dave_d2

<p>Picked up a Rodenstock APO Sironar-N 360mm f/6.8 for a little under $400. Included the Cambo board.<br> IC is 435mm. With the Cambo 8x10 plus this lens, I'm wondering if my tripod will be up to the task.<br> Bogen 3021 (3221) with the 3055 Heavy Duty Ball head.<br> I probably won't be doing an steep angles, so the stress on the ball should be minimal.<br> Camera arrives Friday, so we'll see ... ...</p>

<p>I picked up a Cambo 8x10 Legend with an 8x10 and 4x5 back. Entirely impractical for field work,<br /> but we have a very bright room where I'll set it up.<br /> Now the lens. The Cambo has 705mm reach. I'm considering a Fujinon W 250mm f/6.7, which has<br /> a 398mm image circle. The lens falls within my lens budget (350). For portraits, my thinking is<br /> that I can either (a) shoot 8x10 at close to 1:1, or (b) put the 4x5 back on, in which case it<br /> it the ideal portrait lens. I might also checkout the Nikkor-M 240mm f/5.6, to get me a brighter<br /> finder for indoor focusing.</p>

<p>Sheldon - Your photographs have spoken a thousand words. I will take the liberty of speaking for all of us on this thread and say you have done some very special work. I am going to keep an eye out for a similarly cost-effective setup. I can only hope that it goes a fraction as well for me.</p>

<p>Hi Folks.<br> I'm looking to trigger the 645 AF for self-family portraits.<br> There's a guy on eBay selling what is claimed to be a new Mamiya RS 402 for around $50.<br> A few questions:<br> 1) Did Mamiya make such a remote? I cannot find documentation anywhere that I've looked.<br> 2) Since the "402" doesn't have a delay mode, I'd have to set the delay via the 645 AF bodies self timer.<br> I'm curious to know if the body supports this, or if it only supports instant-fire triggering. Kind of a<br> problem since it's infrared and I need to point the remote at the body.<br> 3) Would the autofocus be disabled or not? There may be times when I actually want autofocus left on,<br> as we shift around during final poses. I've usually do M/F with the self timer and I lose a few to bad<br> focus during jostling around.<br> <br> Thanks.</p>

<p>I've had great results with him on MF, so I'm sure I'll get a few keepers on LF.<br> Yes, I do feel an urgency with this. The good news is that these 4x5 views are much<br> less expensive that the field cameras. Since this is single purpose, I'll hunt for a Toyo C<br> and look for a 250 to help keep the heft down. Maybe shoot a little wider than head/shoulders<br> for the first few sessions. It'll all be outdoor natural light - cloudy bright kind of thing.<br> Can't wait. I had a D700 (for a very short time) and never felt this anticipation. Boy I love film. </p>

<p>I'm now sufficiently reality checked on this idea.<br /> Frankly my LF experience was limited to wide landscapes on a field camera. My movements<br /> were basic perspective correction. LF portraiture, seems a whole 'nother set of skills. While not<br /> beyond me to learn, I was kind of hoping to hit the ground running with this - he's growing quick.<br /> So, I'll respect that I have a lot going against me here and I'd hate to spend 3,000 on 8x10<br /> equipment and film .. and end up with nill. I might lean back toward 4x5, for size, cost, familiarity.<br /> I'm sure he'd equally love some 4x5 silver contact prints some day. And if I ever shoot a ringer,<br /> I'll support my local pro lab and have them blow it up on an archival print.<br /> Question. If I go 300mm on a 4x5, for head/shoulders, do I need to avoid field cameras and<br /> look at a view camera with extension rail? As I said, never shot long lens LF, so I'm unfamiliar<br /> with any techniques/theory there.</p>

<p>Thanks for the input everyone.<br> Since I have to rebuy just about everything LF again, I'll go with 8x10. I wanted to try 8x10<br> anyway, so no time like the present.<br> So, for 8x10 ... sounds like 300mm on the focal for head shots ... and lots and lots of holders.<br> Boy those Toyo 810MII's look nice and portable. Oh, my wife would love that one ;)</p>

<p>I do shoot MF. He's well documented on 6x4.5.<br> I thought about the speed graphic, but the lenses are a bit too wide for head/shoulder w/o distorting features.<br> I'm not envisioning studio, controlled lighting. I'm envisioning outdoor, natural setting, posed, not candid.<br> The 4x5 is great, but I sold off my darkroom years ago thinking I'd be happy enough "scanning" my film.<br> Boy was I wrong about that, to say the least. Contact printing some 8x10's of him is something I'd love<br> to do. Instead of him digging through a bunch of stupid raw digital files, he'll have archival photos, that<br> dad made with his hands. </p>

<p>Just to clarify, I don't own the Toyo 4x5 and longer. I shoot MF. <br> I'd have to buy my LF gear again. I wouldn't mind the 4x5 for this ... but I'm very intrigued by<br> 8x10 and the mystique of making 8x10 contact prints for him to have long after I'm gone.</p>

<p>I have a 4 year old boy and would like to start taking some large format portraits of him.<br> (Insert sounds of everyone laughing)<br> I've shot landscape excursions using a Toyo Field 4x5, but never portraits / close ups / long lenses.<br> I want to compose head/shoulders. Spot focus isn't gonna happen, but is there any way to get a 6-12" D.O.F?<br> Is this just a matter of stopping down, tilting forward and focusing the mid-plane on his eyes?<br> I only shot 65 and 90 lenses for landscape. What are the portraits focal lengths? 210? It would seem that if max DOF is needed, I'd need to stay to the wide end of the portrait lenses (while preserving natural facial features of course).<br> In any case, I don't want to make this a bad experience for either of us. I'd rather wait a couple years, than traumatize the boy with "sit still ... these are $15 per shot!".</p> <p>Any tips / wisdom / warnings appreciated. </p> <p>Thanks.</p>