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The wife and I are downsizing and I doubt I'll be able to continue with LF(2, 4x5's and a 5X7) so I am seriously considering selling my all my LF gear and getting a Hasselblad and scanning the negatives. So am I nuts? either way I'll probably end up having to rent some shared artists space.
Once it's gone, it's gone...
:(
Ken
When you say downsizing, you just mean space, right? How much would moving from 4x5 to 120 save you in terms of size, if you're not going to print? The space it takes to develop 4x5 isn't so much bigger than that for 120, and a 4x5 field cam ain't so much bigger than a Hassie. Why don't you keep at least one of the 4x5, and a few of your best lenses for it?
Having moved from DSLR to MF to 4x5 (and now dabbling with 8x10), I think you'll really miss the size.
Not to take away from Hasselblad. I love my 203FE and 903SWC :) Sell one 4x5 and 5x7 and some lenses, and pick up a 501CM + 50/80/150 fo cheap, and you'll have best of both worlds, IMHO :-)
Yes space going from a 1900 sqft house plus darkroom in the 2 car garage down to about 900-1100 sqft 2 beroom max condo so space will be at a premium
To be honest, you'll be pretty damn impressed with what you can accomplish with MF. I have gone up in down in size and find beauty in all of the formats. Look at it this way, good Hasselblad lenses on modern film can resolve about twice the LPMM as most LF lenses, so you don't really lose all that much in quality (oh no, can of worms!), but the real delight you'll have is seeing photography from a more mobile platform. You'll probably end up taking shots you normally wouldn't have done with the 4x5 setup. Just think of it as an opportunity to reinvent your photographic self!
It's hard to get "large format" and "sanity" into the same thread. But all kidding aside, it doesn't seem like the difference between a compact LF system and a typical MF system is all that huge; my 5x7 setup fits in a backpack, soup to nuts except for the tripod, and it's about the bulkiest 5x7 you could ask for (Eastman 2-D).
Development and contact printing in a windowless bathroom is totally feasible, though if you want to keep it usable *as* a bathroom you'll need to do some careful planning. (I've lived in a couple of 2br apartments with two bathrooms, so it's at least conceivable that you could have some dedicated or semi-dedicated space.) I think in your situation I'd probably keep the 5x7 for contact prints, evaluate the eventual condo for its darkroom potential, and then decide whether it makes sense to expand into MF as well.
-NT
I gave up on sanity years ago. It is much overrated.
Our apartment is 850 sq. ft. and I dabble in formats ranging from 10X14mm in a Minolta 16II to 4X5 in a old kit camera and a plywood 4X5 box camera. Between those two formats are 18X24mm, 24X36mm, 6X6 and 6X9.
Unless you do large prints, the only difference is perspective control. Go for a Hasselblad Arc or Flex Body and you've basically shrank your gear. I do hate losing gear due to space constraints though.
hi ron
sorry to hear of your troubles.
you might consider just ditching the 4x5s first
and stash the 5x7 and a few 4x5 + 5x7 holders and 4x5 reducing back
in a box under the bed. who knows maybe you will find a way to keep the LF
maybe rotary in the shared space ?
you'll probably enjoy the freedom of your MF but miss the tonality of LF ..