4×5 reborn, or “What are those things?”

By Jeffery Luhn

For perspective, let’s rewind our brains.

In a long-forgotten time, on a planet called Earth, there were no self-driving cars, no 20MP cell phone cameras, no affordable drones, no internet and no ice cream. It was a seriously bleak place. Nobody knows the exact details of our existence back then because there was no way for people to record their lives. They were born, ate bland organic foods, reproduced – or not – and died leaving no record. Not a written word, not a photograph, and no sad garage sales for their kids to muddle through. Nothing. Zip. Nada. Then came stone tablets, pointy buildings in the desert, marble sculptures, and the pinnacle of picture production, the 4×5 camera.

4×5 was a magical thing!

Sure, I’m leaving some interesting inventions out, but let’s face it: Being barefoot, naked, and hungry was a low point, and being well-paid to shoot sharp photos on 4×5 film was humanity’s high point. For me. We can waive mirrorless toys with superzoom lenses all day, but everything began to go downhill – in my world – when I stopped getting paid to shoot 4×5. Damn, that was a good time! Advertising execs willing to spend their client’s money!

An advertising exec examines a 4×5 Polaroid

Back in the heyday I had a Linhof 8×10 camera too, for food shots, but the 4×5 Super Cambo was the ‘smallest large format’ camera in my stable. The 8×10 was a massively big heavy thing that needed an electric stand to hold it!

Linhof 8″x10″ on a hydraulic camera stand

A 4×5 camera was reasonably portable and so darn fun to grandstand for clients. They loved to view a Polaroid and sign off on the shot with a Sharpie! It had way more mojo than my modern full frame DSLR. These days clients shoot over my shoulder with high end cell phones. It doesn’t take a mind reader to know what they’re thinking. “I can get that shot.”

It’s odd how their terrific cell phones have caused mine to stop ringing. Ugh. It’s my fault. They take my weekend cell phone photography classes.

Cell phone photo students practice their skills

Re: sharpness. We can argue megapixels, and one day affordable consumer cameras will be able to record 300+ MP images, but 4×5 film will still beat that number by any measure. Color 4×5 sheet film has at least 900 MP of ‘image data’ as characterized by ‘addressable pixels’ in the form of silver halides. The short-lived Kodachrome 4×5 (RIP) has been estimated at double that sharpness. But who’s counting? It’s an apples to oranges comparison. Bottom line: It doesn’t make a difference once you get to an equivalent of 100 MP because a negative that sharp produces a flaming good 20”x24” print.

Here’s a low-res scan of a 4×5 Ektachrome type B emulsion. I used tungsten lights for this shot. I miss the texture and warmth of 4×5 transparency films. I don’t get images like that with digital. It’s one of the last commercial shots I did on location with a 4×5 camera. Potter and artist, Dan Hennig, in his clay studio in Boulder Creek, CA. July, 1999.

Dan Hennig – master potter

I’m just shooting B&W these days, so for this discussion we’ll avoid speculation about comparisons and enjoy some recent results. What made me switch from shooting my full frame DSLR and return to large format B&W? How did I get here?

My college needed someone to teach a B&W film class. After interviewing people with master’s degrees in art, they weren’t getting what they wanted. Ideally, they needed an old-timer that loved the smell of Dektol in the morning. My dean casually asked if I would be interested. Of course I was!

The school darkroom has 15 Besler 23c useable enlargers, some with two lenses, enabling the use of 35mm and 120 negatives.

Author conducting a print development demo for students

A local camera store donated an old Omega D-2 with all the condenser lenses and negative carriers for 35mm through 4×5. That altered the course of my photography life.

Advertisement for an Omega D-2 enlarger. Ours is not in this shape!

That, my friends, is when the author of this article relapsed and fell prey (again) to the allure of 4×5. It happened late one afternoon when the students had left the darkroom, and I had the place to myself. Jimi was singing Purple Haze on the boom box. I placed a nice old negative I’d taken of my dear departed mother into the Omega and made a test strip. As the image appeared in the developer, my heart started thumping. A spectacular print was soon to follow. I’m not a religious guy, but I imagine the rapture to be something like what I experienced.

This 4×5 photo of my mother was taken around 1980 with a Cambo Super and 210mm Symmar lens.  What you see is a photo of the print. The copy shot was taken with a Nikon D-610 and an old Nikkor 55mm macro lens at ISO 800.

My lovely mother

Is 4×5 really worth the effort? How sharp is it? As sharp as any full frame digital shot, but with creamy smooth gradations.

Extreme close up of eye

I already had loads of 4×5 negatives in my files, but that wouldn’t do. The photo-reptilian part of my brain wanted new, new, new images. A day outside with my current monorail 4×5 and Rodenstock  210mm lens was not satisfying. I dusted off a circa 1956 Linhof press-view camera with a Schneider 150mm and it was better, but unwieldly. Anything with a Linhof label belongs in the heavyweight division.

