Trenton Davis 6/6/20 Trenton Davis 6/6/20

My First Experience Shooting 4x5 Film

My first experience shooting a 4x5 camera came with a few lessons and areas to grow in. It was quite a fun challenge, however!

BACKGROUND

I’ve owned an early 20th century Speed Graphic since 2017…however, it’s only been until May of 2020 that I’ve finally exposed some Portra 160 with it. My results weren’t bad per se—if anything, at least I know the camera works and I am able to sell it in order to upgrade to a better 4x5 later. I’ll explain why further down.

Speed Graphic + Zeiss Tessar 13,5cm 1:4,5 Kodak Portra 160 — Speed Graphic + Zeiss Tessar 13,5cm 1:4,5
Kodak Portra 160

THE EXPERIENCE

This camera smells old. Like that dusty thrift store kind of old. The box it sits in is rusting around the edges. But thankfully, everything seems to still be intact. The focus rails are smooth to glide the lens down, the lens isn’t sticky at any aperture, the bellows don’t seem to be leaking any light. I think it’s pretty solid for the $250 that I paid for it. The only issue I have with it is it’s lens. Apparently none of the optics are coated so flare control, micro-contrast, and color rendition suffer. And it’s pretty obvious. The image, while somewhat sharp, has a bit of a glow, softness, and harsh vignette to it (which I’m not totally particular to). I much prefer a clean image with micro-contrast and pop all across the glass. It’s an early 20th century press camera with a Zeiss lens that I can’t find much info on anywhere…so, that tells me that it’s nothing that was ever sought after—even with the Zeiss name.

I AM NOT PERFECT

I can’t get ahead of myself when discussing older gear because I am sure I’ve only scratched 5% of what my issues with this first-time-shooting-4x5 are. Maybe I have issues with some of my film holders and light leakage, maybe I have poor quality ground glass for the focus screen, maybe the Zeiss lens is in fact a great lens (however, I feel pretty confident it’s just subpar). At the end of the day, however, this camera was intended for speed and efficiency for journalists and news outlets.

The film I was using was an older box of Portra 160 that I had purchased in 2017 and it has endured a few moves across states, spending time in and out of multiple refrigerators, etc. The first time I opened the box, I actually dropped the naked film onto a dusty basement floor (of course it was in the darkest corner I could find). So, there may be a lot of factors at play here.

RAW scan with the Fuji SP2500 + PS Stitching Speed Graphic + Zeiss Tessar 13,5cm 1:4,5 Kodak Portra 160 — RAW scan with the Fuji SP2500 + PS Stitching
Speed Graphic + Zeiss Tessar 13,5cm 1:4,5
Kodak Portra 160

Color and contrast balanced in PS. Speed Graphic + Zeiss Tessar 13,5cm 1:4,5 Kodak Portra 160 — Color and contrast balanced in PS.
Speed Graphic + Zeiss Tessar 13,5cm 1:4,5
Kodak Portra 160

IMAGE QUALITY

As you can see, I’ve had to do quite a bit of doctoring to the images in post. I’ve enhanced the vibrancy, contrast, and sharpness and gotten results that are passable…but still, there isn’t much point to shooting large format if your glass can’t render the cleanest, brightest, and most pleasing colors to the image as possible.

COST TO SHOOT, DEVELOP, AND SCAN 4X5

Images like the one above hurt the wallet and ego a bit. Between my dad’s confused expression and my blinking eyes, this moment is forever this way. Moments like this aren’t always bad tho. I’ll always prefer mid-reaction shots as I feel that the truest in humanity is revealed in them…but still, shots like this typically don’t end up anywhere other than a post like this.

In total, this shot cost me around $15. Yikes. But solid education and experience is forever priceless.

