rob_tucher

I have not experienced the crank problem and have used the

Polaroid/Calumet 8x10 in the field extensively for four years now, but

I can certainly see how it can break off. Next time I go out it

will probably break just to spite. It is flimsier than one would

think it should be. I recently broke off the lever on my 545 back by

sliding (legally) under a fence with the equipment. Cleanliness of

rollers with the Calumet is a MUST. In the field this is a pain. I

wash it down with a cloth and water or cleaner after every run. It

seems to squeeze a lot more chemistry haphazzardly than a 545, even

proportionally. If the Polaroids are tests then field cleaning and

processing is fine, but you will get the occasional dust dot, streak,

or disappearing corner. You do have to be very steady with the crank

to avoid streaking. All in all, though, I find it to be a fantastic

product and well thought out, even though not the sturdiest as

mentioned by the previous guy. But if Polaroids are your end product

or something you want to keep and show then I would process back at

home or the motel, or even get the electric Polaroid model and do it

all out of the field and consistently.

YEARS ago Popular Photography had an article on how to make a tiny

electronic metronome. It is a list of parts put together in a certain

configuration inside a tiny parts box that Radio Shack sells

(1/2"x3"x1-1/2") with an earplug plugged in. I made one. I put the

device in my shirt pocket or elsewhere, the plug in my ear, and turn

it on. It clicks every 1 second. I started and stopped exposures on

the count and it was very accurate. Unfortunately it got smashed and

I don't have the article anymore. But something like this might be

available, or you might find the article in an archive.

I'd do the 121 Schneider also if you can live with a wide view.

Covers 8x10 so it would have plenty of movement to do rise for a tall

building, even in vertical. It would be quite wide so you wouldn't

have to back off from the building which can be good in the city, but

maybe not so good if you have all the room in the world. I generally

use the longest lens that I can when I am positioned right and back as

far as I can. A 121 for 5x7 is a little wider than a 90mm would be

for 4x5. A 135 is closer in 5x7 to a 90 in 4x5.

If the image REALLY matters to you separation negatives (for

reproduction from then on) and duplicates (for dissemination)are the

way to go and then seal the original neg/chrome in a special freezer

bag (from Light Impressions or others)and put it in the freezer until

you need it again. Everlast prints are supposed to be archival. Who

knows? B&W archival isn't even really. The best I have seen claimed

is an estimated 500 years and then...?

I know nothing about the image circle of the lens, but in proctical

terms I have done a lot of interior shooting with my 121mm when not

much else will do, and I even get a bit of movement, and certainly

full coverage without a whole lot of drop off in the corners (b&w only

so far)at f/22 and f/32. Stopped down more I even get rise in the

occasional vertical tight exterior shot.