Reasons for using large format

The debate about the format is an old topic, which is mostly carried out among professionals. But this article is written for amateur photographers rather than professional photographers. "Professional" is limited by the scope of photography, while amateur is more free. It is impossible for wildlife photographers to use large format, and it is common for advertising photographers to switch from large format to medium format because customers can't afford too much. Therefore, the behavior of professionals will influence and mislead amateurs.

There are many reasons for using large format. First of all, the lens plane of our common small and medium format camera is completely parallel to the film plane and cannot move, while the two planes of large format can move each other. This mutual movement includes technical movements such as shifting axis, tilting upwards and swinging. These sports contain a lot of scientific knowledge. As an amateur, of course, you should know this knowledge, otherwise you can't be called an amateur. I think amateur "amateur" is a concept of time and whether it is directly linked to money. "Photographer" is the topic.

It is precisely because we love it and like it that we need to understand the words deep prospect, deep scenery, image circle, perspective, clear plane and so on. It is difficult to really describe the meaning of these words without the overall situation concept. Why does moving the front camera group change the clear plane, while moving the rear camera group changes the perspective relationship? Why is the focal length of Schneider XL 47mm and XL 72mm lenses 98? ..... it all needs big format knowledge to explain.

In the sense of mastering knowledge, it is very necessary to play with large format. Because from a technical point of view, large-format cameras do incorporate a lot of photographic knowledge. Playing with large format can help you understand the principle and common sense of photography more deeply and apply it to practice, so that you can understand the truth that "knowledge is power".

The second point of using large format is image quality. Photography is an art based on technology, and photography without image quality can only be regarded as a sloppy record. Ordinary photographers may not have 4×5 or 8× 10 in their hands, and they can't imagine any difference in image quality from small and medium-sized cameras, but we can experience it through a simple experiment.

Prepare a 135 camera and a lens with a large zoom ratio, shoot a person at a distance of 10 meter with a focal length of 200mm, then zoom to 100mm to shoot this person again, and finally shoot the same content with a focal length of 24 mm, and enlarge the first negative to 5 inches and the second to 5 inches diagonally. These four 5-inch photos are almost the same content, using the same lens, but with different magnifications. You can clearly see the difference. They represent 8× 10, 4×5, 6×7cm and 24×36mm frames respectively. This experiment is just a metaphor, but the difference is very obvious, so we can clearly understand the concept of magnification. Enlarge the same photo, the bigger the negative, the smaller the magnification, and the better the image. This is true in traditional power amplifiers, and it is also true in digital power amplifiers, and it is more obvious. Our eyes are discerning, and we can judge "happiness" and "evil" from different images. Unfortunately, this point is always ignored in our minds.

Today, the number of 135 cameras is probably more than 1000 times that of large-format cameras, but Leica dared not compliment it when it invented the prototype of 135, because it was a big-format world. The strong support for the popularization of small cameras is the improvement of film quality and lens quality, but today, if you enlarge a 24-inch photo, the best 135 camera can't compare with the cheapest 4×5 camera. The premise is that two cameras should be put together for comparison. People's taste (light or salty) can be cultivated, and so can people's eyes. We have seen too many small pictures and formed some stubborn ideas. In fact, one day outside the mountain, more than one old photographer felt that there was no condition to use good equipment when shooting in those years, so that good photos became a pity because of poor resolution.

The third reason for using large format is "detail". This detail has two meanings. One is the human eye. It is difficult for our eyes to see very small things, which leads us to ignore many things when taking pictures with small cameras. I couldn't see it at that time, but it was discovered after it was developed into a photo. Large-format images are so large that we can pay attention to details, and we can see many more subtle things with a magnifying glass.

The second level of detail refers to the ability of photos to reproduce small things. No matter film or CCD, it is difficult to record very small things, and photography is just to reduce the big things on the negative or CCD (except macro photography), and the reduction ratio may be more than 100 times. If 135 camera is calculated as 100 times, a stone with a square of 100 mm is only one millimeter square on 135 film. Although our lens resolution is very high, although our film resolution reaches 0/00 line pairs per mm/kloc, anyone can imagine the replication ability of a millimeter object, whether it is a enlarger lens or a scanner. And if you use an 8× 10 camera, the size of this 100 mm square stone on the film is 7 mm square, which is of course much clearer.

What really matters is the magnification. The author thinks that the importance of magnification is far more than lens and film. Good and bad lenses sold in the market may be only 10%, at most 50%, but the magnification is 5 times or 15 times. This difference is not 10%, but 500%. Image quality and detail are actually interrelated, and magnification is the factor that affects all this. Let's pay attention to sesame, but don't lose watermelon.

The fourth reason for choosing a large format is the rigorous and elegant way of working. Many amateurs always envy those professional photographers, who have three cameras with motors, long guns and short guns, and endless films ... They have gradually developed a habit of murdering a lot of films no matter what they shoot, and the shutter motor keeps ringing, and they especially like to get together and participate in various photo tours. I like small cameras, too, but if you want to make a good movie, you should work hard. A tripod can help you take good photos better than a motor. If you can get closer, it is beneficial not to use a telephoto lens, to lift the reflector in advance and to release it with a pull wire.

The working mode of large format is different from that of small camera, which requires the photographer to have a rigorous working mode. It doesn't matter if you don't think rigorously, you can't take pictures at all. Anyone who has used large format knows that large format will make people think more and more. Perhaps it is because we are greatly influenced by Bresson that we attach too much importance to the instantaneous art of photography and neglect that photography is also an art that condenses time and space.

One of the reasons why many people don't use large format is the economy, but these people may not have carefully calculated the accounts. You don't need too many lenses to use a large format, and often two or three are enough. Even the best 4×5 camera is only 30,000 yuan, and the overall price of several heads is not much more expensive than Hasselblad's complete set. The number of large-format lenses is limited, so there is no need for too much film.

There are more reasons to use large format, and there are also good reasons not to use large format. I just came back from driving school and studied big trucks, but in fact, I may never drive big trucks in my life, but the old coach always hopes that students will start with big trucks, and you will form a very formal habit from the beginning of big trucks. Isn't the big format the same?

The large format is 4×5, 5×7, 8× 10 inch or more. For amateurs, 4×5 is actually enough. The reason is that it is reasonable to enlarge photos within 24 inches, and the magnification is 4-5 times, so the range of lenses that can be used is wider. In addition, the 4×5 technology adjustment function is also the most convenient, with a relatively small volume and a large choice-Lin, Xianna and so on are all good machines. The applicability of 8× 10 is relatively poor, and it is only suitable for specific fields, which makes sense. Although there are many restrictions on oversize borders such as 12×20, 16×20 and 20×24 inches, their significance goes far beyond 8× 10. 8× 10 is usually enlarged, while 12×20 is mainly used to print and make black and white photos. Its unparalleled picture quality is completely another world, and it is difficult to understand without seeing it with your own eyes. I think it is enough for amateurs to take 4×5 color photos, 8× 10 for black and white photos and 12×20 or 16×20 directly. From a digital point of view, the vitality of a large area still exists. It is impossible to make the area of CCD 12×20 inches, and there is still a long way to go. Digital replacement of 135 may be today or tomorrow.