jeffdyck

Hi Peter,

 

In answer to a few of your questions:

 

1. If you just want to see some photos taken on G-Claron lenses, have a look aver at apug.org, but I would submit to you that you are not going to appreciate the image quality looking at a computer screen anyway. Your best bet is to find someone in your area that shoots with the lenses and have a look at actual prints if you can

 

2. G-Clarons can be directly fitted into Copal shutters - the 150mm will screw directly into a Copal 0 and the 240mm will screw directly into a Copal 1.

 

3. G-Clarons are essentialy copy lenses, supposedly optimized for close-up work, but I have taken hundreds of shots with G-Claron lenses (I have a 150mm and a 240mm myself) at infinity and have never had any issue with distortion or sharpness. There will be lens gurus out there that can give you a much more complete answer than I can (again - I would try the forums at www.apug.org or www.largeformatphotography.info where the big negative crowd hangs out).

 

4. Choice is yours on format - if you are planning on scanning all your negatives and using a digital workflow, go 4x5 - equipment is much lighter and cheaper, and the film and developing cost is much lower. The reason to choose 8x10 is to make contact prints. Alternative / historical processing like platinum/palladium, cyanotypes, van dyke, etc. require contact printing (although there is a whole other discussion there about making digital negatives for contact printing).

 

5. There is nothing wrong with a Speed Graphic - I have a couple of them myself, but they are quite limited in movement and bellows draw. They are great when used for thier intended purpose (i.e. as a press camera), but there are better choices for all round shooting. If you choose to purchase, rather than build a camera and budget is a big factor, look at a Tachihara (or one of the other Asian made wooden field cameras) or look for a used monorial (i.e. a Sinar F1 for example) - they can be had pretty cheap. If you only want the camera for the back for your homemade camera, almost any back will do as long as it is light tight. You might consider a Graflok type back which will allow you to attach a roll film adapter for testing purposes (120 roll film is a lot cheaper than sheet film when you are blowing lots of film for testing).

 

6. I am unfamiliar with this particular lens, but I presume it is a Rodenstock copy lens of come sort. With a little tinkering and a shutter mechanism (i.e. a Packard shutter or just your ball cap!) pretty much any barrel lens can be used on a large format camera - just depends on how much trouble you want to go to to get things working. I have several old barrel lenses I use in this fashion. Almost any copy lens I have ever tried will produce great images in the right conditions - try to dig up some of Jim Galli's old posts at apug.org - he has produced some incredible images with old brass lenses found in the bottom of boxes at garage sales. The tech-weenies will go crazy over measurements of lines per inch and whether lenses are single coated or multi-coated and the coating they use, but if you measure the quality of your photos by the resolution your lenses can produce and how exact the colour reproduction is relative to some other lense I feel sorry for you. Have a look back at the images produced by the early masters - without a doubt they used equipment considered "inferior" by many today, but no one really cares about that when they look at the images...

Troy --> "Its going to have to be an Ink jet. Lightjets dont go that wide."

 

ABC Photo in Vancouver, BC has an Oce LightJet 500XL that will print up to 76" wide (up to 76" x 120")

Bob - congratulations on your purchase. If you haven't found it already, have a look at http://www.largeformatphotography.info/ - there is piles of information there for a large format beginner. If you check the archives in the forum, you will likely find multiple answers to most of your questions.

All you really need are some old film boxes. Seal the exposed film in the boxes with some tape and label the box ("Exposed Film", type of film, number of sheets, etc.) then put the film box in an envelope or other container with a note containing your name, info, instructions, etc. and send it out. The lab will probably send your processed film back inside the film boxes you sent it to them in (you may want to mention in your note that you want your film boxes back). Make sure to keep the boxes for next time.

If it is a concern, not all 240mm are mounted in Copal 3 shutters. I am using a 240mm Fujinon-A, which is mounted in a Copal 0 shutter. Other choices are the 240mm G-Claron and 240mm APO-Ronar both mounted in Copal #1 shutters.

I should also have mentioned - if you want to get a good idea of what things cost in the used market, have a look at www.keh.com - they have a piles of used equipment listed on thier site with competitive pricing.

