ in canada.

 

if i hadn't been able to actually find parts to my e4, they were going to fabricate them

for me, custom work for not too much $$. they also have a ton of enlargers for sale -

omegas, dursts, devere and others.

 

from what i understand from folks who have worked with them --- they are worth their

weight in gold. i know my enlargers work fine right now, but if they break down, or need

things made for them, i look forward to contacting these guys.

I'd say decide what to do with the negatives, first, then decide how to get there, rather than the other way around. I make a lot of prints that are 5x7, (shooting 35mm), but I don't know that I'd gain that much by going to 5x7 negatives. One reason for printing smaller is lower cost, and you'd lose that with the big negative, anyway. You could shoot 6x4.5 and print as 5x7 and still have lot less bulky equipment and lower cost overall.

I have the opposite problem, I have three 5X7 enlargers without a 5X7 camera. My 4X5 enlargements with Efke and Pyrocat are more appealing to me then my 8X10 and 12X20 contact prints.

I have to admit I do all three...

 

I have a Duoscan T1200 scanner.

 

I have a Durst Laborator 138S enlarger.

 

And I contact print as well.

 

5x7" enlargers seem to be cheaper now than the (smaller, lighter) 4x5" enlargers. Besides, 5x7" is big enough to be usable as contact prints.

Bob and Ole,

 

On a scan from a 4X5 Tranny will the Agfa Duoscan T1200 give me a file that I can print 11X14?

Where are all these cheap enlargers you guys are referring to? A new Zone VI 5x7 is way out of my price range, and the Saunders 4x5 enlargers are still around $1500 and above. I wish the prices would drop to maybe around $500 to $800.

"On a scan from a 4X5 Tranny will the Agfa Duoscan T1200 give me a file that I can print 11X14?"

 

Sure. I've had wonderful 24X30 prints from T1200 scans.

Ben, I believe that most of the people that are referring to cheap enlargers and not

talking about new enlargers, but used equipment. There is much used equipment on

ebay that is very inexpensive.

ben:

 

i bought a e4 2 years ago from a photo-cooperative in the boston area for something like

$300. it included an aux bellows attachment ( so i don't have to deal with cones), lens and

the omegalite diffusion head. the sale of darkroom equipment helps keep them alive and

well. i have since bought a more modern cold light head for it, as well as a condensor set

that was modified from an e5.

 

there are lots of places that have 5x7 enlargers for sale. photographic systems in new

mexico ( pgsys.com) had an e4 ( or maybe it was an e3 ? ) for sale a while back, and there

are also large used camera stores, like ep levines in boston (cameras.com) that have a

bunch of lf cameras / darkroom stuff - enlargers &C for sale used for a reasonable price.

lots of professional labs and professional photographer's darkrooms are being sold off, i

guess it is a matter of being at the right place at the right time. i know the pro-lab here in

providence sold off all their enlargers, ones that were capable of printing 8x0 negatives

within the last year ...

Contact print.

5x7 contact prints are really beautiful. The first time I saw some was a show of Lewis Baltz's Orange County industrial park photos. A combination of rock-hard edges and very smooth tones. Seems the only problem with 5x7 these days is a very limited choice of film stocks.

Bill,

You want a cheap 5x7 enlarger? Look for an Elwood---they show up at auction every so often at give away prices. Like Rodney Dangerfield, "they don't get no respect." They are a lot of fun though! If you get an 8x10 model, you can cut a mat to fit your negatives and it will handle any size format up to 8x10. They are rather large though!

5x7 contact prints can be very beautiful, as can 4x5s, and even 2

1/4s. In my opinion, in black and white photography there is

nothing quite so beautiful as a contact print--in any size. Small

contatc prints on relatively large mount board draw the viewer in.

There is an intinate, jewel-like quality to them that can be

exquisite.

Michael I was fortunate enough to make it to Brigham City,Utah for the last hours of the large format exibit.Bear Lake has an incredable azure color but your contact print of the lake with the hay bale foreground is the most stunning monochrome image I have seen so far and I just saw 40 select images specially printed by A.A..

Thank you for being in that show.

Walt Byrnes

I use my 5x7 and 8x10 cameras strictly for BW contact printing.

I have been able to do 4x7 scans of the 5x7 negs with an epson 3200 but whats the point? 4x5 seems to be good enuff for color digital enlargements. 4x5 is a waste for contact printing IMHO.

JCO