garry_edwards3

Yes, I understand the question better now. Considerable movement is

needed for close-up work. I do this all the time and find that the

lenses normally used for this type of work, e.g. 210mm + have plenty

of coverage to allow for front standard movements. In any event,

working at close distances the image circle tends to be very large.

The answer really is to try a lens of your choice. Don't rely on what

you can see on the ground glass, use a polaroid at the very least, or

better still use a sheet of film, because Polaroids don't cover the

whole area.

In my own experience the problem with the Polaroid 545 holder is film

flatness, not poor alignment. Does it really matter though? Surely,

as long as your darkslides (or Quickload holder) are in alignment, if

the polaroid is slightly defocused it will still do its job of

indicating correct exposure, lighting etc?

Big question, small answer!

Overhead softboxes are very 70s for this type of shot & I suggest

that you use much harsher lighting, for more dramatic and eye-

catching effects. The only advantage of a softbox is that it will

light the bottle tops, but you can do this with a spotlight or even

by suing silver reflector(s). If bottles are clear and if contents

are clear or light, 'backlight' by sticking undersized cutouts (white

paper or silver foil) to rear of bottles. This will bring the

contents to life. Or you can backlight using a lightbox or a backlit

(transmitted or reflected light). if using either of these methods,

determine exposure by taking incident reading of background, which

gives a very good starting point. Use black 'absorbers' just out of

shot to sides of bottles to add modelling and darken edges.

Reading between the lines, you don't seem to have much in the way of

lighting equipment. Don't worry, use tungsten lighting if necessary.

Hope this helps.

Film deteriorates even when frozen and I think it unlikely that it

has been frozen solid for the last 30 years! Didn't they ever replace

the freezer or at least defrost it?

I would think that it has probably deteriorated to the point where it

simply cannot be used but the only answer is to try it and see. I

suggest that you try it at 100 ISO and develop as for HP5 or similar.

I started using LF in 1962 and have used this film but my

recollection of it is that it was grainy (although should be O.K. in

10x8) and contrasty and that we overexposed and undeveloped it. I

would guess though that if it is still usable it will have lost

contrast (probably fogged) and so I would try normal development for

now. Hope this helps!

Use a QUICKLOAD holder instead of dark slides. Since changing to a

Quickload I no longer have a problem with dust spots. You can test

this by using a Polaroid 545 back but in my experience this is only

O.K. at small apertures because the 545 doesn't hold the film flat

enough. Hope this helps.

The Fuji Quickload is brilliant and the extra cost of materials is

well worth it in my view. I use both the Quickload and conventional

darkslides but the darkslides will, in the future, be used for B&W

only. I don't do landscape so can't comment on film requirements but

for studio work I have dropped Velvia and Provia in favour of Kodak

EPP 100 ISO - the colours are very much like Velvia but 1 stop faster

is a big help, especially in my field of work.

Concerning processing, I use Leach Colour (previously A.H. Leach) of

Sunny Bank Road, Brighouse, W. Yorks. Tel:01484 406000. Same day

return, never any problems on quality. Hope this helps.

Depth of field is a complex subject and to understand it you need a

working knowledge of physics and maths. If, like me, you're a dumbo

the best answer is to get a really good depth of field chart. You can

download an excellent chart from Willis Boyce at www.gestalt-

nassau.com/wbb. It is in the form of an Excel spreadsheet and you can

set any focal length of lens, any circle of confusion and any subject

distance. By the way, don't confuse the apparent increase in d.o.f.

obtainable by using your swings and tilts with the real thing...

depth of field remains the same, it's the PLANE of focus which

changes! Regards,

I use a Calumet 6x7 rollfilm holder in both my Arca Swiss & Sinar P

5x4 cameras. No real problems but a couple of points.

1. The rollfilm holder displaces the back by about 9mm so there is

bound to be some stress on the springs, over a period of time

2. It is fairly hard to mark out the exact location of the image on

the screen.

3. There is a very long film travel so the back must be loaded in

subdued light - not a problem for me because I am studio based, but

maybee a problem for some