User's Guide to the View Camera, A (3rd Edition)
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,Photography & Video
User's Guide to the View Camera, A (3rd Edition) Details
From the Back Cover A User's Guide to the View Camera, Third Edition continues the tradition of offering a practical guide to the professional photographer's ultimate tool: the large-format camera system. Written in the clear, accessible style that is Jim Stone's hallmark, this text features careful presentation of the unusual features and advantages of large-format and view cameras, practical suggestions for operation and maintenance, and helpful, well-illustrated discussions of processes and components, including film systems, lenses, and accessories. The new edition features new material on digital accessories for large-format photography, including information about view cameras purpose-built for digital use. New illustrations by contemporary photographers update the standard reference on large-format cameras for the new millennium. Read more Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. WHAT IS THIS BOOK ABOUT? A User's Guide to the View Camera will tell you how to make photographs with several kinds of cameras referred to by the generic terms large-format and view camera. Format means the size and shape of the film used in a camera, and large-format refers to any camera using film larger than 2 1/4-inch-wide 120 roll film. All of the information about film presented in this book concerns large-format film. View camera is a general name for a group of camera designs in which the lens forms an image directly on a ground-glass screen so you can view that image before committing it to film. Almost all view cameras are large-format. And most large-format cameras are view cameras, so the large-format view camera is used as a model for most of the examples in this book. Other kinds of large-format cameras, discussed in Chapter 6, are usually view cameras with some of the features left off to streamline the camera for a specific application. The characteristic of almost all view cameras that most differentiates them from other kinds of cameras is that the front and back of the camera are capable of independent movement. And the characteristic of large-format film that makes it most different from small-format film is that it is made and used in sheets, not rolls. A large part of this book is dedicated to an understanding of these unusual features and how they can help you make better pictures. Some view cameras, however, do not incorporate independent movements, and some view cameras that do are not large-format. The province of this book, then, is to introduce you, the photographer, to the use of any camera with large-format film and the operation of any camera with a separately adjustable back or front. WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR? To get the most out of this book, you should already know something about photography. A one-semester black-and-white photography course or its equivalent is a good prerequisite. The chapter on film development, for example, assumes that you have had experience developing roll film; it explains what is different about developing the film used in large-format cameras. This book also assumes that you are familiar, or at least comfortable, with the basics of adjusting and operating hand cameras as it introduces you to the differences (and advantages) of view cameras. If you are learning the basics of photography and the view camera at the same time, you will want to have a good introductory photography book to supplement this one. In Chapter 2, you will learn about the different parts of the camera—where they are and what they do. Chapter 3 introduces the operation of the camera in its simplest mode; at this point, you will be able to begin to use your camera. With the last half of Chapter 3, you can, at your own pace, add the sophistication of advanced control. Later chapters give you a thorough knowledge of the film systems used in large-format cameras (including the unique Polaroid products), a complete understanding of the lenses you will use, an overview of new electronic and digital cameras, a survey of accessories for special purposes, and some advice on maintaining all your large-format camera equipment. Other than occasional highlights from the history of the camera, all the information presented here is intended to be practical. And although this book may be of interest to the scientist, theoretician, or camera collector, it is meant primarily for you, the photographer. Read more
Reviews
I have both the Original and Updated Third Edition of this book. The primary focus of this book is large format photography. It is an introduction to the field and provides information to those interested in learning more about it without breaking the bank purchasing equipment and then finding that it is much more expensive then they anticipated. Medium format digital photography is on it's way to replacing most aspects of large format photography but again the cost of equipment is really high.I'm an amateur and I have to seek out bargains and deal with old worn out equipment. But there is something about working under the focusing cloth and bring an image to life on the ground glass that is difficult to repeat even with medium format digital photography. James Stone's book provides that introduction in a friendly manner. There are other authors like Leslie Stroebel, "View Camera Basics", but it is a shortened version of his very technical college volume on that topic. An excellent book but directed to the individual who is studying to be a professional in that field."The Film Photography Handbook" by Marquardt and Andrae, of rockynook books, discusses using hybrid processing to overcome the issues for individuals not having a fully equipped darkroom and a drum scanner. Several companies have produced flat bed scanners that will scan large format negatives and allow the upload of these large files for processing in photo-processing software like photoshop. All you need is the ability to develop 4x5 negatives in daylight tanks in your temporary darkroom/bathroom at home. Larger negatives, 5x7, 8x10, and larger require other creative solutions.If this work by James Stones peaks your interest, there are ways to make large format photography possible even for the amateur. Yes the film is available and so is the chemistry. Most likely only through online shopping for most of us.