4 ms·

The hardest large-format camera movement: carrying it around.

anta40 4y ago
Louis Mendes will disagree with that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8KOAj6Caf4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8KOAj6Caf4 :D
madaxe_again 4y ago
Some are really portable - I used to travel with a crown graphic, which folds down small and light. You can do tilt shift with - it’s only in one axis but that’s plenty, as the camera is light enough you can rotate it. The heavy bit was all the dark slides and film.
- Finnucane 4y ago
  Press cameras like Speed and Crown Graphics were designed be used handheld. The tradeoff is indeed more restricted movements compared to a view or field camera. But the real killer for portability with a field camera is that you need a pretty good tripod. I've got a Manfrotto 3033 for my Wista VX, and I've carried the whole kit around on my bike. But it's not easy. A view camera is generally only going to be used in a studio--portability is not much of a concern.
  - joshz404 4y ago
    Whew, I carried that tripod around when I was younger, it's a killer.
enneff 4y ago
In art school I took a lot of large format photos of industrial facilities at night, which often involved climbing chain-link fences with a huge pelican case and tripod. Totally worth it for the end results, and looking like a quaint old timey photographer was helpful the few times I was confronted by security guards. :)
- radlad 4y ago
  This sounds really interesting. I'd love to see your work if it's available online somewhere.
  - enneff 4y ago
    There’s none of it online anymore. Another life.
Tepix 4y ago
I switched from APS-C to MFT because it was too bulky. These days the camera stays at home often.
shagie 4y ago
I've got two large format cameras. One is a Horseman L45 which is a monstrosity that has a rail. It can only be used on my largest of heads (a bogen 3047 head). My other large format camera is a Horseman HD field camera. While the L45 is a beautiful camera, it is, by itself, a 10 lb camera that can only really be carried in a suitcase sized hard case that supports the rail properly. (Not my camera - but it gives you an idea - https://www.ebay.com/itm/364081119414 https://www.ebay.com/itm/364081119414 ). The HD field camera is the one I'd take lug around in a slightly oversized messenger bag. http://www.bnphoto.org/bnphoto/LFN/CamProf_Horseman1.htm http://www.bnphoto.org/bnphoto/LFN/CamProf_Horseman1.htm The front standard of the HD had some reasonable movements. There was also a FA ("fine art" rather than "heavy duty") one that had a little bit of rear standard movement but was a bit heavier and less rugged. My favorite use for the HD camera was doing a in field polaroid transfer onto a watercolor paper postcard which then got a stamp on it and went into a mailbox or giving it to a person who was interested in it as I took the photograph. These were necessarily a one of a kind image as the process was destructive to the polaroid. I might still have one in a book of watercolor paper as I was working on learning the process at Fort Point (hallway, 2nd floor, south side of the building, shooting west) as that was a place that was often quiet enough to photograph without disturbance and the staff was amenable to a photographer with a tripod.
aaronbrethorst 4y ago
In all seriousness, I recommend lifting weights. Once I discovered how much an 8x10 field camera, accessories, and a suitable tripod weighed, I realized I'd only be able to schlep it around if I started building muscle mass.

Louis Mendes will disagree with that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8KOAj6Caf4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8KOAj6Caf4 :D

madaxe_again 4y ago

Some are really portable - I used to travel with a crown graphic, which folds down small and light. You can do tilt shift with - it’s only in one axis but that’s plenty, as the camera is light enough you can rotate it. The heavy bit was all the dark slides and film.

Finnucane 4y ago
Press cameras like Speed and Crown Graphics were designed be used handheld. The tradeoff is indeed more restricted movements compared to a view or field camera. But the real killer for portability with a field camera is that you need a pretty good tripod. I've got a Manfrotto 3033 for my Wista VX, and I've carried the whole kit around on my bike. But it's not easy. A view camera is generally only going to be used in a studio--portability is not much of a concern.
- joshz404 4y ago
  Whew, I carried that tripod around when I was younger, it's a killer.

enneff 4y ago

In art school I took a lot of large format photos of industrial facilities at night, which often involved climbing chain-link fences with a huge pelican case and tripod. Totally worth it for the end results, and looking like a quaint old timey photographer was helpful the few times I was confronted by security guards. :)

radlad 4y ago
This sounds really interesting. I'd love to see your work if it's available online somewhere.
- enneff 4y ago
  There’s none of it online anymore. Another life.

Tepix 4y ago

I switched from APS-C to MFT because it was too bulky. These days the camera stays at home often.

shagie 4y ago

I've got two large format cameras. One is a Horseman L45 which is a monstrosity that has a rail. It can only be used on my largest of heads (a bogen 3047 head). My other large format camera is a Horseman HD field camera. While the L45 is a beautiful camera, it is, by itself, a 10 lb camera that can only really be carried in a suitcase sized hard case that supports the rail properly. (Not my camera - but it gives you an idea - https://www.ebay.com/itm/364081119414 https://www.ebay.com/itm/364081119414 ). The HD field camera is the one I'd take lug around in a slightly oversized messenger bag. http://www.bnphoto.org/bnphoto/LFN/CamProf_Horseman1.htm http://www.bnphoto.org/bnphoto/LFN/CamProf_Horseman1.htm The front standard of the HD had some reasonable movements. There was also a FA ("fine art" rather than "heavy duty") one that had a little bit of rear standard movement but was a bit heavier and less rugged. My favorite use for the HD camera was doing a in field polaroid transfer onto a watercolor paper postcard which then got a stamp on it and went into a mailbox or giving it to a person who was interested in it as I took the photograph. These were necessarily a one of a kind image as the process was destructive to the polaroid. I might still have one in a book of watercolor paper as I was working on learning the process at Fort Point (hallway, 2nd floor, south side of the building, shooting west) as that was a place that was often quiet enough to photograph without disturbance and the staff was amenable to a photographer with a tripod.

aaronbrethorst 4y ago

In all seriousness, I recommend lifting weights. Once I discovered how much an 8x10 field camera, accessories, and a suitable tripod weighed, I realized I'd only be able to schlep it around if I started building muscle mass.