OT - Large format
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OT - Large format
In large format still photography, what exactly is the difference between a field camera and a view camera?
Re: OT - Large format
A field camera is a view camera, but a view camera is not always a field camera. There are view cameras that are nothing more than studio cameras, large cameras that do not fold down for portability and travel. Field cameras are designed to fold down for travel and portability. I've seen view cameras on wheeled pedestals that would make television studio cameras look small and would be difficult to fit in a compact cars trunk. I've also seen field cameras of comparable size, but that fold down quite a bit for travel.Actor wrote:In large format still photography, what exactly is the difference between a field camera and a view camera?
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rollemfilm
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A view camera has more technical movements than a field camera. Like the older Graflex cameras. The Crown Graphic is a limited press camera with forward tilt, drop bed and a few other nice touches. But this camera would not be the best camera for architecture, you would need a technical camera.
But large format cameras, 4X5 & 8X10 are still used. A good Crown or Speed Graphic camera is a good process camera to use for making interesting titles and shooting kinestasis images lighted from behind.
But large format cameras, 4X5 & 8X10 are still used. A good Crown or Speed Graphic camera is a good process camera to use for making interesting titles and shooting kinestasis images lighted from behind.
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monobath
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My 8x10 Deardorff is my field camera. It weighs about 12 pounds without a film holder or a lens. It folds up like a clamshell into a box about 13x13x4 inches. It has the basic movements, front and rear tilts and swings, front rise, but no rear rise or front or rear shifts. It's a little rickety compared to a studio camera, especially with a big heavy lens on it like my 610mm APO-Nikkor.
My 8x10 Cambo Legend PC is a BIG metal monorail behemoth that probably weighs 30 pounds and is suitable only for use in a studio. It is a view camera. It can be used with a tripod, but it is typically used with a studio camera stand. It has every camera movement ever dreamed of, including base tilts. It locks down solid as a rock, and it can handle my heaviest lens, a Rodenstock 480mm Sironar-N, with aplomb.
They are both 8x10 cameras, but the similarity ends there. They serve completely different purposes. You could take the Cambo in the field if you are really crazy, but you'd best have an assistant. You could use the Deardorff in the studio, but you'd be limited by it's field compromises, especially in the area of stability and movements.
I also have an 8x20 Korona made around 1910 to 1920. It weighs less than my Deardorff, and is correspondingly flimsier. It was designed as a banquet camera for talking large group shots, but it works pretty well in the field.
I'm looking for a good affordable 11x14 field camera. Anyone have one for sale?
BTW, several companies still manufacture large format cameras. Anything bigger than 8x10 is considered Ultra Large Format (ULF).
Some of the prettiest LF and ULF cameras built today are made by Wisner, in 4x5 all the way up to 20x24. Lotus in Austria makes the same range of sizes. Some other companies making LF cameras in various sizes, Arca Swis, Calumet, Cambo, Kieth Canham, Ebony (Japan, the prettiest and most expensive field cameras made today), Gandolfi in the UK, Gowland, Horseman, Ikeda, Linhof, Dick Phillips, Shenhao (Chinese, very affordable and good quality field cameras), Silvestri, Sinar, Tachihara, Toyo, Walker, Wehman, and Zone VI. There are probably a few more.
Unbeknownst to most people, perhaps, LF is still popular and interest is growing, with 4x5, 8x10, and 5x7 being the most popular sizes, in that order. Kodak, Ilford, Fuji, Efke, Bergger, Forte, Maco, and a couple others make LF sheet film. Tungsten and Daylight balanced color transparency or neg up to 8x10 is common, with limited special order availability for larger sizes. B&W negative is available from 4x5 up to 20x24.
You'll find lots of good information and a good LF forum at Large Format Photography and a number of other sites, if you are interested. [/url]
My 8x10 Cambo Legend PC is a BIG metal monorail behemoth that probably weighs 30 pounds and is suitable only for use in a studio. It is a view camera. It can be used with a tripod, but it is typically used with a studio camera stand. It has every camera movement ever dreamed of, including base tilts. It locks down solid as a rock, and it can handle my heaviest lens, a Rodenstock 480mm Sironar-N, with aplomb.
They are both 8x10 cameras, but the similarity ends there. They serve completely different purposes. You could take the Cambo in the field if you are really crazy, but you'd best have an assistant. You could use the Deardorff in the studio, but you'd be limited by it's field compromises, especially in the area of stability and movements.
I also have an 8x20 Korona made around 1910 to 1920. It weighs less than my Deardorff, and is correspondingly flimsier. It was designed as a banquet camera for talking large group shots, but it works pretty well in the field.
I'm looking for a good affordable 11x14 field camera. Anyone have one for sale?
BTW, several companies still manufacture large format cameras. Anything bigger than 8x10 is considered Ultra Large Format (ULF).
Some of the prettiest LF and ULF cameras built today are made by Wisner, in 4x5 all the way up to 20x24. Lotus in Austria makes the same range of sizes. Some other companies making LF cameras in various sizes, Arca Swis, Calumet, Cambo, Kieth Canham, Ebony (Japan, the prettiest and most expensive field cameras made today), Gandolfi in the UK, Gowland, Horseman, Ikeda, Linhof, Dick Phillips, Shenhao (Chinese, very affordable and good quality field cameras), Silvestri, Sinar, Tachihara, Toyo, Walker, Wehman, and Zone VI. There are probably a few more.
Unbeknownst to most people, perhaps, LF is still popular and interest is growing, with 4x5, 8x10, and 5x7 being the most popular sizes, in that order. Kodak, Ilford, Fuji, Efke, Bergger, Forte, Maco, and a couple others make LF sheet film. Tungsten and Daylight balanced color transparency or neg up to 8x10 is common, with limited special order availability for larger sizes. B&W negative is available from 4x5 up to 20x24.
You'll find lots of good information and a good LF forum at Large Format Photography and a number of other sites, if you are interested. [/url]
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