8x20 vs 7x17

[nasser1]

one day I have this ??? going over my head! why would someone choose an 8x20

camera over 7x17? if we study the difference between the 2, its the mater

of a 35% of a different format film in size. you would save a lot of

money ,space and weight to use 7x17 over the giant 8x20! I sketched 2 frames

on a board one with 7x17 and the other with 8x20... no big different, I

didn't do the woooow!! for the 8x20!

You got to do the wooow! to sacrifice money, space and weight!

[mike_lowe2]

Perhaps at that format size you're quite lucky to obtain a good working body in either size!? The film would just follow from that for me.

 

That asides, I suppose it's preference.

Why would you use 11x14" over 8x10"..?

Because it's quite beautiful despite absurd price tags and development difficulties, non?

 

Each to their own.

[pete_andrews10]

Does anyone sell 17" wide sheet film anymore? Perhaps availability is the reason to use 20x8 rather than 17x7. Plus you can get two 20x8 shots from one sheet of 20x16 film. (In fact you could get 3 pieces of 6.5x16 from one sheet of 20x16, with almost exactly the same aspect ratio, and a loss of only 20% in size.)

 

Nasser: How do you arrive at a 35% difference between 17x7 and 20x8? You're not comparing areas, are you? Because comparing the area of formats is a complete red-herring, and tells you nothing. It's only the linear dimensions that count, which makes 20x8 about 15% bigger than 17x7.

 

For example. If you compare 10x8 and 5x4, there's a difference of 4 times in their areas, but 5x4 only needs twice the enlargement of 10x8 to give an equivalent sized print. So 10x8 is only twice as "good" as 5x4 for a cost of 4 times as much film. Something to think about in these supposedly eco-friendly times.

[Monophoto]

"Does anyone sell 17" wide sheet film anymore?"

 

Film in sizes larger than 8x10 is available by special order, typically once each year. Ilford is currently accepting special orders for special cuts through select dealers. Do a search on LF Forum or APUG to get details.

 

Bergger has also supplied film in larger sizes. However, their material was manufactured by Forte who recently closed their factory, so there may be temporary disruption until they find a new coating contractor.

[gene_e._mccluney]

Efke also makes film available in ULF sizes. Freestyle is one vendor in the USA for this. It

is available from stock.

 

McCluney Photo

[r._eric_summerfield]

It is a matter of personal preference. The larger the format, the more expense. Of the two formats, you will have a larger selection of lenses for 7x17.

[c_p_goerz]

Its quite simple really...8x20 is a Mans camera. ;-)

[nasser1]

How about the availability of film?? Is 8x20 easier to find than 7x17?

[c_p_goerz]

I did the same test that you did before choosing a format, I cut out a sheet of paper to the

7x17, 8x20 and 12x20 format size. One look at the 8x20 format was enough for me to

see it had a good fit with my eye, it was a no-brainer...for me. Everyone shoots different

subjects in different styles and has a different idea of what 'fits' with their eye so there is

no right or wrong obviously.

 

 

I buy/bought film from PhotoWarehouse and J and C. I far prefered the J and C film to

Photowarehouse as that film seemed to have a number of random faults that were

maddening to say the least. I have a pretty good stock of film and have given up shooting

two negs of a subject so find I am buying less as time goes on.

 

 

 

As to lenses, this is probably the tougest part of the whole thing, 7x17 can use just about

any lens made for 8x10 with the exception of the WA's. A 14" lens on 8x20 does look

pretty wide and there are a number of them out there that can do the job. A good 12" is

the Series V Protar, though Protars are not my favourite lens design they are the only way

to cover big sheets at extreme angles.

 

 

 

One advantage of the 8x20 I feel is just its size, by the time you trim the edges of the

clear film from the contact print and possibly any extra cropping a 7x17 is now a 6 1/2 X

16 1/2. The 7x17 format 'to my eye' became too small while the 8x20 still retained its

integrity, it really has to come down to what your eye sees, don't think about weight or

lens choice etc.

 

 

No matter what camera you carry it will ALWAYS be too heavy! ;-)

[nasser1]

Thank you all for the helpful commnts..

C P Goerz, you made me swiched my choice to 8x20, sice I was ready to buy the 7x17 Canham camera, but could you tell me if its ok to develop that big size (8x20) in a tubes? Becase what I heared that tube development for this big size will end up with an uneven development!

[paul_wilson18]

My Dearest Nasser,

 

One does not choose an ultra large format camera. The camera chooses you.

 

You will go broke finding lenses and putting them into shutters, paying twice or three times what you would have paid for better gear if you would only have bought the right gear in the first place.

 

You "discover" your tripod isn't stable enough, so you buy a Ries.

 

Then you find out that your exposure anddeveloping techniques, good enough for 4x5 or even 8x10, need some "adjusting" for even development -- after the vacation.

 

But one day you make a contact print of something you wouldn't have bothered looking at before you started, that has a full tonal scale in a pebble in the foreground and you know what it is to be chosen.

 

Paul Wilson

abiggercamera@yahoo.com

panoramic28

[michael_kadillak13]

I agree with what the other respondents have contributed. Costs of the cameras, film holders and tripods are about the same. Yes, there are probably a few lenses that could be used on 7x17 that will not cut it on 8x20, but so what. A 355 G Claron, a 450 M Nikon (or a 19" Red Dot) and a 24" Red Dot Artar (or a Fuji 600C) are about all that you need with 8x20 or 7x17. Some 7x17 shooters can reach for the 305 G Claron and a few other optics, but I like the additional width for my eye with 8x20. Film is a challenge of equal proportions for both formats but TMY is currently in stock in 8x20 (as it is 5x7) with J&C for as long as stock lasts. If you want some of this I can hook you or anyone else up with it as invariably we can expect that prices will be going up on the next iteration this spring. With the shooting season and spring around the corner get it while it is available off of the shelf - no pre-orders.

 

At the end of the day you need to find what format works for you.

 

Cheers!