ed_brock2

I would also recommend a geared head. Remember, you will be viewing an upside down image - - - moving the camera left when all your senses say move it right. Getting everything just right and finding your bubble level is not square with the horizon. Trying to tweak one axis when the other two are perfect is easier said than done with a ball head. I have the compact 410 geared head mentioned above and thought that its weight of 3 lbs. might make it a "sometimes carry" rather than an "always carry" item. I was wrong and instantly spoiled by its precision.

Jim: I shoot with the Fuji 240mm and also with a lens 2 1/2 stops brighter - the Schneider 80 XL f. 4.5. I am also in the unique situation of being blind. Almost totally without vision - and blind enough to require a guidedog full time. I find the Schneider is bright in the center but falls off darker than the Fuji on the edges, even with a fresnel. I must get my head lined up just right before the image appears on the Fuji. But then I can easily see everything. With my vision loss, one thing that helps me is a home-made viewing hood. A 45 degree mirror with black triangular cardboard flaps that pops on the back of my 5x7 Canham with shock cords - one for horiz. and a longer one for vert. These fold flat and I have yet to break one of the mirrors. This blocks out lots more light than with a darkcloth alone, gives me an upright image, and allows me to move my head around to look at corners and edges of the ground glass.

I don't believe you are going to find panoramic trays off-the-shelf. I looked everywhere many years ago when I started shooting the 6x17 format. I eventually had a sheet-metal shop fabricate 10x24" stainless, nesting trays. They are wonderful, but also heavy and were very expensive. If I had it to do all over again I would go to the local plastics supply and get 1/4" ABS or Plexi. If you don't have access to a table saw, the plastics suppliers will typically cut pieces for a nominal cost. You then tape them together and introduce the appropriate ABS or Plexi cement (also available from the plastics suppliers) which wicks into the joints and gives you waterproof custom-sized trays in minutes. This will save you a lot of chemistry over the years and another bonus - will take up a fraction of space compared to standard trays. I also shoot 5x7 and have devised a way to use the same trays for that format. I place my exposed enlarging paper inside a 8" diameter ABS tube (avalable at Lowe's)which is open at both ends. This tube then goes in my panoramic trays and is rotated in a small amount of chemistry. This gives me prints up to 18x24". Good luck.

ABC Imageing in VA is set up to optically print the 6x17 format and their prices are reasonable. They even offer automated prints from that negative format. I had a first generation Linhof 6x17 before my present Canham and ABC printed some of the negs from that camera up to 10 feet wide with very good results. I have a 5x7 enlarger for printing both 5x7 and 6x17 B&W. I have my 6x17 color neg processed locally then make B&W contacts myself before selecting a neg to enlarge.

Don't discount the 410 Compact

Geared Head from Manfrotto. I purchased one a year ago after reading an article in View Camera Magazine recommending it. It is small, light and precise. I use it with a metal Canham 5x7 and it is beefy enough to hold the camera tilted over and pointing straight down.

I use HP5 on a regular basis in 5x7 and in 120. I process both in Patterson daylight rollfilm tanks using the same time/temperature charts. There seems to be no difference in contrast. I would suspect your lens. I develop @ 68 degrees for 11 min. with 10 sec agitation per min. (3-4 inversions). This is with D76 @ 1:1. By the way, there is a better way of getting the sheet film into the Patterson tank. Some use rubber bands to hold the film into a folded "taco". I use "Taco Sacks" (fiberglass screen fabric sewn into tubes)to hold the sheet film into folded "tacos" inside the Patterson tank. I can then stack 3-4 sheets of 5x7 per layer depending on if they are folded into long or short "tacos". If you are using 4x5 you would be able to get 12 into the deep version of that tank.

I can still remember instructions included with a changing tent I bought about 30 years ago. "Always insert your arms in PAST your elbows". Light does not want to turn a corner. I have lost count of the times I've used it outside in direct sunlight - yes it gets unbarebly sweaty in there to the point of dripping wet, but I've never had a light leak. Trust it.

You can buy black totally lightproof ripstop nylon by the yard from Campmor. I did something I've not seen others do. Cut a hole in the "front" of the dark cloth for your largest lens and sew elastic in a pocket around this hole or put in a drawstring. It stays on the camera ,the dark cloth never ends up covering the lens and avoids velcro all over the place.

Let me add one more option if you are on a budget and dont' like working in the dark. It is the newly discovered "taco" method whereby sheets of film are folded in half and secured with a rubber band then inserted into a Patterson roll-film daylight tank. If you find one of the deep tanks, it will accept a dozen 4x5's. Processing is done with the lights on where it is easy to monitor temp. and time and see the chemistry. If this is of interest, more info can be found on this forum re. this method.

What's wrong with this picture? Me under the dark cloth with my 5x7 Canham and my guide dog "Vermont" leashed to my belt and patiently waiting. Being almost totally blind and hooked on large format makes for some great conversations.

Aluminum foil from the nearest grocery store will provide a completely light tight wrapper. Wrap it once with the folds on the bottom then again with folds on the top. Store it where it cannot be nicked or perforated. I've used this many times over the last 40+ years and it has never failed.

I shoot 5x7 and use Fidelity holders. Quite often the film slips out

of its recessed area and slides under the hinged end (loading side)

of the holder and masks off 1/2 inch or so of the image. I regularly

tap the other end of the holder before placing it in the camera, but

this obviously does not guarantee it has moved back to the original

position. It is very disappointing to have moved up to large format

with all of the time-consuming control, then not get the full image I

saw on the groundglass.

I am noticing the rear element of my lenses is much smaller in

diameter than the front. I am thinking about adapting my screw-in

glass filters to that smaller size. It would seem that I could get

by with much smaller filters - especially for wide angle lenses. Or

is this not true? There must be other considerations or everyone

would be doing this?

Thanks to all of you for a mountain of advice. I've weighed pros and cons and have decided to go with the newly discovered Patterson/Taco method. I can't believe there is such an elegantly-simple way to process sheet film. I tested it yesterday. Three rubber-banded 5x7 sheets fit perfectly in place of two 120 reels. The deep Patterson tank holds 6 sheets of 5x7 (12 if you are shooting 4x5 - three layers of 4 sheets ea). A bonus for me since I use the Canham 5x7 with 6x17 back, is that I can process 3 sheets of 5x7 and 3 rolls of 120 in the same tank at the same time. I think I have just died and gone to heaven, or maybe this is all just a dream. Yesterday I processed sheet film with the ease of developing a roll of 35mm. Thanks again!!!

I currently process my B&W 5x7 in home-made black PVC tubes with

light traps, so after loading them, everything takes place in

daylight. My problem is that I am limited to 4 sheets - all that I

can juggle (keeping all of them rolling in a tempering solution while

maintaining the right temp. and changing out chemicals in tubes at

one min. intervals.) I've processed 50 sheets so far with perfect

results, but this has no future. This all leaves my brain fried

compared to tank processing of 35mm & 120. To work in pitch

blackness in open trays and risk uneven development and scratches for

me is also not an option. Are there other alternatives? Can the

Jobo Expert Drums be used alone, without the processing machine?

Sorry, but I'm new at this and could find no answers in the film

processing archives.

I'm looking for more emulsion options than are offered in 5x7. Are

there any inherent problems in cutting down 8x10? I think I could

notch the sheets (every other one) with a paper punch and cut them

down easily using a paper cutter with a taped guide. Will labs

accept sheet film which they cannot identify via notches? Will the

10" dimension of 8x10 film fit 5x7 holders when cut in half or is

there anything weird going on with sheet film dimensiions?