Shutterbug Strasse

A photographer's haven for the lastest in digital or traditional film cameras.

Use this form to submit comments directly to the Asylum moderators for this forum. We're particularly interested in truly outstanding posts that might be added to our FAQs.
You may also use this form to provide feedback or to call attention to messages that may be in violation of our content rules.

You must login to use this feature.

Inmate Login

By default, logging in will set a session cookie that disappears when you close your browser. Clicking on the 'Remember my Moniker & Password' below will cause a permanent 'Login Cookie' to be set.

Moniker/Username: The Name that you picked or by default, your email. Forgot Moniker?	Examples "Rapper", "Bob W", "joe@aol.com".
Password:	Forgot Password?
	Remember my Moniker & Password ( What's this?)

If you don't have an Asylum Account, you can create one by clicking Here.

Our privacy policy can be reviewed by clicking Here.

Inmate Comments

From:
Your Email:
Subject:

Message Comments

Original Message

RE: thinking of getting into Large Format......

Posted by SteveBrown on June 18, 2011 at 08:08:23:
I have shot a lot of 4x5. I've used old Calumet rail type cameras, a Speed Graphic and a Zone iV, which was by far my favorite (a field camera). As with all things photo, the key is the lenses, I preferred Schneider but they're expensive. In 4x5, as you probably know, you will need a bunch of film holders and if you run out while in the field, changing film is a real hassle, even with the right equipment. Nothing, of course, beats a 4x5 for image quality. If it were me, I'd grab an old Speed Graphic off ebay with a 135mm lens or similar and give it a try, see if you can deal with the complications. Unless you're doing archetectural you really don't need the movable back, so a Graphic is fine. If you like it, go for a nicer camera and resell the Graphic. AFAIK, the Graphics all have a focal plane shutter in the back in addition to the leaf shutters in the lenses, which can be kind of nice.