Large Format Photography - Gear you'll need and what it costs

What do you need to get started with Large Format Photography? And how much will it actually cost?
I had the terrible idea of calculating how much I spent on large format photography gear. And it also got me thinking, what would I buy if I were to start over today. Would I buy the same things?
I want to emphasis, I'm still fairly new to large format. I've only been in this rabbit hole for about a year and a half, but I feel like I have enough grasp of large format photography to actually say something about the "essential" gear you need for 4x5 large format. As always, listen to advice, but make your own decision.
And don't worry, next video I'll try and actually do some photography again.
Have a great week!
Love,
Oscar
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Links to the new large format cameras mentioned (I'm not affiliated with these manufacturers and haven't tried em myself):
Intrepid:
intrepidcamera.co.uk/products...
Gibellini
gibellinicamera.com/product/p...
Stenopeika: www.stenopeika.com/product/ai...
Ondu:
ondupinhole.com/products/ondu...
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#analogphotography #largeformatphotography
#filmphotography
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00:00 Intro
00:57 Camera
07:05 Lenses
10:45 Accessories
17:03 Film & devoloping
19:38 Scanning & printing
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Correction:
7:50 Copal sizes aren't the correct term; copal is a common shutter manufacturer, not a standard of sizes. Anyhow make sure the hole in the lensboard fits the shutter you bought. A handy guide can be found over on Large Format Photography forum (www.largeformatphotography.in...)

[@chriscard6544]

just for Ondu, they had issue with production, I would wait a little bit before buying one. You forgot to add a loupe and a meter for bellow extension

[@O.Persson]

There's always something you miss. Oh well, that's what the comments are for :) I agree about the loupe, quite useful. Still haven't used a meter for below extensions though, but then again I'm almost always focused at around infinity. I haven't heard thag about Ondu, still looks like a great camera. And I am tempted, especially keen on trying 4x10. Now I'm just going to figure out how to pin a comment to the top. Thanks for adding to the list!

[@chriscard6544]

@@O.Persson I shoot a lot of flowers, so Im always at 1:1macro.

[@O.Persson]

@@chriscard6544 I can imagine there's quite a bellow draw then. I still haven't done any macro photography with the LF. I have the extended rail for my Szabad though, making it quite suitable for that. Might just give it a try as it's the season for that now.

[@chriscard6544]

@@O.Persson it means in my case 300 mm extension for a 150mm focal length so 2 stops

[@jw48335]

​@@O.PerssonOne note- I always recommend using orthochromatic film for new large format shooters, because it allows them to get used to loading the film under a safe flight. Cheers

[@EdwardMartinsPhotography]

Intrepid just re-released their Hardwood versions of their 4x5 cameras. At $600 USD, I think that is a great value for a very decent camera with a nice aesthetic. A very competent camera at a great price.

[@O.Persson]

Didn't know that they had a hardwood one, it looks beautiful. And probably worth the extra money over the ply one. Overall Intrepid is doing cool things, and doing good work in keeping LF alive for us all :)

[@jllanesphoto]

Great advice . Thanks for the video.

[@stephenwiseman3780]

Dear Oskar, I'm not sure about others but although I too an setting up a darkroom I'd like to scan my 45's as well and am ordering the recommended Pixl-latr film holder for digitizing/scanning 45, 120 and 35mm but wondered if you would consider a video on your process of scanning? I thoroughly enjoy your less tech and more shooting videos as well but seeing your images makes me want to know a bit more of the process back from a session. Thanks for considering! This LF video is great! I've forgotten a lot since my previous film days!

[@O.Persson]

My darkroom needs some renovations, so for the moment I'm without a darkroom. It's one of my summer projects :) Regarding the Pixl-latr I use that exclusively for 4x5, and it's great for that. I also have an essential film holder, which I use for 120 and 135. So I can't really speak for how well the Pixl-latr works for the smaller formats. Since recording I've also seen the lobster holder on Etsy, that looks brilliant to my eyes. If you haven't ordered, you might want to check that out. My scanning is nothing special, and a bit crude to be honest. Just a tripod and a lightning table. I then just do a manual inversion in Lightroom. Good enough for social media and the likes. I see it as a substitute for contact sheets. My plan is to do my final prints in the darkroom. EDIT: about doing a video about my process, I do have one in mind for late summer. :) I work slow but steady ;)

[@jonathanhotopf1823]

Love that Szabad, I have one too in 5x7 format, it can fit in a small backpack incredibly. Now I know the proper pronunciation for the Szabad.