Mark - looking at this and your previous thread, you may find this of page of interest - http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/ (scroll to the bottom and select Hasselblad 500c/m under "Professional Cameras"). The page explains the differences between various Hasselblad models and there is a comparison chart between the Hasselblad 500 series and the Mamiya RB/RZ series

Hi Vern,

 

What model Hasselblad are you using? If you have a model with a focal plane shutter (i.e. 200-series) you may want to keep an eye out for a converted 35mm lens (or have one converted yourself). I had been looking for one for a while and about a year ago purchased a beautiful, old Pentax 500mm f4.5 that had been converted to a Hasselblad mount (looks like an extension tube was used with some minor machining - looks very professional). It is 2-stops faster than Hasselblad equivalent, has a more typical tripod mounting system and the pictures look very sharp - best of all it was ~$400! I have seen these come up from time to time - when I purchased mine, it was the third such conversion I had seen come up for sale in ~6 months - might be worth keeping an eye open. If you are interested, drop me a line directly and I can give you some additional information.

 

Regards,

Jeff

If you are developing your own B&W film: I find Pyrocat-HD to be an excellent developer for snow scenes - it handles highlights really, really well. Films like FP4+ and T-Max 400 respond well to the developer. There is lots of information on these combinations at unblinkingeye.com

Josh,

 

If you haven't seen it already, Kerry Thalmann's page has a nice overview of commonly available compact, lightweight lenses for hiking and backpacking - http://www.thalmann.com/largeformat/lightwei.htm

Hi Josh,

 

I am with Bob - don't skimp on the tripod - it can have a huge impact on the quality of your negs. If you can't get sharp images, what's the point. A large format camera with the bellows extended is like a sail on a windy day - you definitely don't wan't some ultralight tripod that just makes the weight rating for your set-up that is going to shake like a noodle.

 

I usually hump either a J-Series Ries or a Gitzo Studex whenever I head afield with my 4x5 - while they are both heavy tripods, I don't usually regret my decision to carry them when I have everything setup and I know my camera base is rock solid.

 

If you want to save weight and get great shots, purchase a quality used aluminum (or wood) tripod suited to the task then spend the hundreds you are gonna save (by not buying a new carbon fiber tripod) on compact optics or toward the extra expense of quickloads (if you have to go light, removing 20 film holders (what I usually carry) are gonna lighten your pack a lot more than the difference in weight between a carbon and aluminum tripod).

Re: Computars

 

I own a few Computars and have been very happy with thier performance (a 210mm Computar will actually cover 11x14), unfortunately the word is now out on these compact little lenses and the prices have been steadily escalating (i.e. have a look at auction #7568710116 from last week). The Graphic Kowa lenses do not appear to have quite the coverage of the Computars, but an equally compact 210mm f9 Kowa will still cover 8x10 and would probably be available for a more reasonable price.

I am total agreement with Michael - set no reserve and let the market decide - that is kind of the point of putting something on the auction block. If you want to know what to expect beforehand - a simple search revealed these auctions --> 7567447676, 7566882647, 7565101988

Hi Aaron,

 

Answers to a few questions will probably help:

 

Is your lens in a shutter or barrel mounted? Sounds like a barrel mount, but if it is in a shutter, what kind of shutter is it mounted in? (i.e. a No. 5 Ilex / universal?)

 

Is the lensboard on your camera removable?

Something else to keep in mind if you don't want to invest a mint in bayonet filters in several sizes --> You can use gel filters with many of the lens hood / shade systems available and they do make adapters to go from Bayonet filter mounts to the Cokin system (which will also allow you to use square filters from Singh-Ray, Tiffen, Hi-Tech and others).

While Toyo only makes a 12mm recessed field board now, they used to also make one that was recessed about an inch, that can still be found used if you keep your eyes open. This is what I am using for my 65mm S.A. - from the standpoint of movements, it is definitely preferable, but the downside is that it makes it harder for those of us with sausage fingers to adjust the shutter...

Have you considered an old 35mm rangefinder? They are pretty "pocketable", will produce much better results than a 110 and there are many that can be had for <$25 (i.e. why not look on eBay for an old Canonet, Konica S2, or something similar)

Jenny - if you haven't found the site already, have a look at http://www.largeformatphotography.info/ - there is piles of great information for the beginner Large Format photgrapher there.

Richard,

 

Are you sure the problem is light leakage and not something related to the development of the film? I personally really dislike those Yankee tanks (could the tank be leaking light through the lid?). Even if your Acros is coming out, I would suggest doing a test developing your negatives in a regular darkroom tray.

 

Regards.

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I will second Kent - you may also wish to consider 4x5. The movements offered by a large format camera can give you almost limitless depth of field in many landscape situations. A Tachihara or old Super Graphic and lens can be had for less than all but the least expensive Digital SLR and lens set-ups (or look for used gear - large format is a buyer's market these days). You can spend some of the difference on a scanner with transperency adapter (if you don't have one already) and have no problem producing super sharp 30"x40" prints if you choose.

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