I'm thinking about buying a large format camera. Just wondering if anybody has any experience with them or knows any decent places to buy them?
(in the UK)
I've heard some other people talk about crown graphic, any good?
i'm looking to do some outdoor stuff aswell as studio things.
The Crown Graphic (CG) was a very popular "press" camera in the 1950s and 1960s. The CG is subordinate to the Speed graphic in that it lacks a focal plane shutter. You must use a lens with, typically, a leaf shutter like a Copal, Compur or Packard shutter.
Since the CG doesn't have a focal plane shutter, it can use short focal length lenses less than 65mm.
All "press" cameras have limited controls; tilts, swings and drops are limited in function. As a result they can be challenging for images which require perspective control or extreme DOF.
Since the cameras have not been in production for so many years, bellows can be a problem replacing although it is possible to have custom bellows made, adapt bellows from other cameras or even fold your own replacement bellows.
So, pros/cons of the various options? Field vs monorail? 4x5 vs 5x7? You guessed it, I've been getting a bit of an itch myself & have started poking around. This really is a sickness.
Oh, and of course it turns out ziggy's BTDT already.
So far I've been eyeing stuff like the simpler (cheaper) Tachihara, Shen Hao, the Bender kit. For me, the aesthetics of it being a wood camera (and possibly built by me) are as much an attraction as the large negative.
Everything in large format is expensive, and everything above 4x5 just gets horribly expensive. Lenses, film, processing and printing are just some of the costs you can expect to incur.
If you don't need the broad tilts, swings etc. of a large format monorail camera you might be happy with a medium format camera and T&S lenses.
Large format film photography is still appropriate for certain fileds like what Marc Muench does for magazine publication, but even that field is changing as dSLRs improve and medium format digital cameras become a more economical alternative and quality improves overall. Large format photography does not guarantee success and indeed often only increases the challenges and expenses of the photographer.
Everything in large format is expensive, and everything above 4x5 just gets horribly expensive. Lenses, film, processing and printing are just some of the costs you can expect to incur.
If you don't need the broad tilts, swings etc. of a large format monorail camera you might be happy with a medium format camera and T&S lenses.
Large format film photography is still appropriate for certain fileds like what Marc Muench does for magazine publication, but even that field is changing as dSLRs improve and medium format digital cameras become a more economical alternative and quality improves overall. Large format photography does not guarantee success and indeed often only increases the challenges and expenses of the photographer.
In February I bought a Toyo 45C with a Rodenstock 150mm lens from a co-worker who hadn't used it in years. Using this camera is nothing like any kind of camera I'd used in over twenty years of shooting. I'm finding myself re-learning stuff I had studied in high school and college but never used. I'm enjoying the total creative control, I'm enjoying even more using black and white film again.
I used it for my first landscape photos in the Lakes region of NH this past weekend.
Living large and loving it!
NavyMoose
Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution.--
Ansel Adams
I have the Rodenstock Sironar-N 150mm, f5.6 in a Copal 0. Very nice performer.
The 150mm is wonderfully sharp and crisp. I photographed a sculpture made of tires and I was able to make out the details of the tire tread in the GG. It is a fascinating kind of camera to play with.
Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution.--
Ansel Adams
Comments
What are you looking to do?
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
I've heard some other people talk about crown graphic, any good?
i'm looking to do some outdoor stuff aswell as studio things.
The Crown Graphic (CG) was a very popular "press" camera in the 1950s and 1960s. The CG is subordinate to the Speed graphic in that it lacks a focal plane shutter. You must use a lens with, typically, a leaf shutter like a Copal, Compur or Packard shutter.
Since the CG doesn't have a focal plane shutter, it can use short focal length lenses less than 65mm.
All "press" cameras have limited controls; tilts, swings and drops are limited in function. As a result they can be challenging for images which require perspective control or extreme DOF.
Since the cameras have not been in production for so many years, bellows can be a problem replacing although it is possible to have custom bellows made, adapt bellows from other cameras or even fold your own replacement bellows.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
Oh, and of course it turns out ziggy's BTDT already.
So far I've been eyeing stuff like the simpler (cheaper) Tachihara, Shen Hao, the Bender kit. For me, the aesthetics of it being a wood camera (and possibly built by me) are as much an attraction as the large negative.
http://www.chrislaudermilkphoto.com/
If you don't need the broad tilts, swings etc. of a large format monorail camera you might be happy with a medium format camera and T&S lenses.
Large format film photography is still appropriate for certain fileds like what Marc Muench does for magazine publication, but even that field is changing as dSLRs improve and medium format digital cameras become a more economical alternative and quality improves overall. Large format photography does not guarantee success and indeed often only increases the challenges and expenses of the photographer.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
http://www.chrislaudermilkphoto.com/
I used it for my first landscape photos in the Lakes region of NH this past weekend.
Living large and loving it!
NavyMoose
Ansel Adams
I have the Rodenstock Sironar-N 150mm, f5.6 in a Copal 0. Very nice performer.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
Ansel Adams