Need your advice on Purchasing a Starter 4x5 Setup

[marko_matic]

<p>Hello, I would like to purchase a 4x5 field camera, however, since this my first time I will ever be using a camera it would be great if I could get some advice and user opinion on my thoughts. I am interested in landscape based photography. I have purchased the nikon 210 w 5.6mm lens as my first lens, however it is not mounted on a lens board and I am unsure whether I should be attempting to mount the lens on the board myself? Is it easy? Do I need special tools? Any tips how to do this? I plan on matching the below equipment to a Gitzo2541ex and a RSS BH55 ballhead (which I already own) So far the following parts have been on my mind (they are all off the Robert White website) Shen Hao PTB45 ShenHao 1m cable release (X3 for future lenses and in Case I lose one) Fuji Quickload Holder + Velvia 50 quickload 20sheets (So far the quickload seems to be the easiest most hassle free option. Not sure whether I should just get some holders at first and some sheets of film, it might be much cheaper, and it might help me learn more about film, but then I would need, a changing tent, and film holders which in themselves cost considerably.. your opinions?) Schneider 4x Lupe for viewing slides and focusing (not sure whether a 6x would be better, the 6x is almost 2x the price!) A spot meter (The spot meters all seem to be quite expensive, the closest one I could find is the Sekonic L758D and that is quite expensive! I have heard the old Pentax has the problem of mercury batteries which I could not buy due to the contemporary environmental restrictions) Harrison Silver Classic Dark Cloth (again not sure if necessary, perhaps a shirt will be sufficient) Am I missing something? What do you think of the above combination of equipment?<br>

Thank you in advance</p>

[jwallphoto]

<p>I think you can forget about the Quickload holder. The Quickloads are being (or have been) discontinued.</p>

[sattler123]

<p>Marko,</p>

<p>your list sounds good - except for the Quickload holders - it seems that films for those are fading away very fast. Just get some regular 4x5 film holders and learn to load them. You will need a dark room or a changing bag/tent to load them. Mounting a lens on the Shen Hao board is easy, but you will need a lens spanner wrench (not expensive at all).</p>

[dan_south]

<p>How are you planning to mount the camera to the ball head? You may need to buy a quick release plate for the camera. RRS might have one that matches or a general one, but prepare to try more than one before you find a good fit. Arca Swiss also makes a generic QR plate for LF cameras.</p>

<p>I have used Fidelity and Toyo film holders. Both work well.</p>

<p>I use a Harrison changing bag. It's very well-made.</p>

<p>http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/172918-REG/Harrison_1003.html</p>

<p>If your camera doesn't have built-in spirit levels, ask the dealer what type of third party level you should buy. Leveling your standards is critical in most cases.</p>

<p>Are you over 40? Have some reading glasses handy. The shutter and aperture rings on LF lenses are very difficult to read especially as the light fades. A small flashlight is also very useful.</p>

<p>You only need two cable releases (one plus a spare). You shouldn't leave them attached top lenses as you transport them. Attach them when you use them.</p>

<p>You need a watch to time long exposures (critical with low-ISO film).</p>

<p>Keep the spanner wrench in your camera bag at all times. Lenses become loose in their boards with some frequency.</p>

<p>Do you have a 35mm camera (film or digital)? You can use the spot meter in your camera while you consider buying a dedicated meter.</p>

<p>For handling film you need: extra boxes (for the exposed film), post-it notes to label EVERYTHING (you can't open the box to peek in to see how many sheets you have left), a generous supply of rubber bands, and a pen or two. I use the Super Sticky Post-It Notes - yes, there is such a thing - because they don't peel off of my boxes.</p>

<p>Wash your hands before you change film. Do it in a cool room, because your hands and arms will sweat inside the bag. In the beginning, put a box of film and three or four rubber bands in the bag. Close the zippers and insert your arms in the sleeves. Open the box remembering how the lids fit together. Open the foil pack and remove ONE sheet of film. Make sure that the rest of the film stays in the foil pack. Place the film back in the box and close the lids exactly as the were when you started. Wrap the rubber bands around the box to keep it light safe.</p>

