What's missing in LF newbie online resources?

Stacey wrote in message ...
jjs wrote:


What do you wish you could find, or what do you want to see for LF users?

a)

A LF photographer,other than an aerial photographer, who shoots wide
open, or nearly so. Heresy?

I've been playing with just that using an 8X10 and a 300mm heliar. Just got
this lens sorted out (diaphram was messed up on a sample I could afford),
my other attempts at wide open shooting weren't pretty, they were all done
with tessar clones. Seems many modernish LF lenses have terrible bokeh.
Everyone seems to want the "f64" type shots out of LF, to do anything else
seems to require looking at the older lenses? The heliar seems to fit this
bill as the test shots I did with it look nice, now to find some
interesting subjects to point it at!

Another lens I'd like to play with is a verito, I'd guess it probably has
nice bokeh as well? Any other ideas to try?

Stacey,

Try a Goerz Dagor or Artar. I recently acquired some older lenses from
a local pro who had gotten out of 8x10. Other posts mention using a
Dagor at wider apertures as a portrait lens. The Dagor design is also
convertible by removing the front element, leaving you with a triplet
- triplets seem to also have good bokeh. Unfortunately a couple of
these lenses have sticky shutters (expected for Ilexi of this vintage)
so they are off to the shutter doctor and I haven't gottent to do more
than a couple of tests. Hurrel also reportedly used a Goerz Celor,
which as far as I can tell is a faster, uncoated version of the Artar.
Since he allegedly shot the Celor at f/16, the Artar should reproduce
the look reasonably well, but maybe harder to focus because of the
smaller minimum aperture.

Thanks!

Steve

jjs wrote:

"Bob Monaghan" wrote in message
...
Greetings, Y'all. Maybe what we/steve needs is a more comprehensive
listing, posted periodically (weekly, bi-weekly?) to online LF resources?

[...]

Other resources seem to be missing or scattered, such as comprehensive
listing of:

a) LF books and magazines, with pros/cons reviews and user comments
b) LF rental sources in USA/World, items carried, sortable by brands(xls?)
c) LF price guide for used gear like cameras and lenses by condition
d) LF ads from the past, for fun, old prices, and view of camera and accys

What do you wish you could find, or what do you want to see for LF users?

a)

A LF photographer,other than an aerial photographer, who shoots wide open,
or nearly so. Heresy?

Do it all the time with my f/4 Veritos. The glow disappears rapidly when you
stop down from wide open. Trouble is shooting ISO 400 film in sunlight at f/4
with a Packard or hat. Time to invest in some ND filters. 8^P

Joe

In article , "MikeWhy"
wrote:

[... snip good stuff...]

LF is a mature technology. :-)
[... Mike is talking about the physical design of LF equipment...]

The solutions are
different from how we would design them today. Not that I can think
of a better way; it's just different.

We have here some camera builders, designers and inventors. If you do find
a better design then go for it and in the meantime please share your
frustrations with current designs. Perhaps it will inspire one of us to
share a solution that has already occured and been forgotten, or we might
find something new.

Innovation sometimes occurs in what we could call 'punctuated equilibrium'
in the evolution of mechanical design; the new solution arrives suddenly
and very different and seems so obvious. That's just one quality of a
brilliant invention. Imagine all the 'Eurekas' that have occured in
history. Keep the faith.

In article , Nick Zentena
wrote:

MikeWhy wrote:
[...]
Depends totally on what you're used to. LF cameras that I have seem to
have moved past the point that they require complicated gizmos to prove they
have worth. Everything is dirt simple. Turn the knob and something moves.
Just play a little and it makes sense. Many of todays items need to be
complicated to convince people they haven't wasted thier money. Or at least
it seems that way.

One of the symptoms of the syndrome you speak of is the penchant for
pocket computers or PDAs to do math one can do in his head or from
experience such as bellows extension exposure calculations. It seems so
silly.

In article , Raphael Bustin
wrote:

[... speaking of LF challenges ...]
Oh yes, and figuring out how to schlep all this gear. Ugh.

