ethan
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Posts posted by ethan
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I should probably clarify. I already have a Nikon SB-28 and am finding it to be insufficient. I'm not too concerned about weight and don't mind carrying a battery pack such as with a lumedyne. My lenses are all PC sync. I'm shooting 400 speed film but usually pull it one stop to ISO 200. I'm looking to get in the area of 1/125 at 5-10 ft and I'll mostly be shooting with a 90mm lens. Of course I'd rather have more power than I need on a regular basis just in case.
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I'm interested in taking candid portraits indoors with my family and
friends, with a 4x5. This of course will require the purchase of a
strobe of some sort. I need portability and can't really use stands
at all because of children. I would like to bounce the flash off the
ceiling to soften the light. Any suggestions as to the most reliable
system, best output, etc... would be great!
Thanks!
Ethan
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I did a little test with a few different graded cold tone papers. Just contact printing 4x5, as I was primarily interested in finding the most neutral paper I could. Oriental was my choice. Although as stated earlier in the discussion chemical choices do have an effect on paper tone. I print at school and they use D 72 for paper. I usually mix it 1:3. Everything else (fix, stop, removeer) is sprint.
I've been very happy with my choice!
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Depends on what info you're looking for but if it's basic coverage size weight etc. info then www.camerareview.com has it. Although their "street prices" are a bit high compared to what I've found through Robertwhite and Badgergraphic
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Ok I have a few lenses.
75mm f6.8 Grandagon N
90mm f5.6 Super Angulon
120mm f5.6 Apo Macro Sironar
180mm f5.6 Sironar-S
360mm f9 Apo Ronar
500mm f11 Nikkor T* ED
720mm f16 rear element for above lens
I'm debating selling a few or trading to upgrade/get rid of lenses I
don't use. I've only used the long lenses (360-720) about 3 times
in the nine months that I've had them. I haven't been terribly
happy with the 75mm because of distortion and lack of
sharpness around the edges of my images.
The 90mm is really sharp and a great lens in a lot of ways but it's
BIG. Wondering about replacing it with the less wide SS 110 XL
or maybe SS100 (although I've heard that it doesn't cover 4x5) I'll
probably keep the 120 and the 180.
I'm not sure about the 360 or the Nikkor. I might want to use
them in the future but I can't justify it when I could sell them and
get lenses I would use MUCH more often (in the 80mm-110mm
range).
I'm just looking for a little advice/input from more experienced
parties. For reference I shoot mostly macro table top. Candid
portraits (sometimes in tight places so wide angle lenses are
good), and in the woods trees plants medium focal length (I
usually use the 180). I have a Canham DLC.
Also. I know that some lenses are "corrected" for macro. But I'm
not really sure what this means. Any input would be great!
Thanks!
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Well the only smaller tripod I've used is the aluminum explorer
G2220 I believe? Which was a little unstable mostly because of
the leg locks (the infinitely adjustable legs were great for low
angles difficult situations but the locks weren't as stable as a
traditional set up). But it did OK for a while. I upgraded to a 1349
carbon. Great tripod but a little bit of overkill. a 12** would have
done fine for the weight (Canham DLC, and Super Angulon f 5.6
90mm). But it really depends on what you're doing and your
needs. Nick Nixon uses a 12** series with an 8x10 wisner and a
10** with a DLC. And I can't speak for the Acratech ballhead but
the Arca swiss I have is VERY nice.
Good luck!
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Ummm... if you're really that concerned why not shoot some black and white polaroids?
Of course it won't help much with the dust factor but it will tell you if your exposure is on. And if you use type 55 you can examine the negative with a loupe to make sure your subject is sharp on the film. I worked with an architectural photographer who used this method and then shot two sheets of transparency so he could push or pull as needed. I never saw him lose a shot.
Hope this helps!
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Definitely need to get some shadow detail. Best results I've had come from shooting at one stop lower than the stated ISO of a film AKA 400=200 etc... etc... Also usually under-develop a little bit to compensate so you don't blow out your highlights. Experiment, best way to get the results you want is to try out different combinations and find out what gives you the results you want!
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Yup! Bellows factor! A basic rule that works is this. For every 1/2 focal length above the first full length that the bellows is extended add 1 stop. e.g. 90mm w/ 180mm of bellows draw add 2 stops. This is only necessary when you're getting close up, usually within 4 feet or less in 4x5. Although this is not dead accurate it works well. You can also find a detailed equation at http://www.graflex.org/lenses/lens-faq.html
I'd probably use the more accurate equation if I was shooting chromes. But for neg film this has worked fine for me!