<p>Take your hands out of the bag and open it up. By doing so you have just ruined your first piece of film. That's okay, because you're going to use it to practice loading your holders, first outside of the bag and then inside the bag. Make sure that the film is facing the right way. Refer to the notch pattern illustrated on the box. This is how you'll be able to tell which side is up inside the bag.</p>

<p>Note that the dark slides on the film holders have a black side and a white side. White means UNEXPOSED, black means EXPOSED. Never deviate from this convention. The white side also has a series of raised bumps (like Braille) on the handle so you can tell white from black when you're working in the bag.<br>

<br />Don't worry. It's not as complicated as it sounds. You'll get the hang of it quickly.</p>

<p>The most important control on the lens is the switch that opens and closes it (not the shutter). Open lets you see through to focus and compose. Closed means that only the shutter can let light in You MUST CLOSE THE LENS BEFORE you put the film holder in the camera. If you forget to, the ambient light will erase your file the instant you pull out that dark slide. Always check and double check where this switch is before you pull a dark slide. Always. You're going to forget to check this occasionally; don't say that I didn't warn you. ;-)</p>

 

[sumo_kun]

<p>Third for loosing the quickloads. You will get a much better selection of films to use with normal holders as well.<br>

210 is a slightly long lens to have as your only lens. Try for a 135 or 150 next. You should be able to get one quite cheap. Mounting lenses on the boards is easy. You need a lens spanner wrench which you can buy cheaply. You can make your own tool as well but its probably better to just get the wrench as its so cheap. To do it just unscrew the rear element group and undo the retaining ring on the lens. Poke it through the board and replace the retaining ring and then the element. Some lenses have an indexing screw/pin thing which you can poke through the lens board if it has a hole for it. It stops the lens rotating round. You don't need it.<br>

For a first camera the Shen Hao is nice. I started with a cheap Cambo Cadet. It did the job. Then I moved to an Ebony 45S. They both basically do the same thing but the Ebony is easier to pack.</p>

<p>Film holders and the tent can be gotten cheap on the bay. Actually you can buy all your other stuff from there from lenses to the camera etc. I assume you are looking at the Harrison tents? I have one but you don't need one. Get a normal changing bag which is like 1/5 the price to get you going and then save up for the Harrison if you think you want one.</p>

<p>The loupe should be lower powered. 4x should be good. You don't want a microscope because all you will see is the grain on the ground glass. Spot meters are expensive. I use a Pentax Digi spot. Its quite popular with landscapers. Its so simple and easy to use and after 5 years or so since buying it I still haven't changed the batteries.<br>

The cloth can be substituted with a dark t-shirt. Some people make their own and a lot of people hate the traditional design cloth. You don't need to spend much money to get a good cloth. There are a lot of cheaper alternatives. Again look on the bay for these items.</p>

<p>Overall I think you could do better with your money if you shop more carefully. Looking around the Robert White site you will see all the latest and greatest gadgets and stuff which are expensive! LF photography can be done with very minimal gear and best of all it should be very reasonable in price. When I started, I was also looking at the RW site and I was buying all sorts of things (like the Harrison tent and an Ebony dark cloth) that I didn't need. Only now after reading these forums and shopping around do I know that I could have gotten by just as well using cheaper stuff. Lenses especially. Do not ever buy new! Unless you have money to burn. And don't be scared of vintage equipment. There are some nice cameras and lenses out there to be had for very little money.</p>

[leighb]

<p>Regarding mounting the lens...</p>

<p>You need a means of accurately drilling the hole, both location and diameter. This is properly done on a vertical mill (Bridgeport or similar), not a drill press.</p>

<p>Most shutters have an anti-rotation pin protruding from the rear face. This requires a small (snug) hole in the lens board, accurately positioned from the lens axis. The rotational position of the hole determines the orientation of the shutter and warrants some consideration. The shutter manufacturer may provide a diagram.</p>

<p>DO NOT remove the pin. It's important that it engage the lens board so the mechanism doesn't rotate in use. If there is no pin, look for a small threaded hole on the back where it belongs. You should be able to buy a replacement.</p>

