larry_mendenhall1

Hi, Ben!

Hope you got some great shots in Zion last fall. I got a couple of halfway decent ones.

Yep, you remember correctly. Radio Shack came through and had a nut that would fit so I was able to continue shooting. However, the nut was a little too high and the camera wouldn't close smoothly. It's likely that a dedicated search would have turned up something close to the original nut. I was already thinking about the "next" camera and that incident helped me decide to move on a little sooner than I probably would have.

Larry

I started with a Tachihara and agree with Ted that it makes an excellent starter camera.

However, a nut came loose from mine during the second day of a photo workshop in

Oregon. After that, I decided to get an Ebony because of the reputation of its build quality

(which I found to be true -- it feels much more sturdy than my Tachi), its longer bellows

and its graflok back.

I also agree with Frank, it's probably a good idea to put more of your starting off money

into lenses. You may want to think about the Shen-hao. It has the graflok back, a longer

bellows and is priced close to the Tachihara; although the Taichihara can use at least a

75mm lens (maybe even a 65 mm) without a recessed lens board.

Good luck!

Larry

I liked my Tachihara, but decided eventually I wanted a camera with a graflok back and a

little longer bellows. I used the newer Calument 6x12 (C2N?) roll film holder that I had

purchased used and it had some light leak problems. When the Tachihara lost a knob on

the second day of a photo workshop, I decided to sell it and get an Ebony.

A great camera to start with, though.

Larry

John

Can't speak to the Shen Hao 4x5, but I did have a Tachihara before switching to an Ebony.

One of the reasons I switched was because I wanted the Graflok back for roll film holders.

For the Polaroid 545 series of holders, you simply insert those into the spring back like

any Read/Quik load or regular film holder. I had a Calumet roll film holder for my

Tachihara, but didn't particularly like it. In theory, a Horseman or Wista film holder would

fit under the Tachihara spring back, but I never tried it because it look as if it might be a

little tight.

Short story, if want to use roll film holders a lot, I'd suggest the Shen Hao.

Larry

The great thing about the Pentax 645 is that you can get the original now, and use

whatever leftover funds you have for extra lenses. Later, if you really enjoy the format and

camera, you can upgrade to the NII and the lenses you get now will still be usable.

When I was deciding which of the Pentax models to get, I decided it was between either

the new model (for the rumored digital back coming for it) or the original model. To me, I

didn't want to pay extra for the N (compared to the original model) and it maybe not being

compatible with the digital back. So I started out with the original model and a couple of

lenses.

Good luck deciding.

Larry

There are a lot of 4x5 and larger formats that can easily be packed and taken out to fairly

extreme locations. This link, if you haven't found it already, will give you a good start:

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/matos-begin.html

You will probably want a field camera which folds up nicely. You may want to consider a

Tachihara (lighter) or Shen Hao (more movements, Graflok back) as a starter camera.

I'd also consider using Readyloads (Kodak) or Quikloads (Fuji). The film is more expensive,

but it saves you the trouble of loading film holders and fighting dust in the process.

From what I read, medium format can easily do 16x20, but if you want larger prints than

that I'd suggest going to 4x5.

Good luck!

Larry

I have Minolta's Spotmeter F and I believe you can use it for flash metering. I never use it

for that purpose so I'm not 100 percent positive about that nor do I know how well it

performs in that role.

I also have the Sekonic L-558 Dualmaster. So far, I like it better than the "F" because it has

performed better in colder temperatures, has incident meter capability and dual ISO

settings all of which I find a little more convenient than the F.

The F, however, fits my hand a little better and feels like it weighs a tad less. My main

gripe -- and this may just be my particular meter -- about the F was that the battery

would quit working around 40 degrees F. The first time that happened it almost got a

one-way trip to the bottom of Lake Superior. It was a pain keeping it tucked inside my

coat to keep the batteries warm.

Hope that helps.

Larry

My first 4x5 was a used Tachihara in great shape and I loved it. However, when one of the

nuts fell off I decided it was time to move up. I got an Ebony RW45 and the difference in

build quality is pretty amazing.

What I prefer in the Ebony as opposed to the Tachihara: It folds up much more smoothly

than my Tachihara did, has longer bellows, a Grafloc back and build quality.

Balancing out the longer bellows, the Tachihara was more convenient to use with wide

angle lenses. My 75 and 90 mm lenses worked well on the Tachihara; with the Ebony

RW45 I have to use base and axis tilts.

To me, the build quality of the RW45 makes it worth the price.

Larry

" I gather this does not require any modification to the camera back, am I right?"

Nope, just slip your standard back off and slip the RFH back on. Pretty easy, except you'll

need to be careful that you don't drop the ground glass back. I try to never be in a hurry

when I switch mine.

Enjoy!

Larry

I can't compare the Rollex with the Horseman, but I do have a Horseman 6x9 RFH and I've

used it with no complaints.

For the Horseman RFH, you do have to remove the ground glass and the holders will not

have their ground glass to compose. For that, you either need to mark the dimensions on

the camera's ground glass or use a mask.

Shen Hao has a 6x12 back and is the least expensive of the 6x12 options, as far as I know.

