bob_moulton1

One point on which we can all agree: The arsonist (let's assume the

fire was intentional) should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of

applicable state and federal law. He/she has marred and perhaps

ruined one of a few special sites. If he/she is a photographer,

amateur or professional, then he/she has given all of us who travel

and make images a black eye.

Bob

I am considering a purchase of a Linhof Technikardan 45S or a used Technika. I use a 72mm Super Angulon and a 110 Schneider lens. While I know they fit and work on my present field camera, I am unsure if either will work on the saller Linhof boards and front standards. Can some one help?

Bob

Try a Nikkor 200MM f8/9. It is an M nikkor. Small, very sharp. It

would do what you want.

Bob

The SEI spotmeter was one of the first of its kind. Before and after

it actually, people use general range reflected meters, like the

Weston meters modeled II-V and figured out stuff or attached a zone

sticker, similar to that sold by Zone VI and now by Calumet, to the

meter. One still metered shadows and highlights to determine exposure

range and placement and development. Where one could not get close to

the subject you used subsitute readings a lot.

Bob

Bill,

 

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Based on your shooting preferences--landscapes and architecture--old

European towns- I think either of the cameras wouldprovide you with

an adequate tool. I have used both rail and field cameras in the

field and settled on a field camera because I could use the lenses I

own, 72, 10,135,210,300,450 on it with little problem. I found the

rail camera a bit of a problem to travel with and rather intrusive

whenever I set it up in an urban area. The field-in my case a Wisner

4x5- I could backpack, set up, shoot, and move on easily. My own

choice for a rail camera would be the Tecnikardan 45S. I do not own

one, but I have used one. It is solid, easy to use and made qith

precision.

Bob

Of the organizations mentioned, I expect you will find that PSA

offers less than the others. While full of competent photographers,

the organization tends to be cmera clubbish in its orientation; a

large format user may find it a lonely place. From experience I have

also found that PSA can try to reduce quality and evaluation of work

to a set of somewhat dictatorially applied rules.

Bob

The Pentx is a great meter; so is the minolta Spotmeter F. It also

has flash capability. The meter is accurate and durable. You can

easily scan a subject, with the meter set to EV and find the range of

the scene. You can meter the shadow area you wish to place low, touch

the "A" button and then meter other areas to determine the EV of

those. So as you meter you learn the scale of the scene and thus the

development-n, N+, N-, etc. And the shadow area you metered is still

in the unit. So when you finish scanning you can convert EV to F

stop, determine your exposure and shoot.

If you need the flash capability I think you will find the Minolta an

excelent choice.

Bob

I own a Saunders also and prefer it to the Beseler. I have used both.

All enlargers leak light. We just have to face that and work around

it. Printers like Sexton et al routinely use fabric, material used in

swimming gear, etc. to black out the sides and back. Frankly, I have

never had much problem with the Saunders leaking light; I have

painted the wall and ceiling about my enlarger flat black, and I

installed some black mat board on the counters on either side of the

easel.

One other item: the light source in the Saunders vc and dichroic head

is very even, much more so than another enlarger with the

diffusion/cold light head. I imagine the same is true with the vc

heads. Some people avoid that problem by putting a 5x7 or 8x10 vc

head on an enlarger for printing 4x5 negatives. That way, the falloff

in light is outside the circle that covers the 4x5 negative

For price and quality-assuming no dropping of the unit--you would be

hard put to beat the saunders.

Thanks to readings here I purchased a 110 XL from Badger Graphics

within the past month. It performs as well as stated by others here.

52mm filters fit the back thread well, and one can use calumet three

inch gelatin filters with the calumet/kalt filter holder on the

front. Hence the only extra wide 67mm filter you may need is a

polarizer, if you need one. I guess you could use a 52mm polarizer on

the rear but with difficulty.

Having said all that I also own a 135mm Nikkor W lens. It covers a

5x7 format with some room to spare; so it has always been a good

gentle WA 4x5 that requires no center filter. For my work it still is

fine, but my architectural demands required a wider lens.

So is you do not need to go as wide as the 110 you might check out

the 135mm.

Many people find that using WA lenses require somewhat less movement

of the standards and more precise positioning of the camera. That is

a matter you might consider as you pursue your purchasing.

Bob

My two cents worth:

West of ABQ on the interstate go to Acoma Pueblo. Restrictions on

cameras apply; no tripods at all, but the pueblo is neat. North of

Santa Fe San Ildefonso, a charming puebo. Taos: Taos Pueblo, the

above mentioned church; church at Las Trampas. Also: an alternate

project is to photograph contemporary New Mexico in ABQ, Santa Fe,

etc. In 30 years or less those contemporary areas will evoke the good

ol' days nostalgia that the historcally photgenic areas now evoke. In

other words become your own Paul Strand and Ansel Adams a nd

photgraph your time.

Alex Harris: Red, White and Blue in NM (imprecise title, but Phot

eye.com caries it give syou idea of what you might try.

Enjoy the state. Your parents live in a wonderful area.

Bob

Alas, I must cocur with the other posters. The rear filter will

degrade the image. BUT I have seen many images made by an artist who

always uses gelatin filters behind his images, and I can't see the

degradation in 24x30s. Like you I just purchased a 110 XL. I find I

can use Gels in a Kalt/Caulumet holder in front of the lens; I have

also used glass behind; the glass of lens and filter do not touch in

a rear mount position.

So far I can't see any image degradation no matter where I mount the

filters. I know it exists. And in some critical applications or if

one is sloppy it could caause problems, but so far...