<p>Another anti-rotation method uses a keyway cut in the side of the shutter bushing (the threaded part) and a mating key protruding into the mounting hole on the lens board. It would be extremely difficult to make a proper lens board cutout for this style by hand.</p>

<p>Check the mounting ring (the ring that unscrews from the back) for a shoulder. Most have one, and your hole must be the correct diameter for that shoulder to pass through the hole.</p>

<p>Make sure you have a properly-sized spanner wrench to tighten the ring.</p>

<p>- Leigh</p>

 

[sumo_kun]

<p>Don't scare the guy off Leigh ;)<br>

You don't need to drill any holes in the boards. I have 3 lenses and all were ready mounted. If you don't have a board, you can buy pre-drilled boards for the most common shutter sizes. Even if you can't get a board, then you can make your own using some sheet aluminium. You don't need to be as precise as Leigh says. A drill press with a proper bit will do fine. There is no problem if the hole is not dead in the center of the board or if its not accurately round or sized. And the anti-rotate pin is not needed. None of my lenses (2 Schneider and 1 Fuji) are using it because the board doesn't have the respective hole. My lenses are tight on the boards. Actually all 3 of my boards are not sized perfectly to fit the lens. There is some play. I have 1 Linhof board and 2 Ebonys. All are sloppy. Don't worry about the small details and just take some pictures :)</p>

[dan_south]

I concur with Chuk. I have never drilled a lens board. Just make sure that you buy the right size and type of board for

your camera with the right sized hole for your lens's shutter. I'm guessing your 210 is probably in a Copal 1, shutter. The

dealer should be able to verify this.

[chris_werner]

<p>Another suggestion - for my dark cloth I just went to a fabric store and bought something like 3-4 yards each of a cheap thick white fabric and a cheap thick black one. Stitched them together on my wife's sewing machine. Think it cost me under $20 US. Works great. Won't save a ton of money, but it does help a bit.</p>

[leighb]

<blockquote>

<p>You don't need to be as precise as Leigh says.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Precision is required in the radial spacing of the mounting hole center to the anti-rotation pin hole center. Both holes should be accurately sized, which means the c-c spacing must also be correct.</p>

<p>The exact position of the lens axis in the board is not critical.</p>

<p>Apologies for the lack of clarity. The earlier post wasn't organized as well as it should have been.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>And the anti-rotate pin is not needed.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Sorry to disagree, but the anti-rotation pin is VERY important for long-term reliability of the shutter. Without it, the shutter can work loose with repeated cocking.</p>

<p>- Leigh</p>

[dan_south]

<p>When I started out everyone told me to throw the little set screw away. Maybe they were wrong, but I don't think that it's caused me any problems. The shutter can work loose, but that's why you keep your spanner wrench with you at all times (as I suggested). And tighten your lenses up occasionally as needed.</p>

<p>I have one or two lenses in Copal 0 boards what work loose frequently; the rest of them never seem to. I'm not sure what the difference it. None of them have the set screws.</p>

[erie_patsellis]

<p>Interesting, none of mine (upwards of 20 lenses for 4x5, 8x10 and 16x20) have that pin, and none have ever worked loose in fairly heavy use.</p>

<p>If it were me, I'd lose the ball head idea, bad choice for a view camera. Keep it simple when you start, a simple pan/tilt head will work fine.</p>

<p>Like all hobbies, you can get in as deep or not as you want. Just starting out, I'd buy a used camera and lens, and go out and burn a box or two of film. No matter what you buy, you'll end up replacing it, at least a used field camera keeps it's value, so it's essentially a no risk venture. A used pentax or minolta (or soligor) spotmeter works fine, a 758 would be a waste, quite honestly. Keep it simple and just go out and shoot, have fun and see if it's something you really want to sink a whole lot of money into.</p>

[leighb]

<blockquote>

<p>When I started out everyone told me to throw the little set screw away.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Hi Dan,</p>

<p>That's not at all uncommon. It's not because they're unnecessary. </p>

<p>It's because most people don't have the knowledge, tools, or skills to properly locate the matching hole on the lensboard. Rather than admit their shortcomings, they claim the part is not needed.</p>