I am working on a lightweight, all-terain carriage for those of us who
don't believe that the best pictures are really fifty feet from the road;
that don't like flyweight cameras and tripods, and no longer have the
physique that made us hump a 100 pound pack at double-time. I have not
found the commercial carriages helpful, and frankly the new design is not
going well. It really _is_ a challenge. So, if you have insights, let us
know.

In article , Joe Smigiel
wrote:

A LF photographer,other than an aerial photographer, who shoots wide open,
or nearly so. Heresy?

Do it all the time with my f/4 Veritos. The glow disappears rapidly when you
stop down from wide open. Trouble is shooting ISO 400 film in sunlight at f/4
with a Packard or hat. Time to invest in some ND filters. 8^P

Most excellent! Regarding exposure times, of course going to a slower film
doesn't help enough, so you might look to www.surplusshed.com for some
large filters. For example, you can get high-quality filters that fit
(with a little gaffer's tape) the 14" Veritos cheap: a set of three B&W
filters for $15. (ND filters that large... dunno.)

See this link: http://www.surplusshed.com/pages/item/m9014.html

That sounds like an ad, but it's not. It's just a great deal.

On Sat, 07 Feb 2004 08:44:20 -0600, (jjs)
wrote:

In article , Raphael Bustin
wrote:

[... speaking of LF challenges ...]
Oh yes, and figuring out how to schlep all this gear. Ugh.

I am working on a lightweight, all-terain carriage for those of us who
don't believe that the best pictures are really fifty feet from the road;
that don't like flyweight cameras and tripods, and no longer have the
physique that made us hump a 100 pound pack at double-time. I have not
found the commercial carriages helpful, and frankly the new design is not
going well. It really _is_ a challenge. So, if you have insights, let us
know.


Well, here's a very modest contribution.

Heading on vacation to Maine this last summer,
I took some small but "heavy" terrycloth towels
(face towels?) and sewed them up into pouches.
The pouches are large enough for any of my 35
mm or MF cameras, even with a normal or wide
lens attached.

The physical protection from this pouch is
modest, I admit. But it does keep away dust
and grime and sand, will hold off rain for a
few minutes, and most of all -- is effective at
making the camera look like something other
than a camera.

If the camera, thus enclosed, were in a larger
pack surrounded by soft stuff (eg a jacket or
sweater) it would probably be all you need.

My problem with the professional photo back-
packs is that they address the carrying of the
photo gear, but not any of the other stuff that
you need -- eg., jacket, rain gear, hat, gloves,
food, water, etc.


rafe b.
http://www.terrapinphoto.com

In article , Raphael Bustin
wrote:

[...] -- is effective at
making the camera look like something other
than a camera.

Good point, there. I use inexpensive soft-sided camping cooler packs. They
serve to insulate better than the Zone whatzit and are less conspicuous.
The terrycloth towel idea is great, too. Thanks for that. But I was
thinking of something with wheels.

On Sat, 07 Feb 2004 09:22:36 -0600, (jjs)
wrote:

In article , Raphael Bustin
wrote:

[...] -- is effective at
making the camera look like something other
than a camera.

Good point, there. I use inexpensive soft-sided camping cooler packs. They
serve to insulate better than the Zone whatzit and are less conspicuous.
The terrycloth towel idea is great, too. Thanks for that. But I was
thinking of something with wheels.


Wheels wouldn't work well on the Appalachian
Trail or other similar trails I like to walk. But
I presume you've seen the "Sherpa Cart?"

http://www.sherpacart.com/docs/camp1.htm


rafe b.
http://www.terrapinphoto.com

"Joe Smigiel" wrote


Trouble is shooting ISO 400 film in sunlight at f/4
with a Packard or hat. Time to invest in some ND filters.

Speed Graphic, with it's focal plane shutter, to the rescue!

Actually, at the price of ND filters, $47 a whack for
3" from Calumet, a Speed body would be cheaper than a set of filters.

--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio
Consulting Engineer: Electronics; Informatics; Photonics.