[@O.Persson]

They are lovely, I'm going to hold on to mine, even though I mostly shoot with the linhof. I must admit I'm not sure about the pronunciation either, it's a Hungarian name. The founder emigrated to Sweden (from Hungary) to study to become a flight technician if I remember correctly, and founded the Szabad brand.

[@Dwarvenchef]

I inherited a Linhof Technika 4 and have been adding to it for a couple years now. Picking and choosing my lenses and waiting for good prices. I lucked out and got a couple box group buys that had several large format lenses. All but 1 lens was working great with the Linhof, the one was on a different board and to this date I haven’t been able to get the lens off of it.

[@O.Persson]

They are lovely the Linhofs :) I feel you with the stuck lens. I myself am struggling with the 90 mm mentioned in the video. I got tired of the Linhof quick release cable thing, and removed it. Somehow the retention ring loosened up in the process. And I can't remove the back element to get to the retention ring. Annoying, but I haven't given up quite yet.

[@andyvan5692]

with the monorail type, you also can say, they have interchangeable bellows, for adding bag bellows for wide angle lenses, and also can 'daisy chain' them, with standards to do 3/4/5:1 macro enlargements, due in part to the large extension possibilities. Also, monorails on the main have Graflok bars, ie, are not strictly spring backs, so can take Lomograflok instant film, 6x9/6x12 cm roll film backs, and NOT just double cut film holders for sheet film, so increasing the budget end of emulsion options, esp. for the budget conscious; so you can 'test' the camera for leaks, and operation of the shutter without using expensive film.

[@O.Persson]

Monorails are super cool, and a bit underrated. Thanks for adding some more info about them! I feel like I should point out that graflok aren't exclusive to monorails, on the contrary they are fairly common. And if I'm not mistaken originated on a Graflex press-camera. Anyhow it's cool to have a graflok for rollfilm or instax. I actually made a video about the lomgraflok, as the good folks at lomgraphy lent me one. However, for me the running cost between Instax and Fomapan 100 (dev. at home) are about the same. But the instant nature of Instax is quite useful for learning LF, or (as you said) to test a camera for light leaks, and pure cool of course 😁

[@andyvan5692]

@@O.Persson yes, but also, Lomography does cool film, aka like the old sepia/gold/platinum toned prints of old; but as an effect on the film, look at "grain check"; "Jess Hobbs" and a few other youtubers' channels they go into the {MF &35 mm} stocks in depth, a few rolls shot, and examined, esp. where these 'cool' effects do the nostalgia affect, etc.

[@O.Persson]

@@andyvan5692 I can't remember the last time I shot colour. I do however have a few rolls in the fridge, that I never get around to shoot. BTW, love Grain Checks videos. All the best to you!

[@andyvan5692]

I got a deal on a sinar F2, with holders, Fujinon 90mm SWD f 5.6 lens, bellows x2, bag bellows, focus cloth, binocular finder, but, I also added a sinar vario (variable format 120 film back), a 65mm Fujinon swd 5.6, and a Kase K9 filter kit (an essential, I think, esp. to eliminate glare).

[@O.Persson]

What a lovely kit! I'm a bit jealous

[@stephenwiseman3780]

Yes Sir, that sounds great and to get a deal!

[@joestrahl6980]

Hejsan Oscar Persson! Aka That Bearded Guy. Although I don’t think I am about to follow down the rabbit hole of large format, I still found your video VERY interesting. From what I gather it seems that the cameras and lenses are not all that expensive sort and I found that surprising. May I ask: what set up do you use when filming your videos for your channel. You may have said this in a previous video but I am new to your channel. Mvh Joe

[@O.Persson]

Hej! Large format is fairly affordable in general. Until you start looking at the more exotic stuff, like a new linhof master tecknika which has a list price of ~ 7 500 €. My main video camera is the FujiFilm x-h2, with various lenses (mostly the Fuji 10-24 mm f/4 or the Fuji 50 mm f/2). For B-roll and vlog cameras I use the DJI Action 3 and/or the DJI Pocket 2. For sound I use a Zoom Field Recorder F2, w. the stock lav mic. Take care, and thanks for the support!

