I have to disagree with a lot or what your saying. Every Photo I take I have in mind and enlargement bigger than 8x10. Now I am old and when and Sure don't like carrying a big load when I go out to shoot. I am lucky though I can get and get around. I just load up my walker with a digital full frame a tripod and the 4x5 and just a few film holders. I might compose and shoot dozens of digital images. and just a couple of 4x5.s or a full roll of 120. when I get home most of those digital images I will review and delete. I am able to develop and print the 4x5.s and the 120. It's Not all that expensive. even on my pension. If Ansel Adams had a digital camera Each and every one of this film shots would have been successful.

I am going through this now and it is soul sucking

Thanks I was needing your information in order to buy a film camera. I just ordered it

I shoot with paper negatives which are really cheap, and Arista Ortho Litho (which is cheaper than dirt).

Couldn't agree more. I love my Yashica. It's small, simple to operate, don't have to haul extra lenses around, and it produces wonderful images with a look that digital doesn't have.

Hi were you able to get it darker eventually? I take it you were going for a more slate or black tone

This was my first SLR when i was in high school. The old MX has a superior viewfinder which makes focusong easier, but the meter isn't reliable, but i use sunny 16. The MZ-M / MX-M is a great learning camera for sure.

Did you know Davy Crockett Used one of these during the siege of the Alamo in 1836!? Armed with one roll of kodak double xx black and white 35mm motion picture film he staved off Santa Anna and 2000 men for THIRTEEN DAYS! Learn more in my new youtube short "the untold history of the Yashica Mat 124G" Thank you for sharing! More people need to learn about this camera and its amazing history spanning nearly 200 years! SUBBED!!!

excellent video on a beautiful legend

11:05 actually the bottom button on the lens is the depth of field, for seeing how much light goes into the lens when setting the aperture. Anyway amazing camera. I have the OM-1n version that I still use till this day for the past 12 years. I never use the light meter, I have a separate light meter for that as well. I don’t even know if the light meter on the camera still works and I’m too lazy to find the right battery😂

Just a couple more features that put this Olympus ahead of the rest: Interchangeable screans;Flash type selector button;Mirror up button &viewing dept of field button. I was not aware of possibility of locking up . tks for that. I advise being careful to thread the film leader correctly as stated by you,

I started my love of photography at the age of 16 when I got my first 35mm camera. Now at 62 years old, I was wanting to move over to Large Format, but a back injury put a stop to that dream. Now my heart is just is not into photography as it once was. Mr. Ward, your advice is sound. Thank You for your posting.

Colour 120 is about NZ$25-45/roll 😱

Great result. Have you considered using a slightly heavier paper? Japanese mulberry paper is amazing. Awagami (that’s the brand) is sold at fine art paper sales

I started photography with medium format cameras. I used medium format for about 15 years before I bought my first 35mm camera and before I bought my first 4x5 inch large format camera. Today, I use my 4x5 inch when I need high image quality and/or front and rear camera movements.

You didn't mention main reason for shooting 4x5 which is camera movements. You don't mention tilt, shift, swing, rise and fall. These are the benefits of 4x5. Also to be able to develop each frame individually rather than on a roll means you can use the zone system fully ie develop for the highlight of each frame. These are huge advantages which you didn't mention. Of course if you don't want that level of creative control 120 makes more sense.

97% of what will be on the film you will see on the viewfinder. Not the other way around.

Your camera needs a cleaning if you cannot change the shutter speed without a problem. There are gears on the bottom that can be easily cleaned. But there is also a foam rubber de lamination problem. You should clean any dissolved rubber on the penta prism as it will de laminate the mirror finish.

Yeaaaaahhhhhh buuuuttt....tilts and swings!

So we're not worth a $4.99 roll of film? LOL

about film photography in general, there is this whole generation that never had a film camera in their hands and thus need to learn these (to me as an 'old' person) basic photography skills ;-) No hate intended, it just shows my age ;-) as a kid i learned these things from my father and he guided me through my early photography. And about the OM-1: back in the early 90's it was my first SLR camera, sold it to get an OM-4. I should have stayed with the OM-1 as none of my OM-4 images were better then my OM-1 images... At the moment i am custodian to 3 OM-1 bodies that all work fine and are used regularly. thx for the video 🙂

As far as the cost of film/processing being a big shock, it's not like it's a secret that can only be revealed after buying a large format camera. Every aspect of the cost - whether you do the developing/printing yourself or send it out - is easy to find out with 20 minutes of on-line research. ;)

The OM1 was not Olympus’ first slr ,that was the Olympus FTL.

