[LargeFormat] Member intro and reversal film recommendation

[Jim Brick]

Hi Ron,

I've been shooting LF since 1959, first commercially, then for my own 
personal pleasure. I shoot 99% landscape and 90% transparencies. I print 
everything on Cibachrome up to 20x24 in my own darkroom. Larger prints are 
LightJet prints done by a local lab.

Anyway... My favorite landscape film is Velvia. It has the extra punch that 
gives you those deep blue skies and brilliant early morning/late evening 
(sweet light) photographs. But if I am going to make long exposures, 
minutes rather than seconds, I use Provia 100F since it handles long 
exposures better than Velvia.

Filters. You NEVER need a UV filter. All lenses made from about 1950 to 
present have all of the UV inhibition built into the glass and cement 
between the elements. You could use a warming filter when you get to, 
perhaps, 7000'. Or anytime you want the scene warmed-up. I use a B+W KR3 
quite often at sea level, along the coast. The ONLY filters you should 
entertain are those that will ENHANCE you photographic result. Polarizer, 
warming, ND, ND grad, color grad, etc. And make sure that they are of the 
best quality. B+W, Heliopan, Hitech, Calumet, Sinar, Tiffen, Kodak, etc. 
Stay away from the cheap stuff like Cokin and the like. Remember, the 
filter you put in front of your lens will nullify the beautiful 
anti-reflection coating on your lens an the filter becomes the first line 
of defense against flare, ghost reflections, etc. A cheap filter screws-up 
more photographs with veiling flare and the like, killing the recording of 
very fine detail on your film. So make sure that your filter is 1st class, 
made by a company that uses optically flat glass/resin and uses the proper 
coating techniques.

End of lecture... sorry. I teach a lot of workshops and what people stick 
on their lens would amaze you. Then they wonder why they have flat lifeless 
crappy photographs.

:-)

Jim


At 12:24 PM 6/7/2003 -0400, Ronald Schilling wrote:
>Hello everyone,
>
>My name is Ronald Schilling and I am getting back into large format
>after about 16 years. Since I didn't do a lot with LF back then, I
>consider myself a beginner.
>
>I have a Calumet 4x5 monorail with a 150 mm Caltar-II lens both purchased 
>in 1985. I can't afford any other lenses right now but hope to get a wide 
>angle lens in the future.
>
>At the end of the month I'm going camping in Western Maryland and I'm 
>going to take the 4x5 along. I want to shoot some reversal film and I 
>would like your opinion about what type I should use. I have been thinking 
>about Kodak E100G, E100VS or Fuji Provia 100f (because of its wider range 
>of exposure time without correction). I don't have any specific shots or 
>times of day in mind although early morning and around sunset will 
>probably be the best.
>
>Also, should I use any UV filter for altitude? (2500 to 3000 feet)
>
>Ron