4x5 Digital back with Nikon adapter...

[kdryan]

I've been wanting to go back to large format for a while, but with the scarcity of film and the problems with processing had thought about a digital back. Expensive... The cameras and lenses have come down quite a bit though. I found this adapter so I could mount my Nikon to it and wondered if anyone had ever used one. I am concerned about the coverage and any vignetting...

On Ebay (not my auction)...

Nikon DSLR Digital Back Adapter for 4x5" Large Format Camera D4 D7000 DF D7000 | eBay

 

[tirediron]

Not really sure I see the point; you're still only exposing a 24x36mm sensor.

 

[Derrel]

I would think that any large format lens that can cover 4x5 sheet film can surely cover a 24x36mm or smaller sensor without any issues.

 

[kdryan]

Not really sure I see the point; you're still only exposing a 24x36mm sensor.

Shooting with a 4x5 has more rewards than a bigger picture.

 

[Light Guru]

I have used a canon version. It is designed to allow you to take several images and then stitch them together later on the computer. You have to take 2 rows of images and remove the back and flip it when moving for the bottom row.

I found that all the changing of the back and moving of the camera simply took way to long and sometime introduced slight camera movement that caused some of the frames to mismatch with focus.

It's more problematic then it's worth.

I've been wanting to go back to large format for a while, but with the scarcity of film and the problems with processing had thought about a digital back.

What scarcity? Just because many photography stores don't Cary it does not mean it's hard to get.

What processing problems? Film is no more difficult to process now then it was 10 years ago.

 

[greybeard]

That adaptor allows you to mount Nikon lenses on a 4x5 view camera? Interesting.

 

[kdryan]

I have used a canon version. It is designed to allow you to take several images and then stitch them together later on the computer. You have to take 2 rows of images and remove the back and flip it when moving for the bottom row.

I found that all the changing of the back and moving of the camera simply took way to long and sometime introduced slight camera movement that caused some of the frames to mismatch with focus.

It's more problematic then it's worth.

If you have to go through all that trouble, then I agree with you. I'm going to have to pass on that one.

What scarcity? Just because many photography stores don't Cary it does not mean it's hard to get.

I used to be able to walk into a camera store and pick up 4x5 Film like I would a roll of 35mm. Now I am lucky to find DECENT 35mm film.

What processing problems? Film is no more difficult to process now then it was 10 years ago.

A couple weeks ago I walked into a camera store and was chatting with a woman who said she had been a photographer for 20 years and yes, they process large format film, yet she had never heard of a Hasselblad. No one in my city of 300,000 people processes large format in house and I don't have room to set up a darkroom. It is MUCH more difficult to process large format film than it used to be.

 

[Light Guru]

If you have to go through all that trouble, then I agree with you. I'm going to have to pass on that one.

I used to be able to walk into a camera store and pick up 4x5 Film like I would a roll of 35mm. Now I am lucky to find DECENT 35mm film.

A couple weeks ago I walked into a camera store and was chatting with a woman who said she had been a photographer for 20 years and yes, they process large format film, yet she had never heard of a Hasselblad. No one in my city of 300,000 people processes large format in house and I don't have room to set up a darkroom. It is MUCH more difficult to process large format film than it used to be.

So by the film online. The whole online thing is great for buying film. You are not limited to what your local store has and you can shop around for best price. You can also buy xray film for dirt cheep.

Just because you don't have a darkroom set up does not mean you can't develop film yourself. A changing bag and a bathroom or kitchen is all you news. I develop my 4x5 film in the laundry room but have used kitchens and bathrooms in the past.

 

[Light Guru]

That adaptor allows you to mount Nikon lenses on a 4x5 view camera? Interesting.

NO. It lets you put a nikon camera body onto the back of a 4x5 camera. You still need large format lenses. A lens foe a nikon dslr would not give an image circle big enough to cover a medium format peace of film let alone cover a 4x5 inch peace of film.

 

[tirediron]

I would think that any large format lens that can cover 4x5 sheet film can surely cover a 24x36mm or smaller sensor without any issues.

Of that I would have no doubt... I'm just not sure I see the point in dealing with a large format camera, only to get a 35mm file.

 

[kdryan]

The camera's movements add a lot of flexibility when dealing with convergence and such and for adjusting the focal plane. Because you can adjust the focal plane, you can get greater depth of field at a lower f-stop. They also are fantastic for landscape photography. I will also admit to a certain nostalgia for large and medium format and that digital photography has come into it's own. I'm not quite a complete dinosaur yet! But it seems to me that my old 4x5 used to make me think more about what I shoot and why. There's value in being forced to slow down a bit and making every shot count.