michael_abbott2

Hi Zelph, J. Nanian, Thanks for your guidance. Good advice no matter what the format - 1 camera, 1 lens. Regards, M. A.

Hi Gareth, There's no way I'll ever have the room to devote to a bona fide dark room, but I'm sure large format printing is incredible. I still remember the printing I first did when I got my Mamiya RB67 and compared it to my Canon F1n in the eighties. Hi Rodeo Joe, One of the things I have found difficult is locating what appear to be decent quality DDS's. I 've not found any new ones in the UK and those I've seen on used dealer web sites and on that auction site don't seem to upto much. However, there does seem to be more hope in the US so might have to resort to that eventually. Regards, M. A.

Hi Bob, Thanks for that info. This whole thing is beginning to look suspiciously like the mine field that I thought it might be. I think I've got a plan though - following Andrews advice, I'll save up for a while with view to buying a system I.e. Camera either a field or a monorail, lens(es)' film holders etc. Rather than trusting to mail order dealers/ eBay that way, hopefully all will be well. While I'm doing this I plan how to prosess my negs/transparencies - I can't ever see me having the room for a full on darkroom as I used to have, but a dark space to load and process is doable. Regards, M. Abbott.

Hi Andrew, I'm in the north of the U.K. - York. There doesn't seem to be any dealers anywhere around. There's Robert White down in Dorset. The kit I've seen on the 'net is a dealer near Inverness! Maybe it's a LF desert near me.... Regarding the type of photography, landscape, architecture, still life, maybe portraits. So bellows extension not that important apparently. Regards, M.

Hi Bob, Jochen, Thanks for your contributions. It just underlines the ease with which I could spend a lot of cash on stuff that won't work together. It had never occurred to me about bellows extension or rather compression in the case of infinity focusing. Is there a way to find out what bellows extension equates to whether a particular lense can focus to infinity. Regards, Michael.

Hi Andrew, Thanks for that. Now I appreciate that the number on associated with lens board corresponds with shutter to be used. That alone will make it easier to decide on what to go for. Regards, Michael.

Hi All, I've been thinking about moving into LF for a long while now on and off. One thing that stops me every time form making a purchase is the sheer variety of gear. Unless I but a complete ready to go rig - Technikarden + lenses etc I have no idea what is compatible with what. Example: I really like the look of a wooden field camera like the Shen Hao TZ45 (new) and a Nikon 135mm f5.6 or Fujinon 90mm f8 (both used). The Shen Hao I think comes with type 0 lens board, so, would those lenses be ok? Also would I need bag bellows for the 90mm? Which film holders would I need - Fidelity or Graflok. Apart from making mistakes, how do you go about finding out about compatibility between everything. BTW. I've had 35mm (Canon FD) and medium format (Mamiya RB67) in the past so am familiar with film in general. Now using a Nikon D700 + 35 f2, 50 f1.4, 24 f3.5 PC-E, and 105 f2.8 macro. Regards, Michael.