Linhof Press View Camera circa 1956

So, I began looking for lightweight 4×5 cameras that could accommodate my ailing 90mm Angulon, or better yet, a lens that has become a favorite of landscape shooters: The 65mm Super Angulon. If I could have that, everything in the world would be perfect. Almost.

Neither my brutish Linhof nor my Omega View could accommodate a 65mm. What was I to do? Sometime around 2 AM while my wife and dog slept soundly, I trolled the internet looking for a modern version of the ‘cigar box’ camera I had once rented. It had a 65mm Super Angulon mounted onto a wooden Cuban cigar box with a spring-loaded film holder mechanism on the back. It was sharp and it smelled great. I tried to buy it, but the guy wouldn’t sell. He was making too much money pimping it. I hoped there might be something similar on eBay. Stumbling through websites and reviews with bleary eyes, I happened upon a 3-D printed camera made in Norway with a version built for a 65mm Super Angulon! I ordered the specific model for a 65mm with the special helicoid focusing option. (That upgrade not shown here) I’d taken a big step, but that wasn’t enough.

Will Travel brand 3-D printed 4×5

My addiction craved more, so before going to bed I ordered a used 65mm lens from my friends at Seawood Camera in San Raphael, CA. When I finally laid down, I couldn’t stop twitching. Even the dog sensed something big was going to happen.

Super Angulon 65mm lens

The lens arrived in a few days, but the wait for the 3-D camera was like two eternities. Morten, the camera manufacturer in Norway, indicated it would be a month to complete the order. The wait had me fondling the lens, mounting it onto a cardboard box to form silly images, and just plain anxious to get the camera. As soon as it came, I had it assembled and working in 15 minutes. It was better than I expected. It’s a very well-made camera for my purposes. I don’t need swings or tilts. I just want to point the lens at stuff and get great big negatives. My first images were everything I’d hoped for.

I used a 6-shot Grafmatic back like the one shown below.

Grafmatic back inserted into camera

Here’s the first image I took with the camera. My friend James is looking at a camera in his family’s antique store. 2 seconds f/16. He’s moving slightly, but everything else is sharp. All of the following photos were done with Ilford HP5 at ISO 800 using Rodinal 1:50 at 75f and printed. No scans have been made at this time. The copy shots were done on a Nikon D-610 with an old Nikkor 55m at ISO 800. As you can imagine, the prints glow and the copy shots don’t. Insert sad face emogee here.

Shot of James in his store
Cowboys in Columbia, CA
#1 Interior of Knight Foundry in Sutter Creek, CA
Exterior of Knight Foundry

This is a portion of the previous negative blown up to the equivalent of a 20”x24” print. When you blow up a sharp film image it gets grainy, not pixelated. If you’ve used a developer with high acutance, like Rodinal, the detail holds up better than digital with its jaggies and Macky lines resulting from over-sharpening. I’m sorry these examples don’t convey the print quality. Analog materials need to be seen in person.

Portion of previous negative

The next photo is an inadvertent double exposure. I had taken a shot of a wall with my lens set at 1/400 @ f/16. I doubted it had exposed the film, so I reused the same frame on another scene. This is caused a ghostly blurring to the right and slightly below the bright part of the wall. When you’re out of practice with 4×5, stuff happens!

Wall of tools Knight Foundry

If anyone reading this article has bulky 4×5 cameras, think about removing the lenses and selling the gear while you can still get a few dollars for it, because this 3-D thing from Norway may change everything. It has for me!

3-D printed camera

I’m in rapture, whatever that means.

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About The Author

By Jeffery Luhn
I started as 'pro' photographer at 17 when I was hired to photograph 'The Hippie Invasion of Europe' by United Press International in 1969. It was a great assignment, from what I remember! Photography and video production has been my career. Teaching photography has been my sideline from 1980, but is now my main job. I love film. I also publish novels on Amazon.
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Comments

Paul Quellin on 4×5 reborn, or “What are those things?”

Comment posted: 25/09/2024

Just wonderful. I have to get going properly with my Toyo 5x4 (sorry, seemingly the English habit is putting the 5 before the 4, I know it is different elsewhere). I can see the excitement with large format, I want to get on with it. I still run a small business which I dislike and there seem to be so few days when I can set aside enough time to plan some shots with the Toyo, so it tends to sit in its box. Even my Mama C220 takes a fraction of the time to organise before releasing the shutter. Reading your article makes me look forward even more to a time when I can say... today is a large format day... no other nonsense. Maybe the 3D printed cameras are a stop gap solution.

The images in the article are terrific. I particularly like the two shots inside the foundry. Thank you.
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Tim Bradshaw on 4×5 reborn, or “What are those things?”

Comment posted: 25/09/2024

This is wonderful. I particularly like your point that you need to *look at prints* to see what these things can do.

