Macro Large format

I am looking to get into more macro photography than I am capable with my Rolleiflex 2.8E rolleinars. Would using a large format camera

with the bellows capacity work for macro uses? Or would I be better off getting a MF macro setup like a Hasselblad or Mamiya?

<p>Compromise? - Get a neat little 6.5x9cm folder with roll holder? - Advantages: light, inexpensive, more DOF than a LF camera. Disadvantage: less movements usually just a bit of lens shifting and as slow as LF: tripod, removing the ground glas for the shot.</p>

<p>Consider this ... a 4x5 camera with a "normal" 150 mm lens would require a bellows extension of about 12" for a 1:1 macro shot. That's a lot more than you can expect from a folding field camera, and a bit of a stretch (LOL) for a monorail without a rail extension. While not completely unreasonable, a large camera acts like a sail in even the slightest breeze. The subject area would be 4"x5", which is fairly large, all things considered. You would focus using a loupe with a darkcloth over your head, or with a bulky (and relatively hard to find) reflex attachment. Color film, with processing, will run $7 to $10 a shot.</p>

<p>A medium format camera would be easier to work with, and achieve very high quality with either film or a digital back, in a package about the same size as a professional DSLR. I use an Hasselblad 500c/m with a 120/4 Makro or a 180/4 Sonnar and extension tubes. It's easy to get a 1:2 ratio with this rig, which is not that heavy and extremely rigid. The working distance is huge, by 35mm standards, and a 1:2 ratio would cover the same subject area as the 4x5 camera described above. The same lenses with a bellows would easily produce a 1:1 or higher magnification, yet be reasonably compact and rigid. A waist level finder or 45 deg prism makes it easy to work close to the ground up to about chest level. A roll of film with twelve shots will cost about $20 with processing.</p>

<p>Years ago I watched a team (husband the photographer and wife the botanist) photograph flowers in Mt. Rainier NP with a 4x5, and as Edward noted, it was a lot of work with the camera but also she was holding a large reflector to assist with the light and block the slight wind blowing the flowers. Their work was for a text book and wanted the 4x5 film quality for publishing (before better digital cameras). From watching that and my LF work (landscape), go with the MF gear.</p>

<p>I have used the 120 Nikon Apo-Macro ED extensively and it is a fine lens. This lens will cover 4x5 with some movements, I photographed pencil shaped microsurgical instruments. At infinity it will cover 6x9. To get 1:1 you will need 240mm of bellows extension. I used it on a Cambo monorail, was difficult on my Linhof Technika IV.</p>

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<p>I use large format film lenses for macro on m4/3 and plan to use them on full frame digital. Yes the extension needs to be about 220mm from the camera flange. My 105mm printing Nikkor, at about 350g, is quite manageable. The 150mm, at over 1kg, is very hard work but the performance is higher at minimum aperture and is excellent at a wider range of magnifications.</p>