braden_barclay

Ken, I do agree with you. I haven't worked with large format long enough to really understand it, but I know that I enjoy it a lot more than 35mm or medium format work. That's why I decided to sell my other equipment and concentrate on 4x5. The only thing that was really slowing me down was trying to backpack with the omega monorail. I tried several different ways to carry it, but none were very appealing. I've been using the 150mm for 95% of what I've done so far. I can see what you're saying about working exclusively with one lens to really get a feel for it. It makes it much easier to visualize and judge before setting up the equipment. It would be really nice if I had more than a few days a month that I can actually make some exposures. Oh well, I'm still young.

Thanks everyone for all of your contributions. Today I ordered a Shen-Hao from Badger. I also ordered a toyo loupe and the compendium hood, all for less than I would pay for a well used 15 year old toyo 45a that has less movements. I know that the metal ones might be a little more rugged, but I'm not playing football with it! Besides, I think the shen-hao will be easier to take apart and clean. Thanks again.

Well, for me these backs would be great for slide film. The cost of 4x5 positives is quite high, especially if you live in a city that can't process it. I would still use 4x5 for important subjects, but otherwise it's a good but far cheaper way to go about it. Personally all I can do with a color 4x5 is scan it into my computer. Of course 6x9 isn't going to be as good, but it's a good compromise.

Guy, thanks for your response, maybe you can answer a couple of questions I have about the Wista. Does it have a 360 revolving back, or do you take it off and rotate it? Also, is it difficult to use wide lenses like the 90mm, ie. do you have to drop the bed down? Thanks.

 

Eugene, thank you for the info, I'll take a look into that. The smaller knobs on the shen hao were a concern of mine. Lately I've been photographing while snowshoeing, and I'm sure they wouldn't be fun to use in the cold.

I've been using an 4x5 Omega View for about 6 months now, and have

also since aquired a Mamiya RZ. I thought the RZ would cover more of

my general purpose photography, ie. mostly landscape, some portrait,

no commercial work, but I'm finding the RZ is, for the cost, not

worth it. I'd love to use my view camera outdoors more, but I haven't

been able to easily pack it around. I was thinking of selling the RZ

and getting into a field 4x5. I currently own a copal xenar 150mm and

an older compound shutter 360mm tele-xenar. My options so far that I

like include a used Toyo 45a for $950 in excellent condition, a wista

sp for $1400 in excellent condition, or a new shen hao hzx4x5 with

some accessories, totaling about $1000. Now I understand that the

shen hao is an excellent deal, it has lots of movements, good

extension, and should be reasonably durable? The Toyo has slightly

more limited movements, good extension, and is more durable. The

wista has more movements, I'm not sure about extension, and seems to

be durable as well. My question is basically which do you people

think would be best for me? Is the wista worth the extra money? Or

will the Toyo be good enough? I understand that my compendium shade

for my Omega will fit the 45a, but I don't think it'll fit the shen-

hao or the wista. Both the wista and the shen-hao take standard

technika lens boards? But the toyo will only take toyo without an

adapter? I don't think my tele-xenar 360mm will really work on either

cameras, and I should probably down-size it to a 240mm or so. With

the difference in price between the toyo, shen-hao and wista, I could

afford a nice 90mm lens. Anyways, sorry for the long post, I just

don't want to make another bad decision, like I thought the Mamiya RZ

would solve all my problems! I guess it would have if I was making a

living from photography. I thought down the road I could afford a

better quality 35mm system, or a medium format rangefinder for more

compact carry around use. Thanks in advance for any help offered!

Richard,

I've been using the Durst Laborator 1000 with a Pavelle 401 color head for about 7 months now. I've found it to be quite reliable and mechanically robust. I only have the 4x5 negative carrier, so I use masks for 6x7 and 35mm, which seem to work fine. Carriers are available new from durst in oregon which have notches to align negatives, but I think they are around $50 or $60, very occasionally do they appear on ebay. I use a 150mm componon-s for most of my 4x5 and 6x7 work, although the 150mm lens will just make between an 8x10 and 11x14 enlargement from the 6x7, but will make a 16x20 from a 4x5. The head can easily be rotated for wall enlargements, though I have never used this.

Thank you all very much for your responses. You've given me enough information to try several different process', and should keep me busy for awhile. I mostly do landscapes so I think I'll start with the diluted solution of perceptol and take it from there.

Thanks again.

I've been looking through the archives here, but I can't really find

any solid info regarding this. Has anyone tried using Perceptol to

pull HP5+ to 200. What developing time would I use. Digitaltruth.com

lists stock dilution 200/400 at 11min. I've been told that combining

this developer and speed produces really fine results. Any info

would be appreciated!

When I first started using HC-110 I didn't dilute it to the stock solution first, I just did straight out of the bottle 1+7. That caused some godawful grain in my negatives, but I was still getting reasonable contrast, and not too much detail. Give that a try.

My DL 1000 has a Pavelle 401 colour head on it. It was obviously modified to work properly by the previous owner. I know nothing about this head though, the scales on the colour balance knobs are different from any others I've seen. Does anyone know about this one?

Great enlarger though!