[@jacovanlith5082]

The lens boards of the large format cameras have no "Copal holes". Copal and Seiko are just leaf shutter brands, made in Japan. The two German companies Deckel and Gauthier are the manufacturers of the two leaf shutter brands Prontor and Compur. Theycreated the standard for the holes in the lens boards. The four code diameters of the holes are: 00 0 1 3. For light tight mounting of the shutters to the lens boards, the narrow part of the retaing ring must sink into the lens board hole. Lens boards must have a 1,5 mm slit in the hole to fix the shutters with their tiny bolts at the spot. Mind the wide angle lenses with their short focal length need to be mounted in recessed lens boards. Some other famous German LF lens brands are: Zeiss, Voigtländer, Meyer, Busch, Laack and Astro. In France: Hermagis, Berthiot and Boyer. In the UK: TTH, Cooke and Ross. In the USA: Wollensack, Bausch & Lomb and Kodak. In Japan: Sakura and Topcon. This LF info has not been created by AI nor by copying, cutting and pasting. It is just my professional know how, I practise for ages. Jaco van Lith, The Netherlands 2024

[@O.Persson]

Very technical description, thank you for taking the time to add in some more information. And adding in some corrections. Have a great day!

[@O.Persson]

I just figured out that you can add "Corrections" into youtube-videos. I just did that for the "Copal sizes". Not perfect, but at least it's pointed out and I don't have to re-upload the whole video. Thanks for pointing it out to me, I've always called it "copal-sizes", but I stand corrected. Have a lovely evening!

[@stephenwiseman3780]

Dear Oskar, I purchased the Lefroto LS 323 C tripod after seeing your recommendation and looking at others for too many hours! Good new, Lefroto USA is now offering 20% off and a life warranty for the US's Memorial Day. Just incase you or another watchers are looking for Lefroto items. They shipped reasonable International as I'm in Canada. On heads, could one get by with the LB-65 levelling platform for a while? I read on the LF group that there are some who dont use tripod heads of any sort and rely on the legs. However, that sounds a bit difficult for me anyway but maybe the leveling plate would work most of the time? Also does it come with a QR plate and if so is it large enough for an Intrepid or other filed view camera? Yes, I put my Zone VI 45 camera and lens and German Berlebach ash wooden tripod are up for sell and I ordered an Intrepid with the fresnel glass ground glass. My surgeon confirmed that to avoid a re-tear in both shoulders that I needed to lighten the load or else! I'm going on 69 year. Zone VI = 3kg plus lens; tripod=4 k = head. Intrepid = 1.4 kg plus lens; Left LS 323C=1.5 kg plus head. If possible maybe you could do a video on filters for view cameras as I'm in the dark about Lee vs Kokin, vs a bellows hood with slide in filters, ado snap ins, magnetic, too much out there.

[@O.Persson]

I'm sure you'll be happy with the tripod. It's a good compromise between weight, functionality and price. I've been very happy with mine. I suppose you could get by with just the leveling base, it would be enough for most scenarios when you're looking somewhat straight ahead. Of course pictures looking down on flowers, and what not, will become tricky. The LB-65 doesn't include any plate, it's just a screw for mounting a head on. Perhaps add a panohead on it? Would be fairly lightweight. Personally I'm a fan of geared heads, my current G2 has been decent. But I've been missing a panoplate at the bottom, so I'm looking into replacing it. On the top of my list is the Leofoto G3, weighs 450 g and have a load capacity of 8 kg. My local leofoto reseller suggested it over the G20 (wich is basically the G2 with a panobase added). Regarding filters I'm as much in the dark as you. I haven't ventured into that for LF yet. I'll probably go down that road someday, but for now there's other stuff I prioritise over a new filter system. For summer I'll probably buy an orange screw-on filter for my LF-lenses. But besides that I'm holding off on filters, for now. Finally it's incredible how light-weight the intrepid setup is. I love my Linhof, but the intrepid is more than half the weight. I hope the kit help you keep shooting, it is a very rewarding hobby :)

