mb81

<p>I was planning on returning the lens at first. But when I took the camera to a store and tested other ZM lenses and none of them worked, i realized there is a larger problem. <br>

I tested their ZM 25mm f2.8, 35mm f2, and 50mm f2. None would lock. Then I put on all of my lenses which all locked in just fine.</p>

<p>I recently decided to purchase a new Zeiss Biogon-C 21mm lens for my Leica M6 TTL, but was shocked when it would not fit. The mount is an M mount and it will fit perfectly, but will not lock in place. I do not want to try to force anything.<br>

I took my camera to a local camera store and tried their ZM lenses, and none of theirs would fit either, but they WOULD fit on THEIR Leica MP and M8.2 bodies.<br>

At first I thought something was wrong with my camera, but.. All of my Leica lenses as well as the Leica lenses in the store fit my camera with no problem.<br>

Has this happened to anyone else? I am a bit upset by this, as well as confused.<br>

I have a Leica M6 TTL .85</p>

I think that PlusX in D76 is a bad choice. When enlarged more than 6x9" it gets a bit grainy. I think you will find that Ilford Delta 100 is an excellent film for what you are looking for.

 

I have gone up to 12"x18" with this film (35mm) and you can hardly see any grain.

Sorry, here is the shot.<div></div>

Simon,

 

Black and white film will last a very long time if kept in "normal" conditions. Below is a link to at photo that I shot on 10 year expired kodak HIE in 4x5. the results were beautiful. The only problem was, when enlarges to 16x20 you can see some pinholes.

Thanks for the answers guys. I found two problems. The first is that yes, it Must have a presoak. With most of the 320 and 400iso films that I use it is not needed. Second is that I found out that this film is formulated for use mainly with pyro. I was told by another user of this film in 8x10 that he had the same problem until he started using pyro with it. Now he has no problems.

 

As far as getting the stuff, I never had any problems getting it. Just ordered it off their website. But keep in mind that 8x10 is in much less demand than 4x5 and 120, so that may be why it has been out of stock in those sizes.

Troy is right about the front tilts. I have gotten tack sharp landscapes at f8 just by using a simple front tilt. When shooting at f64 you are almost always going to be shooting at speeds of 1/2 and slower, which can be a large problem if there is even a slight breeze out (ie. trees blow, and even camera movement at times).

 

Also, I am going to clarify what Keith was saying. He is saying no rear movements, but I think he means no rear SWINGS. Almost all field cameras have a bit of rear tilt.

All of the lenses that you listed are of very good quality. You may want to look into the calumet Caltar lenses also. These are lenses made by rodenstock and schneider (depending on the model) and relabeled by calumet for a cheaper price. Remember that for a 4x5 camera a "normal" focal length is 6" or 150mm and for an 8x10 it is 12" or 300mm.

As far as bodies go, A field camera is much better for what you want to use it for. Rail cameras are pretty bulky and unless you want to dissassemble the camera after every use, you will need to carry around a huge carrying case with you. The only real advantage rail cameras have over field cameras is that Rail cameras have rear swings, which can be very helpful. Most field cameras dont have this feature. I think you would be much more happy with a field camera.

I was told a while back that if you dont use a "friendly" LF camera when starting, you can learn to hate LF very quickly. Now, I never had that experience, but I still thought it was good advice.

I am and 8x10 shooter and about about 2 years ago I started shooting with

JandC 400. I found this film to be incredible. Honestly up to par with Tri-

X, for half the price! The box was labeled ADOX.

Now, several months ago, I decided to try out their (JandC) 100 ISO film due

to the super low price of $16.99 for 25 sheets. I read a lot about pinholes

and uneven coating, but never anything about uneven development problems.

Now, I know in most cases this is the photographers fault, but I have never

had this problem with any other film, Not even the JandC 400.

All sheets were tray processed, and it seems that in the dense areas of EVERY

negative (roughly 100 sheets) there is uneven development. I keep wanting to

blame my technique, but it doesnt make sense that this is the only film I've

had this problem with.

 

So, my questions are, Has anyone else had this problem? and Who is the

manufacturer of this film? (so i know what not to buy). Thanks for all

comments.

Ilfochrome prints (positive to positive) are by far the most beautiful color prints you can get. But, the paper and chemicals are very expensive.

Although I dont print digital, I have seen some very nice digital prints from trancparencies. Jock Sturges scans all of his 8x10 trancparencies and prints them digitally.

If you dont have the time or money for Ilfochrome, an Epson Ultrachrome or K3 print is your next best bet.

Good luck.

Take a meter reading off of the brightest side of the model, then open the lens up one stop.<div></div>

I shot about 200 8x10 sheets of the Foma 200 creative and found it to be very very soft. The highlights have the trademark glow of old films that Foma is known for, but I found it very difficult to get a nice print out of the stuff without using at LEAST a 3 1/2 contrast filter.

Very impressive. Adams and Weston would be proud. A nice site.

I've actually seen a 90mm lens cover 8x10. It all depends on the lens. But with a lens that wide, you would want an 8x10 camera that focuses with the rear standard rather than the front.

