I'm going large..Chamonix 4x5

[Grainy]

After months of thinking and dreaming I just could not resist anymore. So today I ordered the brand new Chamonix 045N-2.

This is my first view camera, before I haven't used larger than 6x6cm.

Where should I start?

I got a few weeks of waiting before it arrives, so I will spend it wisely so I'm ready to shoot when it arrives. The only thing I need to buy now is a really good normal lens and some film. Film choice I guess will be easy since I know what I like. When it comes to lenses I have read a bit about Rodenstock Sironar-S 150mm f/5.6.

Since I've spent a lot of $ on buying large format camera I want a lens that gives me the quality that is possible to get out of this film size. Will the Sorinar-s deliver?

How is 5.6 at largeformat, will it give me nice bokeh and shallow dof on portraits or do I need to buy a longer lens? I don't want to start with a too tight lens since I will use it for many different things, but it's important that I choose a lens that gives me nice bokeh and shallow dof on portraits.

And I want to read a lot to suck up all the information I can, any blogs etc. you recommend? I've read Ansel Adams the camera, the negative and the print so far.

[M.A.Longmore]

.
Hi Grainy,

Congratulations !

Get a copy of " Using The View Camera " by Steve Simmons.

Ron
.

[Jeff Bannow]

Congrats! It's a great camera.

Do you mean the Apo Sironar-S 150mm? If so, it's probably overkill for a beginner, and very hard to find used. (I've been looking for one for 2 months now ....) There are a lot of lenses in 150mm that can be bought for $200-300, and will provide you with great performance.

f5.6 should be fine for shallow DOF, but for portraits I would say something longer would be better. A 150mm lens is about equivalent to an 80mm on 6x6 / 50mm on 35mm. I would look for a 210mm-300mm instead.

[BetterSense]

4x5 is not large.

[jp498]

You can't go wrong with most of the rodenstock/schneider/fuji/nikkor lens options. 135-150mm for general purpose, 210 for portrait type of use.

You'll need film holders, film, something to keep the film holders clean and dust free in, and if you develop film yourself, the goods to do 4x5. Some people use tray, jobo, nikor tank, combiplan tank, mod_photographic, taco, etc... Lots of ways.

You may want either a loupe or reading glasses, and either a dark cloth or popup hood to shield the groundglass when viewing outdoor. I'm not sure about that camera, but some cameras have the groundglass exposed when they are folded up, allowing it to be damaged. Canham makes a nice plastic insert to protect the groundglass in these situations.

[Grainy]

Thanks

I will buy that book, Longmore. A book about using it sounds like what I need.

Yes, I meant Apo Sironar-S 150. Why is it an overkill? I'm a beginner in view cameras, but not in photography. Is the lens different to use compared to others? I don't want to buy a lens that I will exchange for a better one in the nearest future.

After a bit of reading it sounds like the 150mm is good to start with since it's versatile, I like to shoot both landscape and portraits while I'm learning to use the camera. I want to buy a really good normal lens now, and later a really good longer lens and at last a really good wide lens. But maybe for the first 6 months or year I will stick to only one lens.

[Rick A]

When you said large, I pictured 11x14 or larger. Oh well, 150mm is a good all around lens, for portraits I prefer 210-250mm, and 105-135mm for landscapes and architecture.

[Jeff Bannow]

The apo-sironar costs 3x as much as a regular 150mm, and for most situations won't provide any distinguishable difference from any other modern 150mm. All of the manufacturers made really top notch lenses, and any would be excellent enough that you won't feel the need to "upgrade" later.

[Grainy]

I ordered three film holders, Linhof lens board and a folding viewer ( http://www.chamonixviewcamera.com/_images//viewas.jpg )
Guess I should buy more film holders later, but I need to save more money first.

I develop my own 35 and 120 film in Paterson tanks, but I'm not sure how I will develop sheet films. Paper copies will be made with my Durst 1200L. Guess it depends on if I want to develop one and one sheet or many in one batch? If I use trays then I don't need to buy anything since I have some small trays to develop paper in.

Will my "normal" cable release work on this kind of lens? I have cable release for my other cameras (Rolleiflex, Olympus OM etc), they all use the same.

[vyshemirsky]

It's exactly the same camera as my main setup. Gorgeous piece of kit for field work. Really lightweight and flexible. Welcome to large format photography, I am sure you will find it very liberating experience. I have long forgotten how difficult it was to use a medium format camera with all the limitations it had.

I totally agree with what jp498 said above. Your camera has a ground glass protector, so don't worry about that. Use a cheap magnifying glass as a loupe to begin with, you don't need a $200 loupe right away. I have tried at least three ways of developing my film, and ended up with a Jobo 2500 series tank; it is not as expensive as their expert drums and works perfectly. Don't bother with a taco method - you will scratch your film and waste a lot of time and money. Ziplock bags are the way to keep dust away from your film holders.

Lens wise, jp498 perfectly expressed my opinion. I would only add that eventually you might want a wider angle lens too, something like 90mm. Schneider Super Angulons are quite cheap, and still very good optics.

Looking forward to see your images. Good luck!