<p>If it were really not needed, it wouldn't be installed by the manufacturer in the first place.</p>

<p>This is why I use a Bridgeport with digital readout on both the X and Y axes. Proper location of both holes is trivially easy. I'll concede that most folks don't have access to such equipment.</p>

<p>If anybody needs a lensboard drilled correctly, send it to me with all the requisite info and I'll do it gratis (you pay shipping costs both ways).</p>

<p>- Leigh</p>

 

[razzledog]

<p>As for a meter...buy a Sekonic L308 off Ebay for $170US...great meter and worth every cent, as for lensboards, you shouldn't need to worry about drilling holes..there's plenty already predrilled out there. It seems every lens I've received has the pin missing and it is necessary, preventing the shutter turning in the board, not sure why so many don't seem to worry about this. I usually drill the threaded hole out (carefully) and insert a 1/16th inch pin into the hole, but if you don't have the skills, don't attempt this!<br /> The best (and cheapest) metal view camera I've come across is the little Toyo Field 45A or similar. The camera accepts Linhof boards and there's a million of them around. Monorails are bulky and are best kept in a studio environment, you'll find there are many wooden field cameras available too if you want light weight. Definitely try a 90mm f5.6 if you want an excellent wide angle lens for architecture and landscapes.<br /> I agree, standard 4x5 holders are the easiest thing in the world and sheetfilm is cheap, especially B/W.<br>

Nothing wrong with a ball head, providing it's a friction type like the Manfrotto 468MG or larger...when you release it, the camera won't move unless you give it a shove...and the resistance factor is adjustable.<br>

<br /> Once you discover the quality of LF, eveything else is second rate.</p>

[erie_patsellis]

<p>I'll add to Dean's statement above, once you start playing with LF scan backs, your DSLR will look just like the toy that it is....</p>

[marko_matic]

Thank you all for your insightful comments. I now have a sekonic L508 meter on is way, however it does not have an

instruction manual. Would anyone have it?

I am ditching the quickload and I will go for the film holders. Which film holders are the best? Any difference between

new and used holders? Do the holders havet match a specific camera back?

 

Should I start with BW film? What is the best/cheapest film to start with? Should I develop myself? Is it hard? Is it cost

effective? Do I need additional tools?

 

Where can I get spare 4x5 boxes just to keep the exposed film? Anyone willing to send me some with one or two

sheets of used film to practise loading and unloading?

 

Which eBay dark cloth do you recommend? Any you have tried or think it's good? Similarly any experience with eBay

changing tents?

 

I an planing to stick a RSS rail on the bottom of the camera to enable quick release.

 

In term of the camera, I would like something that is cheap and has lots of movements and yet is a wooden field based

camera. The shenhao came to mind but I could not find many on eBay. Any suggestions of a similar wooden camera?

The tachihara perhaps? But it does not have a graflock back and limited back movements...

[razzledog]

<p>Use only Lisco Regal 2 holders they are the best IMHO. Best B/W film is Chinese ERA 100 http://www.pbase.com/image/111665555 Double emulsion, usually available on Ebay through isaac_chen.<br>

Devving this stuff is childs play and takes only minutes...5-6 to be exact. Get yourself an old bakelite 'FR' tank with post box slot..it's fantastic and holds 12 sheets at once. If you only have 2-3 sheets, do em in trays (in the dark of course).<br>

I saw a Wisner for $300 the other day...just do a search on the 'bay' for wooden field cameras.....you might even finish up with an 8x10????<br>

I never use a dark cloth, just a decent loupe...4x is fine. Sure you'll have ton's of fun, just don't rush it when setting up.</p>

[sumo_kun]

<p>The Sekonic 508 manual can be found on th eSekonic site: www.sekonic.com/images/files/L-508.pdf<br>