Speed Graphic + Zeiss Tessar 13,5cm 1:4,5 Heat-exhausted Kodak Portra 160 — Speed Graphic + Zeiss Tessar 13,5cm 1:4,5
Heat-exhausted Kodak Portra 160

SCANNING THE NEG

Fortunately, I have invested into a Fuji Frontier SP3000 scanner and I am able to take total control of the scanning process and achieve fantastic color and sharpness with my negatives. The image of my dad above is my first attempt at scanning a 4x5 negative with the 645 mask. This was stitched together with 8 images but as you can see I missed scanning a few slivers of the negative.

Speed Graphic + Zeiss Tessar 13,5cm 1:4,5

IN CONCLUSION

It’s been a fun experience so far but I know I have a much longer way to go until I start to find results that I am able to showcase. The challenge with 4x5 is that researching large format systems feels like an entirely new language to me. I haven’t found as broad of a community offering as much info as the 35mm and 120 communities do—at least one who all can simultaneously agree on a select few lenses and bodies as the main go-to choice for shooting large format photography. Large format bodies and lenses along with their specs don’t make much sense to me at this point. This will probably be a multi-year quest to find the perfect match for me.

Thank you for sticking around through this post. I’d love to hear any recommendations or comments that you have regarding large format photography, or maybe some criticism on what I could have done better with the images above.

Until next time!
Trent

Trenton Davis 6/15/19 Trenton Davis 6/15/19

London on Film

Some film images of various parts of London, England.

Next to NYC London was the most historically rich and fascinating city I’ve experienced. At just over 600 square miles, London has history along every street, buildings, and grounds. We experienced St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace, Hampton Court Palace, Tower of London, River Thames, , Covent Garden, Winston Churchill War Rooms, an under-construction Big Ben (still spectacular though), Natural History Museum, Camden Market, Notting Hill, Kensington Gardens — it was a lot to fit in inside a weeks stay but we made it work!

St. Paul’s Cathedral

St. Pauls Cathedral has some crazy history. It has caught fire and been destroyed multiple times, lightning destroyed the spire in 1561 A.D., it fell victim to the vikings in 962 A.D., and throughout the centuries its interior and exterior have been expanded time and time again to what it is today. I recommend taking the 528 steps up to the top of the dome to see the entire city of London.

Panoramic view of London from atop St. Paul’s Cathedral Dome. Shot on the X-T20 with the Fujinon 23mm 1.4.

West Minster Abbey

The Westminster Abbey was one of my favorite places to see and learn about. There is an abundance of historically famous figures buried here such as: Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, Charles Dickens, and many many other various figures. They didn’t allow photography inside unfortunately so I can only recommend googling more of it’s history.

Kensington Palace, home of Princes Diana and Prince Charles and Queen Victoria’s Jewels

Kensington Palace | Contax T3 + Portra 160. Scanned on Fuji Frontier SP3000.

QUEEN VICTORIA'S DIAMOND AND EMERALD DIADEM

The Kensington Palace, which resides within Hyde Park, holds a massive collection of crowns and jewels that belonged to members of the royal family such as Queen Victoria and designer Prince Albert. A number of Princess Diana’s dresses are also on display, as well.

Buckingham Palace

Below are some photos of a unique Changing of the Guards, the Horse Guard Parade.

Olympus Stylus Epic + Kodak Pro Image 100

Olympus Stylus Epic + Portra 160. Spot the small plane in the upper-right corner?

Trenton Davis 5/15/19 Trenton Davis 5/15/19

Pentax 6x7 MLU

The Pentax 6x7 is a completely manual medium format film camera. The experience shooting this camera is nothing short of a rush.

kayadam_kayadam-R1-E005_A (1).jpg — Pentax 6x7 MLU

HISTORY:

The Pentax 67 in its time was very popular amongst top editorial and fashion photographers such as Bruce Weber, Terence Donovan, and many many more. It’s picked up popularity again in recent years due to the low cost to jump into the medium format film system. Not only can older 6x7 bodies be found for inexpensive prices but so can the wide range of legendary lenses.

