don_wallace1

I have an Epson 4870 scanner and R800 printer. I have been using

Photoshop Elements 2. I really don't like Elements or Photoshop at

all for that matter since it seems to have been designed for graphic

designers and not photographers. It has features I will never use

in four lifetimes, even though I still have to pay for them.

What are some serious alternatives that are more suited to

photographers? I do almost no manipulation of images other than some

colour correction, cropping, sometimes a bit of dodging and burning.

Two things. First, the Speed Graphic and the Super Graphic/Super Speed Graphic are TOTALLY different cameras. The former has a focal plane shutter, the latter does not. The 1/1000 shutter speed everyone talks about in connection with the Super Graphic/Super Speed Graphic is in the lens. And you don't need 1/1000 for portraits.

Second, if you use one of the Graphic or similar backs, you will have to have the proper cam for your lens, and they are not always easy to find. If not, you will have to focus on the ground glass, take off the back, put on the roll film back. This is a real pain. If you want to do portraiture in 120 format, then save yourself a lot of headaches and get a medium format camera.

With those caveats in mind, the Super/Super Speed Graphic is fine for what you want to do AS LONG AS YOU HAVE THE PROPER CAM. In addition, the Super/Super Speed is a pretty good field camera for large format. Although is has no back movemetns, it has more front movements than a Toyo field camera. For landscapes, front forward tilt and rise are the main movements you will need and the Super/Super Speed has plenty.

Don Wallace

I am continuing to use traditional materials and techniques for black and white while moving in the digital direction for colour, doing my own scanning and printing. If I find a particularly good photograph that warrants it, I will get both a very high resolution scan and custom print from a lab.

Another consideration is that any digital equipment you buy will not be the last and I see this as a problem. I spend too much time with digital equipment as it is. I am fed with manuals the size of phonebooks and the rate at which the technology changes. I plan to use any digital equipment I buy until it falls apart.

Given your experience in black and white (from your subsequent post), my advice would be to buy the enlarger.

Don Wallace

If anyone tells you there is exposure compensation for movements, don't believe them. Seriously. This is nonsense. You are taking large format photography into the world of New Age religion and you are just looking for something else to worry about.

Don Wallace

I found Stroebel's book a little like reading the Bible in Coptic. I'm sure somebody understands it but not me. Physics and optics are, I am told, fascinating subjects, but right now, I would like to take some pictures. Steve Simmons' book is far more useful. Also, the page below (and related site) is SO useful. I highly recommend it to every beginner first encountering Herr Scheimplug:

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/how-to-focus.html

Don Wallace

I use such reflectors when photographing people but not with baby skin. In my opinion, children and babies need nothing because their skin is so perfect. You just need to learn how to expose for it.

Don Wallace

I didn't get the BTZS tubes for exactly that reason. The term "daylight processing" is very misleading when used with BTZS. You can use an Expert Drum on a roller, using a bathtub or sink as a water jacket to maintain temperature. I was going to go that route (and probably should have) but instead I found a good deal on an older CPE-2 with lift. It was only $200 US and came with lots of accessories. I read the paper and have a sandwich while it does its work. I am in a situation similar to you so I use only a darkbag to load it. Piece of cake.

My problem is that I now do 8x10 as well so I will have to get the Expert Drum anyway and do it by hand since I can't afford the high end Jobo systems.

Don Wallace

Jeff,

I have never been able to develop multiple sheets without at least one scratch so I sympathize. I built a small tray insert so I can do 4 4x5 sheets at the same time. However, I do 8x10's one at a time, in HC-110. I wouldn't bother with two development trays but you suit yourself. I am not in that much of a hurry. If I were going to try this, I would develop a neg in each tray simultaneously (i.e., don't bother to move for half the development time) and start one a little earlier so that it would hit the stop bath first and then on to the fix as the second neg went to stop. Also, I just use regular stop. The whole Borax thing doesn't make sense to me.

I develop 4x5 in a Jobo - an older CPE-2 - and if I had the dough, I would get a newer model with Expert drums for 8x10. Makes life very easy.

Don Wallace

Mike,

The old joke is that NC stands for "no colour". Although I prefer VC, NC is not that bad. However, I suggest that you go with the VC. It is not as "vivid" as the literature suggests and certainly not as saturated as some reversal films such as Velvia or E100VS. If you have a roll film back, try a roll of each, or even 35mm. Get back to us and let us know what you found out.

Don Wallace

Hey John,

Thirty-five year old eyes? Heck, they are hardly even out of the box (are they multi-coated by the way?). Give it another 10 years or so and get back to us.

Seriously, I had no problems until my late 30s. Now, I have trouble keeping 35mm in focus consistently. With LF, the problem is solved with the loupe but I sure like my f/4.5 Apo Lanthar. VERY bright.

Don Wallace

Kodachrome or, if you can't stand the wait, try the various Ektachromes, except for VS (not for skin tones, imho). I like E100SW myself.

Don Wallace

I have a roll of Ektachrome that I forgot to get processed. I found

it in a box in the basement and it is probably 20-22 years old. I

want to process it myself in my Jobo. Any suggestions? Should I

bother? I asked this question before but forgot to mention I want to

do it myself.

Don Wallace

I don't have tons of experience in this and I can't comment on the really high end 8x10s because I could never afford one. However, in my research, the Kodak Master View looked really good. They usually go for about a grand but from what I have heard, they are a good deal (Jock Sturgess has a pair of them). I just bought a Ansco, the kind used by Weston, and it is great. It is a little less portable than the really spiffy ones but it is not terribly heavy and the price was right (less than $600). BTW, I am NOT a backpacker.

