Film stars: Bigger is better
Large-format film is a great way to achieve the best quality for your images says
john Wade delves into the world of large-format film
If you’re a film user who craves the very best image quality, go large. Forget medium format on 120 rollfilm. Those images might look impressive against 35mm, but they pale compared to the excellence of large format. The easiest way to use that today is with 5x4in sheet film.
Sheet film formats originated in the sizes of glass plates used by cameras before rollfilm became the norm, hence the reason they are measured in inches, rather than millimetres or centimetres. Full plate was 81⁄ 2x61⁄2in, half plate was 61⁄ 2x41⁄4in, and quarter plate was 41⁄ 4x31⁄4in. There were also smaller and larger sizes, the most popular of the latter being 10x8in, although plate cameras were made for sizes as large as 15x12in. But in the 1930s through to the 1950s, 5x4in plates, and subsequently sheet film, suddenly became popular – and that’s the size that has survived. Ilford, Kodak and Fujifilm between them make black & white negative, colour negative and colour reversal 5x4in sheet film.
Before you can use sheet film, it must be loaded into a film holder. This is a flat box with slots on each side, covered by a sliding panel called a darkslide. In a darkroom, or using a changing bag, the darkslide is withdrawn, the film inserted into the slots, emulsion side facing out and the darkslide slid back into position to make the whole thing light
tight. The film has notches in one of the four-inch sides, easily identified in the dark by running a finger along the edge. Providing the film is loaded with the notch in the top right-hand corner of the holder, then the emulsion will be facing the correct way.
Large-format cameras are still around at specialist dealers and you’ll find a selection on eBay. Names to look for include Graflex, Linhof, Wista, Toyo and even Sanderson, if you want an older, collectable example. The camera reviewed here is one of the easiest to find at a reasonable price. It was made by Micro Precision Products (MPP), which began making cameras in 1948. This model is the Mark VI made in 1952. It is a folding bed design, so called because when folded, it resembles a large, heavy box, from which a bed folds down. The lens panel is then pulled out along the bed on rails, linked to the back of the camera by bellows.
Lenses and shutters
Lenses and shutters for 5x4in cameras are usually found in the same unit, which fits to the front of the camera via a lens board, tailored to the particular model. Providing you have the right lens board, you can use a wide range of lens/shutter combinations. The standard focal length on this format is usually around 135mm. The camera we’re looking at is fitted with a Wray Lustrar 135mm f/4.8 lens in a Synchro- Compur shutter speeded 1-1/500sec. That’s the focal length for which the camera’s focusing scale is calibrated.
The scale is at the side of the bed. As a knob beside the scale is turned, the lens panel moves backwards and forwards while a pointer moves along the scale from one yard (where else would you find a focusing scale measured in yards?) to infinity. There is also a coupled rangefinder on the side of the body. Wire frame viewfinders slotted into an accessory shoe on top of the camera give the angle of view for different lenses. A separate meter or one built into another camera is needed to judge exposures. When not using the focusing scale, focus with different focal lengths of lens can also be handled by opening the lens on its ‘B’ setting and holding it open with a lockable cable
release, so that its upside- down image is projected onto a ground- glass screen under a hood at the rear of the body. This focusing screen also comes into play when the bellows are racked out further than normal for close- up photography. The screen and hood on the MPP are sprung so that the assembly can be moved back to allow the film holder to be inserted.
With the camera on a tripod, the shutter open and the correctly focused picture composed on the screen, the photographer goes through a set sequence of actions: 1 Close the shutter 2 Insert the film holder 3 Take an exposure reading 4 Adjust the shutter and aperture 5 Remove the darkslide 6 Make the exposure 7 Replace the darkslide 8 Remove the film holder. That’s the way you do it with sheet film. If it all sounds too complicated, don’t despair, because the MPP can be fitted with a rollfilm back to shoot eight 6x9cm images on 120 film. It’s easier, but it rather defeats the object of using a large-format camera.
Camera movements are also possible with the MPP. The most useful and easy to use of these are lens shift and rise and fall. Suppose you are photographing a tall building and, from your camera position, it’s impossible to get the top into the frame. You don’t want to tilt the camera because that will introduce distortion in the form of converging verticals. So you keep the camera level and raise the lens panel vertically, parallel to the film. In this way the top of the building will be brought into the picture without distortion. Lens shift works in a similar way with the lens being shifted left and right of its usual central position instead of up and down. The effect is similar to rise and fall, only in the horizontal rather than the vertical plane, allowing more of the subject to be included in the left or right sides of the picture without having to turn the camera.
No one is going to tell you that using a 5x4in camera is without its difficulties. But what you lose in ease of use, you gain big time in picture quality. And, if you are more used to shooting a dozen or more pictures to ensure you get one good one, knowing that you have only one sheet of film at a time to capture the image concentrates the mind wonderfully.