[@stephenwiseman3780]

@@O.Persson Thanks again for the advice. I think I'll live with an old well made ball head for now and Maybe get the Leveling Base and G20 (due to the weight of a gear head) later. I don't really like ball heads but this one does have a limiter and the Intrepid is so much lighter than the Zone VI! Intrepid just emailed me which was less than two weeks...its being shipped today! I mentioned you and Sidonie ? said he'd heard of you and they would be checking your KZbin out. I would love for them to send you a camera to test and video of the Mark V. Forgive me as you may not want that sort of thing. I should mention that Lefoto US said that they are not stocking the G3 geared due to "problems" yet they have the G4. Could be a US issue not valid in Europe and Scandinavia. Yea, I think I'll go for screw ins for my little Fujinon W 150 5.6 MC. Like, only 49mm. Cheers!

[@O.Persson]

@@stephenwiseman3780 Exciting stuff, I'm sure you'll be happy with it. Thanks for mentioning my channel, and kinda cool that they heard about my small channel. :) I have no intention of turning this into a review channel, but I don't mind the odd test of some gear that seems interesting (like the intrepid or lomograflok).

[@paulodefeyter]

Do you mind putting a link to the cameras you say somewhere close to the 6:00 mark? And also, there is a orthographic error on one of your topics: 10:45 accerories should be 10:45 accessories :)

[@O.Persson]

Sure, not sure which camera you meant. But the new cameras mentioned are Intrepid, Gibellini, Ondu, and Stenopeika. Google and you'll find the web page for each. I will also update the description with some direct links. Thank for pointing that out, just fixed it! For some reason I always have a hard time spelling accessories 😆 Have a great day!

[@andyvan5692]

at 21:53 you forgot something, the chemistry!, as developing paper is different to film negatives!, also the film and paper used, wasn't included in the costings ;-) {basic film ~AUD$150-330 for a 25 sheet box}.

[@O.Persson]

True, I forgot to mention the chemicals for paper and the paper itself. Or more accurately I cut it from the final video, as it was getting quite long. And where do one draw the line, for all the other stuff you need in the dakroom. My plan is to renovate my darkroom this summer, I might do a darkroom specific video then about what stuff I use. Film (fomapan 100) is mentioned though :)

[@tommynikon2283]

I don’t miss film at all- and the main reason we used LF 25-45 years ago was…image Quality. And the ability to use perspective correction. But with DSLR of 36-50MP available….WHY?! For me- now, the main issue to NOT go back is….COST. Film, Processing, scanning, and contact sheet- IF NOT doing it yourself, is $$$. The LF and MF cameras are dirt cheap…it’s everything else in post. Lastly- if not doing huge prints…WHY bother?!

[@O.Persson]

Everyone to his own. I'm the exact opposite, I don't see any point in shooting digital anymore. I still have a digital kit, but that's almost only used for paid gigs and to practice with. I shoot film for three reasons. I like the look of it, I love the process, and because it's fun. But as I said you are more than welcome to keep shooting digital. I'm probably in the minority, and that's ok. As long as it gives you some enjoyment (or pays the rent) go for it. EDIT: just to be clear, I shoot LF for the same reason I shoot film. And as I pointed out in the video, I strongly suggest developing/scanning/printing at home, especially for LF. The running cost (acc. to my own calculations) for dev./scanning at home ~1-4 €/sheet, sending it to the lab ~8-9 €/sheet. This is for BnW negative film. It isn't cheap, but manageable. And considering that I shoot fewer frames with LF than I do with smaller formats. I do think the actual cost per outing is about the same for 4x5 as for 120, and perhaps even 135.