Film holders are kind of variable. The older ones might have warped (they are plastic) and there have been discussions of some not being made quite to spec (the film plane is slightly off). I got a bunch of used Toyo film holders from the bay. Cheap and they are quality items. There are Fidelity and Regal or something brand holders but one or the other has problems... I can't remember which. If you can buy new then it would be worth it for peace of mind but used will work just as well. I plan on replacing all my holders with new Toyos sometime in the future since they are cheap here in Japan. Try not to get holders that look too beat up. They don't break very easily but you should still be careful anyway. 4x5 film holders are pretty much standard. You should be able to get any and it will fit OK.</p>

<p>B+W film is a good start but I personally started with slides. I just got a 10 pack of Fuji Velvia 100 and shot a few test landscapes. Why I did that was so that I could actually see the result without printing. Looking at a neg on the light table is no fun ;) You just won't fully appreciate the quality until you get a print done of a neg.<br>

B+W will be good if you are really limited on funds and you will print your work. Developing is easy but a bit nerve-wracking if you've never done it before. For development, a few trays and some cheap chemicals is all you need equipment wise. Oh, and a place where you can shut out ALL the light of course. There are multiple guides on the net on how to do tray development. The cheapest B+W film will probably be one of the Freestyle own brand ones or some chinese stuff. I don't know because all I use is Fuji Acros for 4x5 B+W and only rarely. Its kinda expensive though.<br>

Of course if you want to print then you need an enlarger capable of enlarging 4x5 film. They don't come so cheap and they are HUGE! I recommend you stick with the small contact prints or if you have a good lab nearby then get them to enlarge it for you. This is the reason I don't do B+W in 4x5 much. Printing is not really practical where I live so I use 8x10 for B+W LF work so I can just contact print and get big enough prints.<br>

That is also why I started with slides even though it is slightly more expensive. It is much easier to get a result (just give it to the shop to dev, you get back a giant slide) you can appreciate though and a 4x5 slide on a light table is stunning. Especially for landscape, I was hooked on 4x5 slides.</p>

<p>You keep exposed film in the same box you bought it in. Just make sure to label the box clearly and make appropriate dividers or some system of easily determining if the film in the box is exposed or not. If you get 5 holders (a nice number to have I think) then you can load an entire 10 sheet box in one go so you won't have a problem. I only had 3 in the beginning and what I did was take the exposed film out and put it in the box outside of the foil packet. Then I knew that the stuff inside the foil was good to use. Once you get through the first box, you don't really need to worry about this so buy a 10 sheet box first. However there is one problem. I recently bought a box of 4x5 Velvia and it came not in 3 boxes, but 2. Older boxes came with 3 boxes. This might not be light tight and previous experience with 2 boxes leads me to believe it isn't light tight. If you get a 2 lid box, then don't store film outside of the film package in it. Unfortunately I can't help you with the used boxes or film (I live on Japan).</p>

<p>EBay dark cloth.... Literally any dark piece of cloth will do. There was a post a bit earlier in this forum about using a black t-shirt as a dark cloth. It has holes for your arms, your head and the waist section goes over the camera. Perfect. No modifications needed and its wearable in a pinch ;)<br>

The traditional dark cloth is a bit tough to use sometimes, especially in windy conditions (which you will encounter in your landscape photography). Its basically a sheet of cloth, nothing special. It flaps around and it obviously leaves a huge hole/gap at the bottom when it is over your head where light can leak in. Some use velcro to seal it up a bit better and some use lead weights to try and weight the corners down. Velcro is good but avoid lead weights big time. Wind will fling them round making them useless and they could potentially break your ground glass.<br>

I have an Ebony make silk/rubber cloth. Its light tight but light still leaks in from the bottom. It has velcro to wrap round the camera but it is a bit overpriced for what it is. It is very nice to look at though :)<br>

Any changing tent is fine as long as it is light tight and offers the room to move around in it. I don't have experience on ebay specials. Any of the big camera suppliers should be able to provide you with a workable one for cheap.<br>

I think a changing bag will work but try to get a tent type because having the tent collapsing on your film (and potentially getting dust on it) while loading is not fun.</p>

<p>RRS clamps are great! I use one but it has a small problem of being hard to mount sometimes because you can't see what you are doing.</p>

