Monophoto

MR -

 

One trick is to cut notches in the hinge portion of your film holders. If each holder has a unique notch pattern, and if your holders are numbered, then you can correlate your notes to specific sheets of film.

 

I have notched some of my holders - I used a Dremel-type tool to grind a small notch in the hinge. I did this on four holders, so I came up with a notch pattern than involves both the number of notches and the pattern of notches and spaces. The only regret is that while I used the smallest bit that I had in my Dremel set, the notches still are larger than necessary.

Jim -

 

Let me add a few additional thoughts to confuse your decision process even further!

 

I chose the Zone VI lightweight (mahogany/annodized aluminum) and have had it for about four years. Frankly, I believe that I made the right decision when I chose it even though I didn't do a lot of research as part of that process. Some of the factors to consider:

 

1. Appearance - frankly, I thought the high-gloss gold-plated brass on the previous model was kinda tacky.

2. Ability to zero out while setting up the camera. Here I'm reflecting something that I was told rather than something that I experienced myself - but a friend who has had both the Lightweight and previous models told me that the Lightweight has markings and detents that make it much easier to set up the camera in the neutral shift/rise/swing state.

3. Bellows flexibility - the early Zone VI camera (rebadged Wista) had a fixed bellows. I don't have a bag bellows, and after a discussion with the Calumet rep at the LF Conference last month, I probably won't buy one, but if you do want to do extreme wide angle work and want to interchange bellows, that's a concern.

4. Bellows draw - the later models have more bellows than earlier versions, something that is important for close-up work.

5. Ruggedness - the basic design of the Zone VI lightweight is pretty rugged. That said, there are two areas where I am still nervous. The first is that my sense is that the aluminum components would have a greater tendency to bend and deform than would brass. This may be a totally irrational feeling, but it does cause me to worry. The second is that compact design of the camera is very precise, and that means that one has to be careful when folding or unfolding it to avoid binding. In particular, you need to be careful to avoid abrading the bellows. I think this is probably not a problem if you train yourself to do it right, but I can see how you could wear out the bellows if you are careless.

It may be OK - but the prudent approach would be to do a few test exposures before using it on critical subjects.

 

If you find that it's significantly fogged, don't just throw it out. If you know anyone who does serious black and white work, they may be able to use it for dye-dodging.

John -

 

There are basically two choices:

 

1. Leave the film in the holders, and recognize that the number of potentially great images that you will encounter during the trip will increase as the number of remaining unexposed sheets diminishes. That's a corollary of Murphy's Law.

 

2. Take along a few empty film boxes, and transfer the exposed film to boxes while reloading the holders.

 

My wife and I routinely take week-long trips, and my approach is #2. I have three film boxes marked N, N-1 and N+1. Each night, I go into the bathroom in the motel/condo/whatever, stuff the bath mat up against the bottom of the door, and test that with the bathroom lights off, the place is really dark. (Sometimes I have to turn off lights in the room outside the bathroom - always check first to see how dark the bathroom really is.). Then, I unload the holders, and then reload them with fresh film. I have an insulated plastic picnic bag (it was a Kodak giveaway) that I use to shlep along spare film and boxes. I also take a brush to knock any dust or lint out of the holders before reloading, and I have a changing bag (wrapped in a plastic bag) in the picnic bag in case the bathroom can't get dark enough.

 

There is no problem with latent image stability for a few weeks of travel.

I had to leave Springfield early, and I missed that last session.

 

I think Steve Simmons reported in one of the fora that the manufacturers who were represented all essentially said the same thing - they wanted to maintain the status quo, but their ability to do so depended on photographers doing their part by buying the product.

 

My opinion (which ain't worth a whole lot) is that there is going to be a shakeout, but there will be survivors who will continue to make film. However, the price of that film is going to increase. I think it is likely that there will also be a reduction in the number of product offerings, with redundant products and products with low market share (like SFX) disappearing.

There were easily 200 at the LF conference two weeks ago. In my experience, if the size of a population is X, the fraction of the population that will take the time to attend a conference is less than 5% of X. Therefore, I would guess that there are at least 10,000 LF photographers in the US.

Carlos -

 

The instructions say "If the needle does not return to the zero mark when the meter is not in use, adjustment can be made by slowly turning the zero adjustment screw to the right or left until the needle comes to a stop in the center of the zero mark".

 

I opted for the digital version myself, so I have to go by the pictures in the instructions. They appear to show an adjustment screw on the barrel just above the trigger switch.

Edward -

 

Here's a reference:

http://www.intenscreen.com/pdf/INSTALLATION_GUIDE_FORVIEW_CAMERAS.pdf

I even includes pictures for folks like me whose minds never got past kindergarten.

 

Note that these instructions identify that there are two ways the install a fresnel - "Type 1" is the default and is for cameras that were designed with ground glass only. This arrangement has the matte surface facing the lens and the fresnel surface facing the back of the camera.

 

"Type 2" is the opposite configuration and is for "cameras that originally had a Fresnel lens between the camera lens and the ground glass". The instruction list cameras that fall into this category, and one of those listed is the Toyo Field 4x5.

 

So that would imply that you want a Type 2 installation.

Chris -

 

One last thought - be VERY aware of what is going on around you in Rome. In particular, watch out for groups of kids. When we were there a few years ago, I found myself surrounded by a bunch of kids apparently wanting me to make a picture of them. In reality, the kids in front of me were distracting my attention while the ones to the side were unzipping the waist pouch I was wearing. Fortunately, my wife recognized what was happening and chased them away.

 

Have a great time.

I wouldn't discount the possibilities of b/w in Rome. While there are some examples of color there, the textures of the city really respond well to b/w. I especially enjoy walking through the older parts of Trastevere.

 

The advice to take a bus tour on the first day is excellent, but I found that thereafter simply setting out on foot, getting lost, wandering into a small cafe for a wonderful meal or coffee, makes for a memorable adventure.