Good luck!

Larry

I could fold up my Tachihara by reversing my Rodenstock 150N. Decided it wasn't worth it,

however, because I still ended up having to put it in the right way when I wanted to shoot.

I'm not sure about the image circle question. But I was able to shoot with 90mm through

300 telephoto with mine and only had a little coverage problem with tilts on the 300. I

would think almost anything with an average image circle would be fine on the Tachihara.

Larry

If you can, dig up the View Camera Sept.-Oct. 2004 issue. Kerry Thalmann tells you all you

need to know about lenses that will work with your camera.

As I understand Kerry's article -- and if anyone catches an error here, please chime in and

correct it -- you have to determine the minimum extension of your camera (it looks as if

that's 55mm for the Shen Hao) and then add 38mm to account for the back. For your Shen

Hao that would add up to 93mm as a minimum extension. If the lens you want to buy has

a flange focal distance (FFD) greater than that mimimum extension then you're OK. If it's

less than that, it's not going to work.

Kerry's article (by the way, thanks a lot, Kerry. it was a big help) has a table of lenses with

flange focal information. He lists the Nikon SW F8 with an FFD of 97. It also has an image

circle of 235mm which is comfortably more than the 177mm Kerry lists as the absolute

minimum. So if I'm right, the f8 90mm Nikon should work without a recessed lens panel.

Good luck and enjoy the back. I like mine.

Larry

There's a minor gotcha. You have to flip the shade up before you can look at the LCD after

taking a picture. It's not that big of a deal, but I found it annoying.

The Hoodman for the 300, by the way, doesn't quite work on the 350. It's just a little big

and blocks some of the screen and some of the controls.

Hey, Stephen

Here's a good place to start: http://bermangraphics.com/galleryartshows.htm

Unfortunately there's no simple answers for any of your questions. Here's some from our

relatively short experience (2 years) of doing art shows.

If you want to enter large, well-known shows this year, you may have already missed the

application deadline. The application deadline for a well-regarded show in Des Moines was

early December last year.

You will likely need a booth slide.

Shows will not provide canopies. Power is often an extra charge. Speaking of canopies, we

started with an EZ-Up but recently upgraded to a Lite-Dome. Lots of people like Craft Hut

and others. Pay serious attention to weighting the things down.

I use Grid Walls to display my photos. The plus side, you can configure them any way

you like. The downside, they're heavy. Pro Panels seem highly regarded but I haven't

worked with them.

Sizes are hard to determine. About once a show, someone will want something bigger

than the 16x20 framed to 20x24 pieces that are my largest. My sales of matted prints

(11x14, 16x20, 20x24) are pretty even through those sizes. Consider having something

people can get for $20 to $30. We sell quite a few 5x7 pictures in a small desktop frame

for $15 but the shows I enter are quite regional in nature.

Pricing is even harder. Good luck. You should -- if you haven't already -- go to some of

the shows you want to enter and see what price ranges are.

We used to bring a framed duplicate for almost everything. That was silly. We now just

limited framed duplicates to several of our more popular pieces. We've found that very

hard to predict; it may take you a couple of shows to figure that out. I bet you'll be

surprised. Bring more matted prints, they take up less space and it's likely you'll sell more

of them.

We transport our framed photos in large Rubbermaid containers. Add a little padding and

they work OK. We're looking for something a little different.

We accept credit cards and I think it's worth the trouble. Most of our large piece sales are

purchased through credit cards. We set up a small business and got our credit card

machine through our local bank. We don't have any high-end credit card machines; just a

"knuckle-buster".

Security. You have to do what you feel comfortable with. With the regional shows that we

attend, there is some security at night. Usually this means a guard. We take our framed

pieces down and put them in our containers, mostly to protect them from weather during

the night. In some cases, it might be smart to load everything back up.

We stay in motels but usually bring at least a sack lunch. Often shows will provide some

sort of pastry-bagel "breakfast" type thing. Not always.

Allow PLENTY of time for set-up. People will start coming at least a half-hour before the

show's official start date. It takes us about 2.5 hours to set up.

You may also want to think about liability insurance. If you ignore my sage advice (wink,

wink) and don't anchor your canopy down properly you may find your self buying a lot of

damaged art when it goes skirting through the other displays.

Judging by your questions, it's apparent you've given some thought to doing this but

you've only started your research. Unless you or your partner can devote full time to

getting this set up this year, I might suggest you attend more shows -- not to look at the

art so much -- but to study what other photographers are doing and shoot for later this

year or next year for entering. You'll want to study what other photographers are doing for

booths (brand and anchoring -- I can't emphasize anchoring enough), display options,

framing options, various sizes. Some of them will be glad to talk with you and give you the

benefit of their experience. A minority will view you as competition and not want to share.

If someone is willing to spend the time talking about shows, please be aware that when

customers come in you should step out of the way and let him/her devote time to

potential income.

Well, that's a mouthful. Hope it helps and good luck. My wife and I enjoy the experience

and hope that you will too.

Larry

www.quiet-places.com

Here's my two cents.