<p>As for the camera, cheap usually means used. Cheap and wooden will steer you into Shen Hao and Tachihara territory. Movements are also over stated for landscape work. You don't need many movements. The Tachihara will be fine for your needs. If you aren't afraid of metal, then Toyo then they do some very inexpensive cameras. As I said, I started with a monorail Cambo Cadet. It worked and it made good pictures. The only problem was it was a little hard to pack.</p>

[aaron_scott]

<p>I would wait to develop your own film for a while. If you minimize the extra steps between releasing the shutter and seeing your pictures, you enjoy it a lot more in the beginning. Find a local shop that develops sheet film and you're all set. Black and white can be a little trickier to get developed than color - it's a different process from color and not a whole lot of places do it anymore.</p>

<p>As for what film to use, I'd go with either color negative film or color slide film. A lot more places develop either of these than do black and white. The trade off (as I see it) is that color negative gives you more wiggle room in your exposure, but it also ends up as an ugly red negative unless you get it printed or scanned. With slide film you have to be very precise with your exposure, but the film comes back as beautiful chromes. There's something truly amazing about a developed slide 4x5 sheet.</p>

<p>For what it's worth, I generally shoot Kodak Tmax-100, a black and white film, and Fuji Astia 100, which is color slide film. Mostly, just find something that will work O.K. and get out and shoot! If you go for equipment or process perfection for your first exposure you'll never hit the release.</p>

[razzledog]

<p>The beauty of B/W is such that 1...it's very cheap. 2. you only need a box of 25 sheets to get started and this will set you back only $20 or less. Grab some shallow trays from the supermarket and some chem. I use Ilford HC which is around $40, but this stuff is thick and will last for ages and is simply mixed 31:1...in other words one part chem to 31 parts water at 20 degrees C or around 70 degrees F.<br /> If you're not having an exhibition forget the stop bath and just use water. Dunk the negs in the developer for 5-6 minutes and flip them over every minute, giving them a jiggle each time. You'll soon work out which is the emulsion side so that they don't end up facing each other in the tray, because they won't develop correctly if stuck together.<br /> Use an old clockwork timer with glow a in the dark dial and end it at around 5 minutes (for FP4 or ERA) then stick the negs into a second tray of water at 20 degrees C and jiggle 'em a bit more. In the third tray you'll need a solution of 1:4 fixer...one part fix to 4 parts water..also at 20 degrees. Twenty degrees is only important with the developer, but not so much a worry with the water and fixer, but don't let the temps differ too much.<br /> Let the negs sit for at least a couple of minutes in the fix then hit the light switch....You should see an image, providing you shot the film at the correct exposure. If the neg is pinky looking, then it needs a little longer or you may need to beef up the fix mix by adding a splash of straight chem.<br /> I have done thousands of sheets this way for many years and never had a failure...a bonus of using B/W film is that it's pretty much bomb/dumb proof and has an exposure latitude of quite a few stops.<br /> Before I could afford a clockwork timer, I used to simply count 'one banana, two banana, three banana' and so on...up to sixty, then flip the film. Five lots of sixty got me there.<br /> Devving B/W film is no mystery...the best part about doing it all yuorself is that you won't have to worry about leaving your precious film in the care of some bum who may ruin it. If you get it all wrong you will learn a very quick lesson and never forget it and the sooner you do it, the more rewarding the experience will be IMHO.<br /> I will be most interested to hear of your progress, as will others, so let us know how you go.<br /> Cheers!</p>

[w_t1]

<p>lots of good advice, as others have said buy a spanner wrench, no sense scratching the lens body or glass trying to use two screwdrivers or butter knives, etc</p>

<p>you can use a ballhead, i have the same as you, but I also like a 3-way head, you can get a good gitzo 3-way on ebay reasonable</p>

<p>yes shoot BW, keep the developing simple if possible. I use a jobo expert drum mostly now, but sometimes if just a few sheets revert back to my tray. I never got Ansel's interleaving sheets method to work, too many scratches, so I use the 8x10 tray method below, cut two pvc pipe rings in half and glue down to create 4 chambers....get 5 gallon buckets (they are easier to hit in the dark than smaller buckets esp if you're developing with scotch :)) to dump the developer, fix etc. rock gently, no scratches, good luck it's fun</p><div></div>