How about a 120 back on a 4x5 camera, like a Horseman 8EXP/120 ?

Nice video... Yeah, for newbies, buy some spools online so you have a few spares. Shop around; they should be cheap.

I'm 24 years old, all of my childhood pictures were taken in a pentax zx-m camera :) two days ago I told my dad that I wanted to start in film photography, so he gave me his!

Thank you for the video sir

Most people I know shoot black and white film with there 4x5 `s. Cost for one sheet of Fomapan100 (in Europe) is roughly 45 Cents. One 120-roll of FP4 or HP5 costs about 11 to 12 Euro. If one is shooting 6x6 the cost per frame would be 1 Euro/Dollar.......Chemistry for black and white film is still affordable (the more if you mix it with raw chem by yourself)...So, I guess you got my point : shooting 4x5 does not have to be over expensive

Thanks for a great review, really enjoyed your presentation. You didn’t mention mirror lock up control and threaded shutter release for bulb mode long exposures to stop any mirror slap. Owned mine for 30 years and shoot with it often despite having many other cameras. These truly are beautiful machines that will outlive any DSLR or mirrorless that is sold in 2024.

Didn't the MZ line up had issues with the plastic gear that eventually breaks? Or did this model came with a metal gear?

Helpful!! would love a walk through with flash on this camera !! :)

What a thoughful speech, thank you. I’m totally ok with my RB 6x7 and its magic glass. 4x5 is too much to carry around

Color large format cost is getting really prohibitive for sure. Black and white is still viable though. Ilford FP4+ is about $2.50 a sheet and if you process it yourself it's about $.50 in chemistry. The scans from an Epson V850 are more than enough for printing to 30x40 inches, but of course printing in a traditional darkroom always yields superior results to any digital print.

Hi! I saw you mention if we need that piece to load the film to comment, I can't find mine.. 🥲 do you know where I could get one? Thank you!!

Couldn’t you have used a old already developed film? Sorry I’m new.

I am 56 and grew up shooting 35mm on Nikon. The nonsense around " the film look" etc is just that. Give me my R5 or R7 any day over that. I use Darktable with FilmicRGB or even Sigmoid and I get a " film look" that is better in every way. But I am thinking about 4x5 on 120 backs for landscape... As the sensor or film gets bigger, the perceived DOF gets shallower. So although you get more detail, keeping things in focus becomes a bigger problem. To my mind, that is where 4x5 comes in. I dont really need the size, 6x7 or 6x8 will be more than fine. But those movements on the 4x5 cameras make things possible that otherwise just cannot be. Scanning? With a macro on my R7 I will scan that 6x6 to over 120mpx better than any real scanner. But the cost per shot is a serous consideration. Development has to be done at home for me because where I live, there is no other option. And if you have a 4x5 then of course, you can always take a 4x5 shot. Thanks for this contribution. Lots to think about.

An 8 minute video on what not to do. Have you ever figured out something successful to do? If so, I love to learn. Peace

Hello nice video! I recently bought a Pentax ZXM but when I load the film and do exactly what you do I shut the door and it says 1 but when I take a picture the film goes all the way back in the cartridge. Am I doing something wrong? And the cartridges are brand new

I want you to know I watched this because of AFI 😂❤

I have recently been lucky enough to be gifted an Olympus OM-1 and an Olympus OM-10. Its great because I can switch between different films. And I agree totally - there is something very satisfying and nostalgic about using these cameras that you don't get with digital. Thanks for the helpful video. I wondered if it is possible to use the OM-1 on bulb mode like with the OM-10? Thanks. Brint :)

I was recommended to use the following battery for the light meter on the OM1 - Use the WeinCell MRB625 replacement battery PX625/PX13. This is designed as a drop-in replacement for the OM-1, and even says so on the packaging.