However you are wrong about one thing: the latter-day 3d-printed cameras are very convenient, but they have one major disadvantage over something made of wood and cloth. If you approach a stranger with a strange wooden camera and ask to take their photograph in return for a print, they *never* refuse: traditional wooden 4x5 field cameras are the ultimate tool for street portraiture. (And they don't have to be heavy: most of the weight of mine, with a 210mm lens, is the lens I think.)
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Jeffery Luhn replied:

Comment posted: 25/09/2024

Tim, You are right! A wooden camera with a bellows is a real ice breaker and so entertaining to watch being used. I still have my Intrepid field camera.

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Neil Ó Muirgheasa on 4×5 reborn, or “What are those things?”

Comment posted: 25/09/2024

Wow. As a recent owner of a Sinar 4x5, I highly value the flexibility of tilt and shift, but I'd happily forego those for something more portable as well. Certainly for the type of shots you've taken.

The big problem with a 4X5 is getting it to to places where it can really be exploited - out in the broad and deep world of landscapes. But when you want fine detail, is there anything better - even when your focal and image planes are at normal configuration? Well, maybe an 8x10.

Wonderful photo of your mother.
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Steviemac on 4×5 reborn, or “What are those things?”

Comment posted: 25/09/2024

That was a fabulous essay, well written and very enjoyable. I now have to stay calm, stay in control and resist with all my will the temptation to get into large format photography.
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Bill Brown on 4×5 reborn, or “What are those things?”

Comment posted: 25/09/2024

Having grown up in times when the 4x5 was the format of choice for architecture work I love all the detail. One of the biggest turnoffs for digital was when I would go to galleries and make the mistake of walking up close to the often times large scale prints. What a letdown. There were no fine details, sometimes just no details. Not to mention the edge halos as they tried to create the illusion of detail. You had to stand at least 4 feet back in order to think you were seeing details. Some argue that walking up close is unfair, I should stand at the correct viewing distance for a print that size. Wrong, Wrong, Wrong. I revel in abundance of information. To me the detail is the payoff, the icing, the cream. Alas though I have never exceeded 2 1/4 in my personal work.

I love being able to read the small type in that sign. I'm ready to face my day now. Thanks!
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Zheng Li on 4×5 reborn, or “What are those things?”

Comment posted: 25/09/2024

Hi Jeffrey, nice one you have there and excellent photos out of it!

I happen to have a very similar one from WillTravel, and used it as my Point'n Shoot landscape camera. With 65mm lens, it is almost focus free.
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Gary Smith on 4×5 reborn, or “What are those things?”

Comment posted: 25/09/2024

Based on this article, I've decided that all of my future articles will be sent to Jeffrey for a final review and edit. I just love the way you set the stage in the opening lines of this article. Not only that but after telling my wife that I don't need any more cameras, I have to say that these WillTravels look interesting!
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Jeffery Luhn replied:

Comment posted: 25/09/2024

Thanks for your comment, Gary. You're a good writer, so you won't be needing me. Writing a kookie intro is my style, and the fun part. After that, it's all work. Here's an idea: Maybe camera sellers should have an option for every sale 'Press here to include a dozen long stem roses with your equipment purchase.'

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Jens Kotlenga on 4×5 reborn, or “What are those things?”

Comment posted: 25/09/2024

Hey, you have really piqued my interest in this travel-friendly camera. Would you care to share a link to the Norwegian guys who printed your camera for you?
Thanks, Jens
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Jeffery Luhn replied:

Comment posted: 25/09/2024

Jens, Run 'WillTravel 4x5' in eBay and itvwill take you to Morten's website. Great seller! Good luck!

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Graham Orbell on 4×5 reborn, or “What are those things?”

Comment posted: 25/09/2024

Jeffery, you and me are on the same wavelength, especially concerning advertising executives; in my experience from many years ago. But I’ll skip the history. Right now I’m attempting to sell a 4x5 camera on market place and judging by the questions nobody knows what it is. I’d considered making it into a more portable box camera something like your 3D printed one but I feel it’s 135 mm lens is a little long. Thanks for your entertaining story and photographs
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Art Meripol on 4×5 reborn, or “What are those things?”

Comment posted: 25/09/2024

I need one of those! I have my old Crown Graphic and have had it out recently with some B&W. Last time I shot a chrome with it was for a portrait of Hillary Clinton back in the mid-80's. This camera just looks so fun and portable, makes 4X5 look like fun instead of somewhat of a chore.
Great story and pix too.
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Geoff Chaplin on 4×5 reborn, or “What are those things?”

Comment posted: 28/09/2024

A great post. The Toyo Field 4x5 (and even the 8x10) are easily manageable - the 4x5 similar in size and weight to a TLR - and have most of the movements you need. Shooting ultra-wides with a recessed lens board is possible although a bit of a pain. You're absolutely right: analogue prints need to be seen in front of your face, digital doesn't do it.
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