gene m Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 I'm looking for your thoughts regarding LF film speed. I'm new to the LF world. When shooting MF film I've always gone slow (asa 50-125.) As I await a LF camera I'm thinking about film speed. What film speed do most of you guys shoot ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_goldfarb Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 With a larger negative, you can think more about tonality and less about grain, so films you don't use in smaller formats might be very useful in larger formats. The need for smaller apertures also makes faster films more attractive sometimes. My most used LF films are T-Max 100, Tri-X, Astia, and Provia 100F. If Delta 400 Pro came in sheets, I'd use that too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonard_evens Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 There is a lot of variation in what people do, but there are some general principles you should keep in mind. First, grain is less of a problem in large format, and that makes it easier to use faster films. In addition, as far as depth of field and diffraction are concerned, the whole f-stop range is shifted upwards, but the laws of exposure don't change. That means you need longer exposures for the same film. These two factors often lead large format photographers to use faster films when they can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donald_miller1 Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 The one factor that is so apparent when one gets into large format photography is the matter of depth of field. Depth of field is a matter of focal length...irregardless of format. If you can think about what a 150 mm lens (moderate telephoto) has in medium format then you will be looking at what a 150 mm lens (normal lens) would have in 4X5. To get the same moderate telephoto on a 4X5 you would be into 300 mm on a 4X5. One can readily see that depth of field gets shallower. Of course movements on a large format help in that regard, but defraction is still a factor when you stop down much past F32 in 4X5. When you throw into the mix the effects of wind if you are doing landscapes then you will want a 400 speed film for most large format landscape photography. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vince_pulvirenti Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 You'll need to conduct a film speed test to tailor your film to the film, lens and meter that you use. instructions for doing this can be found in Ansel Adams "the negative" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew_oneill Posted February 2, 2003 Share Posted February 2, 2003 Hi Gene, I use 8x10 and 4x5 HP5+ (ISO 400). My exposure index (EI) under "normal" lighting conditions is 250 in XTOL 1+1. In ABC+ Pyro, it's 160. Under different lighting conditions, these film speed change accordingly. As suggested, test. Manufacturer's speeds are only starting points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerry_breault Posted February 2, 2003 Share Posted February 2, 2003 Depends on what you shoot. Outside doing landscapes, I use 400 exposed at 200. Because of the use of smaller apertures to control depth of field, I feel I need the speed to stop the wind effects. In smaller formats I use 100 exposed at 50. Enlarging both up to 16x20, the LF prints still blow the other stuff away. Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg_smith4 Posted February 2, 2003 Share Posted February 2, 2003 I shoot Agfa APX developed in Rodinal or HC-110. I find it grain free and very nice (not to mention cheaper than most films). I would like to buy some nice 400 speed film though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philip_sweeney Posted February 2, 2003 Share Posted February 2, 2003 I agree with Vince and think "the negative" is essential reading. Although a little complex is "beyond the zone system" by phil davis. for film testing I use a zone board as described in "the book of pyro" by gordon hutchings. I use six speeds depending on the N number. Some test results at my site: <html><a href="http://home.att.net/~shipale/index.html">phil sweeney's website</a> </body></html> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthew_brain Posted February 2, 2003 Share Posted February 2, 2003 I really like Velvia shot at ISO 32. It has a lovely range of unsaturated tones at this speed. For a whilst I shot Provia for the extra speed, but soon came to the conclusion that for the apertures I commonly use, the extra speed was not much help - ie a small amount of wind would still be better corrected by changing the composition or waiting for a lull, a 2-second exposure instead of a 1-second exposure did not make a lot of difference. Where I still use Provia and find it excellent is for anticipated low light situations where its brilliant recipriocity characteristics come into there own. By the way, I'll insert a new post asking for recip times for Velvia beyond 32 seconds. For BW I use T-Max 100 but appreciate the 400 speed films on a 6x8 back for hand held rangefinder shots. Matt I found that ISO 100 Provia was so slow for much of my shooting that the Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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