Film photography will allways add on your budget, however, you must ask yourself what is photography for you, can be as simple as an expensive hobby or end up being a specialty niche business, in any case try not to think on film photography in terms of expenses but outcomes for you, in any ways, hobby or business, there is allways an ROI. You INVEST in equipment, processing, printing. If you do (a good) business, is very likely you will get a good return of the investment in terms of money, but as a hobbyist also you can get great outcomes specially in the emotional space. LF gets you in a very lowfi slowmo workflow, but definitely rewarding. If you are not willing to INVEST, then go and look elsewere, there's a big spectrum where you can enjoy photography at almost no cost.

Thank you this helped a lot !!

Great points. Your description of the allure from 35mm to 4x5 was spot on!

Yes it's more expensive per shot, no surprise there. But developing yourself is quite affordable and not that difficult - makes no sense to outsource. SP-445 tank $100, cost of chemicals for 4 sheets is ~$1 depending on process. Film is highly variable - something like Fomapan is $1.50 per sheet, or ~$1.75 per sheet with chemicals. Lab scanning is super expensive regardless of format, so investing in something like an Epson V600 or digital camera scanning setup for $200-350 makes sense if you shoot film regardless. V600 "real" resolution is something like 1500dpi, which for 4x5 gives you a pretty legit 45megapixel image. Let's say you only ever shot 100 sheets of 4x5 and then called it quits, at $1.75 per sheet (chemicals included), add $100+$350 for a SP-445 and scanning setup, that's $6.25 per sheet developed and scanned, yes, expensive, but when 4 sheets = 1 35mm/36exp roll of film in terms of area it's not that crazy and right in line with 35mm per area of film. Of course the more you shoot, the cheaper the fixed costs of tank and scanning setup become, and if you quit you can sell those items and make a good chunk of that money back. Of course that's all B&W, but even in color it's still quite a bit cheaper than the numbers you gave. If you already have a scanning setup that can handle or easily adapt to 4x5, the cost is more like $2.75/sheet for B&W and ~$7.75/sheet for Portra.

I must strongly disagree. Don't warn people off entering 4x5 photography and don't tell then to quit. IMO we should telling them hone their skills composing on a view camera as much as possible, while also learning to shoot with purpose, intent and vision. That requires they also learn to plan. Before you bemoan my recommending new photographers break the bank shooting 4x5 I'll say that's nonsense. Just like I do, they can shoot on their view cameras with a medium format back, the options are many. Myself I have a universal toyo-view sliding graphic back, and 6x9 and 6x7 backs, as well as an instax 4x5 back for test exposures should I be uncertain or want to test before taking a 4x5 shot. When shooting I have options. When I that my planning has put me in position to capture something truly stunning I can pop in a 4x5 cut film holder and take a shot. No matter what, the average medium format can't match a view camera for composing images. Medium format film can't magically grow in size, or compare to a 4x5 negative, but a 4x5 can shoot 120 roll film thanks to many, many, different medium format roll film backs while also providing a full range of tilt, shift, rise and fall. And finally, in two years time the cost of scanning 4x5 negatives and positives is going to plummet. New medium format GFX models with pixel shift rival drum scanners already. Photographers who are buying these cameras are discovering the market for negative scanning in order to offset the costs of buying such cameras. Even a sony A7RII using a copy stand rig and shift and stitch can deliver impressive scans of 4x5 negatives (and medium format). Oh and yes, I have traditional medium format cameras, and am at present making several point and shoot panoramic cameras in order to broaden my shooting options.

on option is to develop in-house, still expensive but it will cut a lot. Also the scanning, with the proper flatbed like the n V850 one can get very high quality, but I agree it's expensive. Some people scans with the v600 but require some shenanigans: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oomlpHSNbcqSmrc

How do you feel about the lomograflok? I was never interested in LF until i saw i could shoot instant film with it.

i think it would be worth mentioning that if you pay a bit more you can get the mz-5 which even supports autofffffing focus with most vintage or current(!!!) pentax lenses 😮

another amazing thing is that you can use nearly all current pentax lenses as well as all the vintage lenses without adapter on this cam. it‘s so cool to be able to switch between digital and analog bodies with just one lens collection, no adapters needed!