THE EXPERIENCE:

The Pentax 6x7 is a completely manual medium format film camera. The experience shooting this camera is nothing short of a rush. I’ve been shooting on mine since 2013 and I still can’t help but grin every time I hear the shutter clack down followed by the feel of advancing into the next frame. It’s magic, and I’ve never experienced anything else like it in a medium format camera .

The Pentax 6x7 is very reminiscent of a regular 35mm SLR. It even behaves just like a 35mm SLR with it’s TTL viewfinder (optional metered version available), shutter speed dial, manual frame advance lever and the location of the shutter release. It’s similarities are immediately obvious when you first hold one in your hands

The body is made of a strong and durable metal, and it’s clear that it’s able to withstand tough working conditions. Loading film into the body is straight forward and very simple to do but it does take some time to roll the film into the roller. Once you’ve done it a few times, you’ll easily have a body reloaded in under a minute.

LENSES:

The Pentax 6x7 had some of the best lenses developed for it. They are tack sharp, render wonderful color and detail, but even better, they can be purchased on the used market for next to nothing. Keep in mind that multiple versions of the same lenses were released over the years. The most notable changes between these versions are build quality, material, and coating on the lens glass.

PORTRAIT LENSES:

105mm F2.4: It’s no secret that the favorite lens to pair with the Pentax 6x7 is the 105mm F2.4 prime lens. This lens is one of the best I’ve used in film photography. It’s the perfect focal length for portraiture as it best resembles the look of a 50mm on a 35mm body. The color it renders is on par with the legendary Zeiss T* coated line. It’s amazingly sharp and they can be found on the used market for just a couple hundred dollars. If you’re considering picking up a Pentax 6x7, then this lens is a must have in your bag.
PRICE: $250 - $350

WIDE ANGLE LENSES:

55mm F4: As for wide angle lenses, you have some options here. There is a 45mm F3.5 and a 55mm F4 that most shooters will choose from. I ended up going with the 55mm F4 as I heard it performed better than the 45mm in terms of barrel distortion, hazing and artifacts. But mileage may vary for each user. I’ve been extremely happy with my 55mm and don’t plan on using anything else any time soon. It reminds me of the first time that I shot full-frame where the subjects in the photograph just seemed to pop out of the frame. Almost in a 3 dimensional way.
PRICE: $150 - $250

TELEPHOTO LENSES:

200mm F4: For those who shoot a lot of landscape work, consider the 200mm F4. I’ve used this lens extensively when I want tighter framing of a mountain range. Color and sharpness is just as fantastic as the 55mm and 105mm.
PRICE: $50 - $100.

FILM:

The Pentax 6x7 shoots 120/220 format film and limits you to either 10 or 20 shots. That hasn’t been any issue for me as I cherish and plan for each shot I execute. Trust me, you’ll love all the detail that each shot captures. It’s fantastic.

ACCESSORIES:

Waist-level viewfinder: for landscape photography and semi-discrete street shooting, and it’s nice to have an idea of what the final frame will look like as if you were looking at a print just feet away from your face.
Shutter release cable: for slower shutter speeds and best camera stabilization.
Wooden handle: For better grip and handling, but I feel it just gets in the way. It’s eye-catching out in public though.
Tube extension set #1, #2, #3, & #4: for closer portraits and macro photography.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I’ve yet to experiment with any other 6x7 system, but I haven’t really felt the need to. The Pentax 6x7 system has satisfied the majority of my medium format itches. If there was another system that I’d consider looking into, it would be the Plaubel Makina 67 — but the prices for that camera are way more than I’d like to pay for in 2019. The Pentax 6x7 is a fantastic medium format camera with a wide range of beautiful lenses, simple and straightforward operation, easy loading and unloading of film, and just feels empowering to shoot with. It’s lifespan over the decades has proved that it is durable and will stand the test of time with very little maintenance needed. The only real con to shooting the Pentax 6x7 is that it’s bulky and heavy so be prepared to carry its weight around on that mountain hike or city walk you plan for…but the resulting images are always going to be worth it. Enjoy a few more shots below!