Toyo 8x10's are great cameras. Sally Mann has used a Toyo M for years. The price is a bit steep. I would offer $1000 if it had a lensboard, but then again, Lensboards for Toyos are fairly small and inexpensive.

Also, you may want to ask yourself what you will be using this camera for. If you shoot in the field, a rail camera may proove to be a bit much for you and you might consider a field camera.

This is a common problem with European films. The holders in Europe are slightly larger than the ones in America, so if your film is a little too large, then you may have gotten a batch that was not cut down for American holders.

 

I shot Foma 200 in 8x10 for about a year and found that it was always a little too small for my holders, leaving uneven "large format contact borders". I eventually gave up using Foma films. I found the negatives to always be a bit flat.

Use the Arista films. It will be much cheaper and less of a hassle. Arista is just a name for repackaged name brands that cannot be sold for so cheap, so Freestyle gave the Arista name to them.

 

Arista II film is AGFA film. I believe it is APX 100.

 

Arista.EDU film is FORTE film. I would not recommend this stuff as it can be inconsistant.

 

Arista.EDU ULTRA film is repackaged FOMA film. This stuff is a nice very smooth toned old fashioned emulsion.

 

I hope this helps.

I carry on all of my 8x10 film. For a while, I would have TSA hand check my film bag, and a lot of the time they would just wipe the boxes down with that bomb detecting stuff, but on occasion, they would be pain in the asses and demand the boxes open. For this I carry an Extra Large changing bag. After they check the boxes, make sure that you recheck them before taking them out of the bag, due to the fact that they may not have put the boxes back together correctly.

 

More often than not, these days, they want to check the boxes, so I just have them go through the X-Rays by security. I have never had a problem with fogging. The Security area X-Ray machines are not very powerful. DO NOT send your film with your under the plane luggage because thoses X-Rays will fry your film.

 

FED EX does not do any X-Raying, but when sending a lot of film, it can get a bit expensive.

T-Max films have a deep purple backing layor that can be a pain to get off if you are using even slightly exausted fixer. This can be changed by fixing longer, or by using new fixer.

Go to any Pro Photo store (not in the mall) and ask them for a small bottle of HYPO-CHECK.

This stuff comes in a small little squeeze bottle. Just add Two drops into your fixer. If nothing happens, your fixer is still good. If the drops turn into a bright white snot looking blob, then it is time to get new stuff.

Any kind of Hypo clearing agent will work. I have found that Perma Wash works much better on EVERYTHING including Polaroid Type 55 negatives. After Clearing, refix the negative in some hardening fixer though, due to the fact that they are very soft and scratch easy, then use Permawash again and wash for 10 minutes.

The Fujinon-W 250mm F6.7 will cover 11x14 with NO movements. This lens is tack sharp and light as well (copal 1). I dont know if you can go much wider that though, and still get movements.

This was Jock Sturges lens of choice on his 8x10 for years before recently switching over to a Rodenstock 240mm f5.6.

I use the Fujinon on my 8x10 and can use pretty extreme movements.

 

NOTE: The F6.7 has more coverage than the F6.3 version.

Large Format photography is an artform in itself. I am an 8x10 shooter, and I get asked daily, WHY? Well, its not just the beautiful contacts and enlargements I can make, but it is the whole process. You really need to involve yourself and commit yourself to working in Large Format. And after struggling a bit in the beginning, it is well worth it.

But.... I would highly suggest taking a class in large format before buying one. A LF camera is very basic, but can be very complicated.

 

You must learn how to use movements correctly, and when you do learn, you will be amazed at what you can do. Also, it is very important to learn about Bellows Draw and Reciprocity Failure. Once you get these things down, LF starts to be a lot of fun.

 

As a First LF camera, I would highly suggest the Cambo/Calumet 4x5 rail cameras. You can get a great setup (sometimes with a lens) on ebay for around $250=400. 4x5 film is more like $1.00 a sheet, not $4.00, so there is a little fresh air for you.

 

Good luck. Oh, and as said many times above, dont get ride of your MF gear. Like I said, I shoot 8x10 but every once and a while, I really enjoy pulling out my Mamiya 6x6.

Ilfochrome is expensive and TOXIC. If you develop in trays, you need to have a venting system, as well as a mask, goggles and gloves.

Temp, usually has about a 3 degree lat. So you dont have to worry too much.

Just process the shots the same way you would black and white. Remember to have complete darkness and vents.

The only problem with enlarging NC is its softness. I have found that it is much more difficult to focus in under the enlarger.

The nice thing about Color film these days though, is that you can enlarge the heck out of them and not get super grainy images.

The only films I have had grain problems with are (all in 35mm) Portra 800 , and Portra 400 UC. If you want get rid of that problem, you may want to consider medium format.

As for paper, it really depends on what you want in the end. I use Kodak papers. Kodak suggests that you match the paper name to the film (portra, supra, ultra). Each paper has a little more contrast than the previous. I use Supra for almost everything. I hope this helps.

Dektol will just give you very high contrast. If you want good grain in this film, Develop in D76 stock, and for the agitation, rather than only inverting the tank a few times, shake it pretty well during the complete agitation cycle.

 

The shaking will not only increase contrast a bit, but will give you great grain. Be carfull not to shake too hard or you will get sprocket surging.