[jeff_guthrie]

<p>I started in large format a couple of years ago, and I find it to be an enjoyable part of photography. I use a Wista 45 camera, these are cheap and easy to find, and they also use Linhof lens boards. I began my learning process using Fuji Acros sheet film, which is inexpensive.</p>

<p>Developing black and white film is about as simple as can be, and requires very little in the way of expense or complication. I use a Jobo 2500 series developing tank which I bought on eBay for $40 or so, and it included a reel which holds 6 sheets of 4x5 film. A thermometer costs another $10 or so, and a couple of 2 liter bottles for holding chemicals cost only a few dollars each. A quart of fixer is under $10, and developer costs about $3 (per liter of solution).The cost per negative of developing your own black and white film is only pennies per sheet, so it is probably the most economical method.</p>

<p>Another option for practice is to use a Fuji/Polaroid film back with the appropriate Fuji instant film. Instant film is rather pricey (about $40 for 10 sheets here in Japan), but being able to see the results of your work in seconds (as opposed to days or weeks, depending on lab access) really helps the learning curve.</p>

<p>I love the quality of the negatives that I get from large format. Even when scanned at fairly low resolution on my Epson 750 flatbed scanner I get incredible detail, and excellent prints.</p>

[marko_matic]

Thanks for the advice people. I have have managed to purchase a

wista dx camera second hand. I hope it will be good (it's still in

transit), are they good cameras?. I am now looking for the correct

lens board for the Nikon 210 w compatible with the camera. Does

anyone know which boards ard compatible? Is there a difference in

quality with different boards? I am also looking for a remote shutter

release cable for the 210. Any specifications I should look out for?

Any cable recommendations? Are any generic cables ok like cheap

Chinese ones of eBay? Are longer ones better? Also looking for

compatible film holders. Again any recommendations? By the way

who sells the lens mounting wrench? Is there a cheap one on eBay?

 

Cheers

[marko_matic]

<p>Purchased a lens wrench. i think I will go for a wista lensboard. I am still unsure about film holders. In terms of film, is it ok to purchase it overseas? (Its cheaper). Does customes examination (xrays etc) ruin it?</p>

[marko_matic]

<p>Maybe this is a better response... (I dont know how to delete my two previous responses, perhaps the moderators could do that?)</p>

<p>Hi Guys. Thank you for all your input so far. Just a recap, and some more questions...<br /><br />(By the way, I am in Sweden)<br /><br />I have now horded a<br /><br />wista 45dx camera (in transit)<br /><br />Canon 4x loupe (in transit)<br /><br />Seconic l-508 light meter<br /><br />Nikon 210W<br /><br />lens wrench (copal #0, #1, #3) to help me screw the lens into a lens board (in transit).<br /><br />I am still looking for a cable release (cant find the Gepe in Sedish shops. They are trying to sell me a <a href="http://www.etsumi.co.jp/catalogue-e/catalogue.cgi?id1=3&id2=36&id3=274" target="_blank">"E390 Etsumi custom shutter cable"</a> claiming its the best of the best! Has anyone heard of these?Are they any good?)<br /><br />Also still looking for film holders and a lensboard. I think I might have to buy the lensboard from a local shop (it costs around $55, is that a fair price?)<br />Which are the best filmholders? (Fidelity, Riteway, Toyo???)<br /><br />I have not made up my mind on film yet. I would like to purchase some film from overseas, but I am unsure whether the transit, going through xrays etc would affect the film. Does it? Is the film going to affected? There is a guy selling some velvia 100, but I need a source for the cheapest BW film that is very easy to develop. Is there anyone that can be on ebay? (preferably in europe) For the BW rfilm, I would also like to know what is the easiest and the best developing system. I can put up with developing a single sheet at a time and I have absolutely minimal space (a tiny bathroom with a single sink, no bathtub)<br /><br />The hood is on the backburner at the moment, until i see the brightness of the image without it.<br /><br />Also, the changing bag is on the backburner as well. I figure I will give it a shot in a dark bathroom during the middle of the night)</p>