You'll often also run into reciprocity failure when you're getting close up due to the amount of time you'll have to add to your exposures for bellows factor. However reciprocity has a lot more to do with the film than the camera itself so you'll have to find out what the reciprocity failure rate is for the film you're using. Often it's on the box or you can check web sites. Good luck!
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I know it's been a while but this might be of help to people asking themselves the same question and digging through the archives. I decided to go with the 1348 and an Arca Swiss B1. As far as I'm concerned you can't go wrong with this combo. Arca has been getting a bit of a bad wrap because of some lock up problems but it's easily taken care of with no tools or anything so not really a concern. And the elliptical ball is GREAT and my main reason for going Arca instead of Acratech or Kirk.
Thanks everyone for the advice you were a great help!
P.S. Robert White is THE place to go for Gttzo CF tripods! SO much less expensive WOW!
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I haven't used it personally but know a few people who have. Basically use the instructions Eugene gave earlier. However you want to mount the Fresnel on the INSIDE of the ground glass. With the ridges facing towards the GG. Of course you can't use the GG clips as you'll then change your film plane GG relationship and nothing will be in focus. So you'll have to finagle a way to hold that bad boy in there while keeping your GG where it is. Eugene is right about the lines but I think that'll be reduced drastically if you install the fresnel this way.
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Yaakov,
I personally wouldn't recommend using a flashlight unless you're printing on a really slow ASA paper, like Azo. One trick that works well is to use the glowing face of a watch, or even the key pad of a cell phone, the face would probably be a little too bright. You could use a little cardboard and make a burning tool/mask for it. Cheaper than the dauxlight thingy too!
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22. Started shooting when I was 16. I shot a few sheets of 4x5 a few
years ago in high school. But the large format bug didn't really get
me until this year. I'm a photography major at Massachusetts College
of Art in Boston. Took a view camera class this spring and just fell
for it, bought a Canham 4x5 on student loans and I've been shooting 5-
20 sheets a week since mid January. Haven't even looked at my 35
lately. Loving it!
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I've been shooting 4x5 with Kodak Tri-X 400 and have recently moved to Ilford HP 5+ basically it's a lot cheaper and from what I can see, gives me similar results. Now to the point. I shoot at night quite a lot, exposures after adjusting for resp. failure in the neighborhood of 8-15 minutes and sometimes an hour or more. So I'm looking for a film that has better resiprocity failure characteristics. I've heard that T Max 100 is good but finicky for developing. I've also heard rumor of some other films made by Agfa and Fuji but I'm under the impression that they are not widely available. Suggestions and personal experience would be greatly appreciated!
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Thanks!
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Follow up...
I was considering a Gitzo 3 way head but the general consensus on the
board seems to be for Foba, Arca, or Kirk ball heads. I'm curious
about this and wondering what the advantages are. I figure that the
weight of the camera stays more centered over the tripod when using
a ball head. Any other advantages? Thanks!
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What is a 'levelling base'? Or an adapter to 75mm or 100mm bowl?
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Sorry... sick and a little out of it. Hit the submit button early.
I'm curious as to what a levelling base is myself however the 75mm or
100mm bowl are video accessories.
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Hope that takes care of some of the confusion!
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I just took a look at Robert White's web site, regarding the 13xx
series Gitzo carbon fier tripods. It appears that he is selling the
center columns and top plates separately from the tripod. I am
confused.
What is the 'default' top plate that you would get with, say a 1325
or 1348? Since these tripods have no center columns, per the Gitzo we
site, this seems confusing, as well.
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The 1325 and 1348 both come with a top plate. No center columns just
a plate however. You can remove said plate and install a center
column if you wish. The 1329 and 1349 both come with a rapid center
column AND a flat plate.
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What is a 'levelling base'? Or an adapter to 75mm or 100mm bowl?
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I want a second tripod, in addition to my 1228, which is not
appropriate for large format.
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Hi!
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I'm looking at tripods for field work, specifically Gitzo's Mountaineer series of carbon fiber tripods. I like the flexibility of the Explorer G2227 but I'm concerned about it's ability to hold a LF camera steady for long exposures (15min-4hours). The larger tripods are nice but big and I'm looking for good portability. Does anyone have suggestions/insight? Note. Camera I'm getting is under 6lbs. I am 6' 2" so a reasonably tall tripod would be good. Thanks!
What do you guys use?
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