[@stephenwiseman3780]

@@O.Persson Me too! I sold my Leica monochrome. As good as it was, I hated the thought of the digital workflow ahead. Especially since I don't have the discipline to select images in a more thoughtful way with a small camera. More than that, while "developing" those few images, after spending time on looking though the junk images, I then tried to make the images look like film - they never do to me. When my older Mac couldn't handle the new LR update I notice AI was in the update and that's when I'd had enough. Theres a lot of cost to digital in software, upgrades, software issues, external hard drives, cords everywhere, etc... Comparing my old mounted 8 X 10, 4 X 5 and Rolleiflex prints to non gelatine prints from 40 years ago , all archival processed brought me back to film. No hard drives, as my negatives, contacts and prints are boxed up on shelves that I can get too anytime. The cost of shooting 30-40 images for one keeper would be very expensive. However, Now I can take 2 or three film holders out for a day and know this will keep me going for the day. Also, once you have the camera good lenses are cheap compared to any other system camera. You can also develop sheet film in 5 X 7 or 8 X 10 trays as described in The Negative by AA. I loaded, developed and contact printed 8 X 10 negs in a cabin in Yosemite back in the 1975. You can even contact print and make exquisite 4 X 5 small prints for some subjects. I'm not trying to convert anyone as I'm sure your not but just trying to be helpful to those of us that feel the same way - Thank You! Curious, do you have a small or medium format film camera for hand held images? Stephen in Newfoundland, Canada

[@O.Persson]

@@stephenwiseman3780 It's always nice to hear from a fellow analogue enthusiast! As you said, I'm not trying to convert anyone into shooting film if they don't want to. I just try and share the small knowledge I've obtained, and hopefully spread some of my joy for photography and the analogue medium. I do shoot all formats, or more accurately I shoot 135, 120 in 6x6, and of course 4x5 Large Format. I am a bit of a camera collector, and have a small collection of mostly European cameras (and pseudo European). Almost all in working condition, a few are on the repair table that I'll get to eventually. The cameras that are in current rotation and their current primary use: Linhof Technika V, landscapes Hasselblad 2003 fcw, handheld landscapes/cityscapes Rolleiflex 3,5, street photography Minox 35 GT, casual and street Contax G1, casual & travel Minolta CLE on its way from Ebay. Meant to become my primary street camera, and a place holder for a future Leica (when I can afford one).

[@stephenwiseman3780]

@@O.Persson I still can't get a Hasselblad out of my mind but hard to find a good one serviced at a reasonable price in Canada. I may try Scandinavia and Germany/Austria, etc... as I but most of my woodworking tools from Germany's DICTUM and Dieter Schmid and find their service, prices and shipping outstanding. I loved my Rolleiflex 3.5 and always admired the Contax G series after seeing in one of the additions of AA's The Camera but I heard no on services them anymore but that could be a rumor? Never heard of a 35mm minor but I'll have to look that one up! The CLE is suppose to be better than the Leica one, or at least some think so, its a sweet camera I played with back in my youth. I am finding I just can't focus very well with rangefinders which was an expensive mistake once! I believe in one of your post you mention retiring your one cameras? I understand your an engineer but I'm just an architect so I could only sketch the camera but not fix it:)!

[@O.Persson]

Hasselblad and reasonable prices don't really go hand in hand. 😆 Perhaps a bit easier to find a good example over here, as they are fairly common, however they still cost an arm and a leg. Just picked up the CLE from the post office. The camera looks great, the lenses had some fungus, but nothing too serious. As with all electronic cameras if it dies it dies. The same goes for the Contax. Hard to find anyone willing/able to work on old electronic analogue cameras. But then again if they hold up for 30+ years, one can hope they'll keep going for another 30 years. :) I do try and service and fix my own cameras. I'm no expert, but I'm not afraid to try. And I do like to tinker with them. We were almost in the same field then. I went to uni and got a bachelor in civil engineering (architecture). Ended up mostly working with CAD/BIM software for about ten years. However, I made a career switch a few years back, for a simpler life as a tram technician/repairman.

[@wojciechneprostipotocki]

😂😂😂 jeżeli zajmujesz się tym zawodowo to to są tylko koszty pracy jeżeli to jest twoje hobby, każde hobby jest kosztowne

[@O.Persson]

Very true, I do wonder how many still shoot Large Format professionally? I suspect they are easily counted 😆