The Epson 4870 will work well with 4x5 and probably 120 film scanning. I have an earlier

Epson model, the 2450, and was resonable pleased with the results. I never tried scanning

35mm but in general you will need a dedicated film scanner to get acceptable results from

35mm. This, of course, depends on what your final use is. If you want to scan 35mm to

post on the web then it should be fine.

A dedicated film scanner only scans negatives or transparencies. Unlike a flatbed scanner,

it can't be used to scan prints or documents. The advantage is that you get a much

higher quality scan, especially for 35mm film.

The disadvantage of a dedicated film scanner is the price. 35mm film scanners are

relatively well-priced. But if you want to add 120 scanning capability then you're looking

at well over $1,000 If you want to add 4x5 scanning then you're looking (probably) at

least at $5000.

The advantage of a flatbed scanner is price. The Epson 4870 will run between $400 and

$500 and you'll be able to scan from 35mm to 4x5.

As with many things in photography, it's a matter of degree; how much quality do I need

balanced against how much money I have to spend.

Good luck!

Larry

Currently, teaching/practicing aikido and trying to get my photos to sell at art

shows.

Not sure of your route, but here's some ideas.

Try Effigy Mound and Pike's Peak State Park near McGregor, IA. Pike's Peak has a nice overlook of the Mississippi although it might be better in the fall.

Dunning's Spring Park in Decorah Iowa http://decorah.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={9D56DF92-B1E7-45D9-95FA-87B9E35FB544}&DE={E5D47431-CA0D-4D43-8EFD-9CE4A791FA26} has a fairly nice waterfall if waterfalls trip your triggers.

North of Dubuque along Highway 52 there's some good possibilities of some farmscapes that you can overlook from the road. It's a very "Grant Woodish" look with rolling hills etc.

Backbone State Park near Strawberry Point, IA, also has some possibilities. Take the backbone trail -- there'll be some interesting rock formations (for Iowa) with some fairly gnarly pines.

Further south along Interstate 80, MacBride Lake near Iowa City has some possibilities but I haven't had a lot of luck there. Further west near Des Moines/Ames is Ledges State Park. That's pretty nice.

Further west there's the Loess Hills area. I haven't been there but it's on the list.

That should at least give you some starting points. Good luck!

Ken and Dave

Here is the url I just checked this morning:

http://www.calumetphoto.com/syrinx/ctl?PAGE=Controller&ac.ui.pn=cat.CatItemDetail&ac.item.itemNo=CF9970&ac.catTree.detail=y

I believe someone else has already posted it as well. It's $15.

I've been using mine since March. I've carried it in a LowePro AW Trekker with no problems in some relatively easily traveled areas.

Since I'm new to large format photography, I may not know what I'm missing. But the movements on Tachihara have been more than ample for the landscape photography I've been doing. I "think" all that the Tachihara is missing is back swing and back rise and fall, but some of the more technical users may correct me on that.

I was worried about the ground glass being exposed as Ken mentioned, but I fixed that by buying a ground glass cover from Calumet.

Your 65mm lens may work but it you won't be able to use much in the way of movement. Your 400 is likely to be too much as well unless it's a telephoto design.

Other than that, the Tachihara has been a great beginner's camera for me. I'd recommend it, especially if you're on a budget.

Larry

I thought the large format group -- especially those in the Midwest -

- would be interested in getting a chance to see Ansel Adams' work.

The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art (that's in Iowa) is hosting "Classic

Images: From the Ansel Adams Archive". Here's the url:

http://www.crma.org/exhibitions/exhibitions.htm

This is a different show than the Ansel Adams at 100 exhibit.

According to the website:

"This group of photographs was displayed at the Nation Gallery of

Art, in Washington, DC, in 1985, one year after Adams' death, and

became known as "The Museum Set." The Museum Set was published a

year later in a book entitled Ansel Adams: Classic Images, from

which this show takes its title."

It's a great opportunity for those of us who saw the "AA at 100"

exhibit in Chicago to compare the two shows.

Cedar Rapids is in Eastern Iowa, approximately a 4 or 5 hour drive

from Chicago, Minneapolis, Madison.

Larry

I'm definitely interested. I just got started in 4x5 photography this year and it'd be great to go to a close workshop that didn't cost a ton of money to attend.

I'm in Cedar Rapids, IA. I'd be willing to help getting things organized.

Larrym

thanks for all the feedback, folks. Very informative.

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Larry

I just picked up a used Rodenstock Sironar-N 210mm lens. It's aperture range is f45.6 - f45 and has "MC" stamped on it which I assume stands for multi-coated. It has a serial number of 10332697.

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I'm assuming this is an older version of the APO Sironar-N series. Can anyone out there in large format land confirm my older version theory and let me know a little more about the lens?

<p>

Thanks!

<p>

Larrym

Hi, Matthew

<p>

I can only contribute to question 2. I use the Kodak and Polaroid

quick/ready loaders without a problem in my Tachihara. I seriously

doubt there would be a problem with the Quickload holder.

<p>

The Tachihara is my first large format camera, but I've been very

happy with it. The only thing I would wish for is geared tilt

movements. I suspect such a feature is available but only on the

higher priced field cameras.

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Good luck!

<p>

Larry