Has anyone experience dealing with Badger Graphic Sales? I am interested in buying a lens, and their prices seem very competitive. From past experience, however, I would like to know other people's opinions about a dealership.

Thanks in advance.

Bob

Has anyone experience with or hints about toning Forte Polywarmtone paper? Following mfg. suggestions with selenium toner I get a warming effect but the tone is not as deep as I would like. When I immerse the print for a lengthier time the images reddens rather than darkens.

Bob

Try Using the View Camera by Steve Simmons. His

explanations/illustrations are clear, free from jargon. You can

duplicate the techniques he discusses

I garee with the others who question the glass carrier? You might

look at the 4x5 carier made for the saunders LPL;it is not totally

oversized, but it does have a larger opening than the Omega unit.

Bob

I have used the BTZS tubes and like them when I have a few negatives

to process. Mainly, I use either a Jobo 2500 drum and the 4x5 reel

inserts or a Jobo 3010 drum. The former accepts up to 12 negatives,

the latter up to 10. I do not own a Jobo processor; instead I use a

unicolor roller base. I have tested my approach against the same

tanks on a jobo unit and found no difference in image quality. So you

can save money there.

One disclaimer: I process B/W only. I can keep temperature fine for

B/W without the temp controlled bath. Were I doing chromes, that

would not be the case.

Bob

Nikon and Polaroid market 4x5 film scanners. Expect to pay between

7500 and 9000 for each. Depending upon your needs, you may be able to

use a transparency adaptor with a flatbed, maybe the flatbed you

already own. If not Umax Powerlook III is worth investigation. Ditto

for the Agfa and Microtek dual units: you get a flatbed and a

separate "drawer" into which you can insert transparencies/negatives

up to 4x5 or 8x10, depending upon the unit. The cost of this dual

units is much less--650-1500 depending upon unit.

The Nikon/Polaroid are first class scanners, but again depending upon

your use and needs you may find it suitable to pass over 2700+dpi and

the cost it entails.

Bob Moulton

You can adapt an aristo 8x10 head to the elwood and get ecellent cold

light results with no falloff. You might contact Howard Bond. It

seems to me he spoke about this transformation once.

The 90mm lens an be useful for architectural photography in many

situations, but a wider lens, such as a 75mm or wider, also works

fine. I have used 75s and presently th 72mmXL superangulon with nice

results. I owned a schneider 75 and frankly would probably buy a

nikkor were I do get a 75 again.Only schneider makes a lens as wide

as the 72mm so I got it. I don't think I would recommend it if you

are going to shoot color or use lots of filters. The front end is

huge--95mm, there is no simple or inexpensive provision for attaching

filters to the back end, and the filters are costly. Please note: I

use a Wisner 4x5 which has a very tapered bellows; hence I cannot

install the normal type of rear filter holders to the lens. If you

are using almost any rail camera you could use filters.Other mfg make

65 mm lenses which are rather small with lots of coverage. You might

contact Ron Wisner at the Wisner home page and query him. Ron knows a

lot about older and smaller lenses which will cover up to 8x10 which

would work well for your application.

I have used the BTZS cloth also and like it,BUT I found that the

cloth had too much tension produced by the elastic to put it on and

easily remove it from the camera. I own a 4x5 Wisner and found that I

needed a 5x7 cloth. My ultimate revision--remove the elastic and

replace it with the cord and locks like those found on outdor

clothing--like a marmot or north face parka. So the cloth easily goes

over the camera and then you can pull the cords to tighten it to your

preference. That works well.

The BTZS is small, very light tight. The only superior approach I

have seen is a traditional cloth with velcro loops, white on one side

and black ultrasuede on the other. J. Sexton uses one like that. Very

nice.

Can anyone suggest starting points for developer times/iso for using 4x5 Technical pan in landscape and natural light portraiture? I have used it for extreme expansion--times when the meter needles barely moves - and have excellent results when using it in TmaxRS, Fg7 or even D-76. But my attempts at using the ilm under N or N+/- 1/2 situations have crashed and burned. I like the clarity of the negs but have yet to master using the film in any but extreme circumstances.

Can anyone suggest starting points for developer times/iso for using 4x5 technical pan in landscape and natural light portraiture? I have used it for extreme expansion--times when the meter needles barely moves - and have excellent results when using it in TmaxRS, Fg7 or even D-76. But my attempts at using the ilm under N or N+/- 1/2 situations have crashed and burned. I like the clarity of the negs but have yet to master using the film in any but extreme circumstances.

I have been using a uniroller with the jobo 2500 drum system for over

ten years successfully for all b/w film processing. The advantages of

the rotary system are there with less expense. The uniroller, used or

if available new, costs a lost less than a jobo prcessor. Four years

ago I bought a jobo expert drum that holds up to 10 4x5s. The sole

problem I had was the drum falling off the uniroller. Some heavy

rubber bands fore and aft on the drum retsrict that kind of movement.

I find the rotary useful for anything except n-2/3/4. Then I use

Sextons TmaxRS dilution and times and opt for a combi tank so I can

control agitation. For all else I use the Uniroller/jobo. I have

never ahd troubles maintaining temperature. I prewet the film at

optimum temp and make certain my chemistry is also at the correct

temp.

I use the tank and reels you have and place them on a Uniroller. With

standard developers like TmaxRS (1:9) and Edwal FG7 (1:15) I have

found that after doing exposure tests, I can start processing almost

any film by reducing the mfg. recommended development time by 10-15%.

As for chmistry amount, I use 800 ml of chemistry plus water for two

reels and 600ml for a single reel. Thus far I have very even results,

no surging , etc.

Jobo person told me that if I was doing only B/W that this uniroller

plus drum system should be ok.