Don Wallace

I have a 90mm SA and I have old eyes. I wish I had a 5.6 but I don't have the dough.

Don Wallace

I would never buy a camera again from ebay. Too many sellers don't understand the concept of "light tight" when it comes to bellows and they tend to be pretty loose with descriptions. What the hell does "minty" mean, for example? And one man's "mint" is another's "scratches, nicks, dents, and a few missing parts."

The advantage to buying from a shop is that you SEE and TOUCH the camera. And if something is obviously wrong, you are not out the shipping costs. My advice is to bargain with the shop a little. It is ok to pay a little more than rather than taking chances on ebay. I might add that Badger has never been particularly responsive to me, I suspect because I am a Canadian customer.

Don Wallace

FORGET about fixing shutters. I also play guitar and my motto is, you can fix em or you can play em (minor repairs don't count). Trying to fix a shutter is a complete waste of your time and money. Believe me.

If you really want to get into large format, then forget the Crown Graphic and go with the Graphic View. The Crown is very limited in terms of movements whereas the GV, while not a field camera, has full movements. If you really want to use the Crown, then I suggest you reverse the front standard so that you will have front forward tilt, much more useful than the backward tilt it has. Also, a roll film back is very useful and, as you suggest, economical. I have a lot of experience with Graphics (Crown, Graphic View, and Super) so if you want to pursue this, email me. I would be happy to help.

Don Wallace

Kelly,

The swap will not work, as has already been said. Here are the solutions as I see it. One, get the CLA! Two, since a 127mm is not a lot different than a 135mm, get the Zeiss mounted on a Graphic board and use it on the Crown. If you want to use the Crown as a press camera and not a view camera (i.e., use the rangefinder and not the ground glass), you will need to get another cam. Fortunately, these are not hard to find in that focal length. Three, same as two except get a adaptor board so that you can easily use the Zeiss lens on both the Crown and Graphic View. That will give you both a press camera AND a view camera. I had that setup for some time. These adaptor boards surface fairly regularly. If you want to see one, email me.

Don Wallace

Having read some of the other responses, I should have added that you really need to dilute HC-110 because of the constant agitation. The development times I specified in my earlier post were in Dilution E and I am thinking of going to Dilution F to lengthen my compression times. You need to make sure you have enough syrup in the mix and Michael Covington's web page on HC-110 is very useful in this regard.

http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/hc110/

Don Wallace

It sounds to me like you are doing everything right. Until recently, I used Tri-X developed in trays with HC-110 and my EI was 125. I switched to an older Jobo CPE-2 and found that the EI increased. I now shoot HP5 and my EI 320. If I were you, I would go with the speed you have determined and now test for development times. I would go no further than N+/- 1 so you can start photographing and get some results that you can look at. You can go back to testing for N-2, etc., later.

Don Wallace

I have recently been working with HP5 in my Jobo (and old CPE2) so this may or may not be of use to you. I started with dilution B and had the same problems. By the time, I was through the first phase of testing (I am still at it), I had established times for normal, n+1, and n-1, using dilution E. The n-1 was only 5 minutes so I am going to go to dilution F. I develop at 20C/68F and use a 1 minute prewash. The water in my area is quite soft. I check all my results on a densitometer.

For what it's worth, in my fridge I found 5 or 6 sheets of exposed but unprocessed Tri-X that were about a year old and not terribly important. I still had my notes on them so I tried the HP5 development times that I had established on my Jobo. Although the EI's were slightly different, the Tri-X negs look ok. The highlights are fine.

HC-110 is a great developer but you really have to dilute it if you don't want really short times. I had a similar experience when I was developing Tri-X in trays with HC-110. Michael Covington's page on HC-110 is very useful. He is quite knowledgeable and was very helpful to me.

http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/hc110/

Don Wallace

Not much to add except to reinforce what has already been said. I used an old non-battery Soligor until it died. Bought a older Pentax V and love it. In my opinion, forget digital. If you are using it for zone system calculation, seeing the whole scale is much more useful. All the tricked-out stuff on the new spotmeters is, in my opinion, only useful for studio photographers.

Should you get a Pentax V with the Zone VI holster, be careful about using it in public, especially around government buildings. People are edgy these days about things that look like guns, especially in leather holsters which only reinforces the mistaken identity.

Don Wallace

This is not an answer to the question but it is oxidization that is the problem. A cheap solution I use is to add glass marbles to the bottle of syrup to keep it topped up. As long as you keep the air out, it will not go bad.

Don Wallace

I use HP5 with HC-110 at different dilutions but I use a Jobo so my times are not going to be of much use to you. However, I strongly recommend that you consult Michael Covington's page on HC-110. It was of great use to me.

http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/hc110/

Don Wallace

I just got a brand new Wisner and the few times I have had it out so far, I have got a completely new question: "How old is that camera?" With my much older Super, the question varied but was usually something like "Can you still get film for that?" The Wisner, of course, looks like an antique whereas the Super just looks outdated. But the last time I was out shooting, an observant young man said "Is that a really old camera or a brand new one that just looks old?" Bingo!

Don Wallace

I had a similar problem but as it turned out, it was not the back but the way I was using it. As you know, you have to click the little chrome "thing" before the back will let you crank the film to the next frame. If you hold on to this too long (as I was doing, I thought to "make sure" it was properly clicked), the film will get out of whack and you will overlap. I don't do this anymore and both my Graphic backs, 6x7 and 6x9, work fine. I felt like a real dope when I figured it out.

Don Wallace