On Choosing A Format

As someone who has struggled over the years to figure out the ideal format with which to shoot black and white landscapes, perhaps there's a lesson here.

First, this is a wonderful time to try a different format of film camera - medium and large format cameras can be had at very reasonable prices and where in the past converting a darkroom to handle larger film was often prohibitively expensive, now you can get 4X5 enlargers for a song. The other day I was offered a horizontal 8X10 enlarger for free - mind you it needed a large room and weighed several hundred pounds and would need an army to move, but still...

Medium Format

There are huge choices of cameras, from 645 to 6X6 to 6X7 and 6X9 cm. Film is still readily available, processing is simple and the quality jump from 35 mm. is huge and well worth the trouble. Medium format can be scanned well with a relatively inexpensive flat bed scanner such as the Epson 4990.

Downsides are the relative lack of zooms and if you insist on Hasselblad lenses, the expense. Let me recommend the Bronica SQ-A as a lovely 6X6 camera with an excellent series of lenses while being reasonably priced on e-bay. Even if you are not enamoured of the square format, the business of flopping the camera over on its side for vertical images is a pain and I would still recommend the 6X6 camera.

You have lots of choice - rangefinder, folding, compact, slr, rotating back, bellows, waist level etc., developing tanks can still handle multiple reels. The majority of my good work over the years has been medium format, starting with the folding Zeiss Ikonta to Yashicamat 124, Mamiya Press, Hasselblad, and Bronica.

Personally I detest rangefinder cameras for landscape - the framing just isn't accurate enough for me. Others really appreciate the reduced weight and bulk of these cameras and certainly the Mamiya 6 and 7 probably have the sharpest lenses available.

Large Format

I got my start by borrowing the local newspaper's Crown Graphic 4X5 they weren't using any more. While its tempting to reject it for the lack of movements and lack of rotating back, truth is that for the majority of landscape work it is all you really need. Forward lens tilt happened when you depressed the bed of the camera (which by the way works better than tilting the lens as it keeps the image circle closer to centred on the film meaning you need less coverage. To my surprise the littly 135 mm. Optar was in fact quite a sharp lens if you didn't use the shift. The camera is solidly made, very light and by folding within itself, well protected for tossing in a backpack. I had a tele-xenar 360 with compound shutter which was quite sharp - it did need a good lenshood to protect it from flare but at 1/5 the price of other telephoto lenses...

I found the Angulon 90 mm. wide angle very disappointing - edge sharpness is terrible - and I had one of the Technica supposedly pick of the litter ones.

In my time I have owned Toyo C - plastic standards actually move and stay out of alignment - Wisner Traditional - sloppy fit so that it doesn't set up square either - buy boy, it sure was pretty - original Zone VI (Tachihara? or Wista) that I unaffectionately referred to as 'old shakey' - a variety of Technikas - and my all time favourite, my 1950's Color Kardan (see my review on Large Format Photography).

People say they like the slow contemplative style of large format, frankkly I never understood - I am very slow with my DSLR and couldn't work fast enough with my view camera - landscape lighting often changes and the ideal light is fleeting. Wind which was non existent as you stopped the car, comes up just as you pull out the dark slide. I always aimed for a large format system that was the most comfortable and natural working and had no vices which slowed me down.

The real reason to go for large format is either you need tilts or you need a the biggest damn negative you can afford and carry equipment for. If you are printing wet , then you might also want it to correct verticals, if scanning and printing inkjet, then I'd correct verticals in Photoshop. Of course there is an image associated with being a large format photographer - people take you more seriously - you get to work with cool equipment and do arcane things, strangers stop to talk to you (whether you want them to or not).