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[petelush]

I have not seen anybody else's Graphic pictures; I can only say I'm disappointed with the resolution on mine. Is it the lens, or something else?

Camera: Crown Graphic Special
Lens: Schneider-Krueznach Xenar 4.7 135
Rangefinder: was calibrated by a camera repair store.

Groundglass image: looks great. Photos taken by focussing with rangefinder: not so hot on Plus-X, somewhat better on chrome film. Excellent clarity and contrast on b & w Polaroid film using Polaroid back, but these were figure studies, so no way of comparing to the plus-X landscapes re resolution.

My quandry is I don't know how good 4x5 pictures should look, but the contact prints and the one 8 x 10 of my plus-X negatives, were poor in terms of resolution and detail. Certainly not as good as a decent 35mm picture.

Do I need a better lens? Am I wrong in some other aspect? Thanks to one and all who respond.

[45PSS]

Sounds to me that your ground glass is not at the same position as the film plane when the film holder is inserted. Refer to article in PHOTO TECHNIQUES entitled Improving View Camera Sharpness by Jack East, page 28, May/June 1999 issue. http://www.phototechmag.com .


[ This Message was edited by: 45PSS on 2001-11-01 22:37 ]

[ This Message was edited by: 45PSS on 2001-11-01 22:40 ]

[Kim]

Hi

One experiement you can do is to go to a highly textured spot...like a nice rocky shoreline. Take an exposure with a fairly open aperture. Carefully focus on the groundglass on a specific target. Develop the image....or use the polaroid...and examine the image for focus.. Is it on the spot you focused on? Is there a zone of sharp focus but in front or behind your target focus? If so the problem is the placement of the ground glass. If there is not an acceptable zone of focus then the problem is with your lens...maybe its a glamour portrait lens

good luck

Kim Hartshorn

[petelush]

In reading the two replies to my post above, I think I may not have been entirely clear (no pun intended). The pictures I took were with rangefinder focussing, not ground glass focussing. I mentioned "groundglass image great" to show what the lens can do -- on a groundglass. On my 8 x 10, which was of pictures resting on steps up a staircase, even the plane that was in focus (compared with the other planes) just didn't deliver any real "snap", so I am subjectively disappointed. Maybe I was expecting too much from 4 x 5. Also, I would like to know how my lens is rated: bottom end, average, excellent, etc. Also, is this something about Polaroid film that just delivers a better image than Plus X? Thanks again.

[alecj]

Well, if you read the posts above, you certainly didn't understand them. It doesn't matter what the ground glass image looks like if it isn't in the same place as the film when the exposure is made.

Go back and read them again. Then, set up your camera along a fence, focus on a specific spot along that fence, expose develop and print, then see if the image produced on the film was at the same spot you picked.

[jpmose]

Do to length of message I sent a response "private message."

[jpmose]

Do to length of message I sent a response "private message."

[geobedell]

so, i guess these messages are kinda old, but i want to make a suggestion anyway. if your polaroids are sharp, but your negs are not, you probably had a problem loading your film. since you said you are new to large format, i would make sure you are not loading your film "arse backwards" - the emulsion side has to face out / up, ie towards the universe in front of your lens, not towards the ground glass. if you shot through the base of your film, you can still get an image, but not a sharp one. also, if you had problems loading your film, you might not have inserted it all the way under the guides in the holder - if the films not flat, the image will not be sharp. gb.

[hartwell_a_m]

4X5 is a wonderfull format I would recomend that you focus through the ground glass and not the range finder. It sounds like the camera shop didnt set the rangfinder corectly.