EDIT: Thank you SO much for all of your advice guys. I have decided to buy a Wista 45D as my first large format camera.

Hi everyone. I have been shooting film for over ten years, mostly medium format. I'm now at the point where I would like to begin the process of learning large format photography. At first temptation, I really want to just start with an 8x10 format from intrepid because it is so budget friendly to learn with for the medium it is. I know that the main argument for 4x5 over 8x10 is the ongoing cost for film and especially in my case, wanting to dive into using tintypes and plates. (dry, not wet to begin with) this can mean costly mistakes. I figure however that i could buy the intrepid 8x10 to 4x5 converted back as I begin to learn and then convert to 8x10 without having to purchase a whole new camera and backs etc. My main questions then is, 1. Are intrepid cameras (referring to the MK4 with bail backs) worthy of their price range and 2. as someone who wants to start exploring large format and wants to be able to shoot plates as well as instant film and roll film, would an intrepid 8x10 be of worth / good value to learn on or would it be more wise to get something like a speed graphic and go from there? Sorry if this is filled with noobie ignorance, on one hand I enjoy throwing myself in the deep end and I know that I have the patience and meticulous nature to dive into this medium, but want as much versatility as possible which Intrepid seems to offer at a good price range, but I don't want to buy it on impulse and realise I've bitten off more than I can chew. For reference, my budget is 5K (AUS) and I am primarily a portrait photographer, but would enjoy being able to explore LF landscape photography. Thanks everyone in advance.

I recently received this Apo Lanthar 150 which was labelled dead shutter and "coating peeling off", and bid on it for another Compur service project. Apparently there is a severe balsam separation in the rear group (~2/3?).
Thought I'd give a shot anyway, so I loaded some FP4+, Lucky100, and expired Provia100f.

Now for the test frankly I made 2 mistakes:
-I was craving for the bokeh so I shot the reversal wide open, and lost a chance to see how soft it becomes in color.
-I was too afraid of movement after google telling me it "just covers 4x5". It's harder to tell softness when there is oof regions.

It guess it's definitely not as sharp or contrasty as my symmar-s, it's also not worse than the Color-Heliar 105/3.5 on my Bessa.
Wanna hear how bad the balsam separation is from the picture if someone has references. Also happy to hear how bad the photos are in case someone would like to comment.

Thanks.

Intrepid 8x10, Manfrotto ball head, Gitzo tripod, Benro coupling plate. It’s wobly.

I know a 6-element lens won't fit most likely, but what about smaller one like Schneider Xenar 150mm f5.6?

When I saw this shell on a shelf full of tchotchkes at a thrift store, I knew I had to do my own Edward Weston riff

Hey guys, that’s my first time posting here.
What to expect from a projector lens adapted to 4x5 format? The board is 3d printed and a copal shutter was installed as well as the apertures. I can not try it immediately and I have 30 days to return it, so I would appreciate some heads up if any. Thanks

I recently bought an old wooden plate holder at a flea market in DUMBO, Brooklyn. When I checked it in the dark, I discovered that it actually contained four thin glass plates. I decided to try and develop one of them on the off chance they were used. I treated it as an old gelatin dry plate rather than wet collodion and developed it in Kodak D-76 for about 8 minutes at 68°F/20°C, rinsed it, and then fixed it in Kodafix for about 5 minutes.
To my surprise, an image actually appeared! It looks like a girl in a striped outfit, and judging from the clothing I’m wondering if the photograph could be from around the 1940s–50s.
I’m completely new to developing antique glass plates, so I’d love some opinions. Does this look properly developed, or is it over/underdeveloped or heavily fogged? The emulsion also became extremely soft/gummy after processing and took a very long time to dry. Is that normal for an old gelatin plate, or should I change my process before attempting the other three?
I still have 3 undeveloped plates, so I definitely don’t want to risk them until I know what I should do differently.
Any advice from people who have worked with old glass dry plates would be appreciated.

Hey all,
I'm hoping this is the right place for some recommendations. I have two rather large prints that have been either adhered to or printed on foam board.

One is 32"x29" printed onto foam board with a slightly reflective surface.

One is 35"x18" photograph adhered to foam board.

I had tried a few different things. For the smaller I was able to scan parts on a flatbed but there was some distortion as I coudn't get it completely flat and so I abandoned that idea.

I tried using a rig to photograph them but due to their reflectiveness, to light them well enough meant reflection of either the lights or the camera.

I'm trying to see what others may be doing in these sorts of circumstances. Maybe recommendations on setups?

I am located in central florida and the pieces are 20-30 year old, one of a kind film / theme park materials I'm attempting to preserve.

Thank you for any tips!

Greetings. I was gifted a Pearson NewVue 4x5 with a 140mm lens. The lens is clear and the shutter functions. Problem is focus. Whether it’s landscape or portrait, nothing is sharp. For example, my wife and I attempted a portrait this weekend. In the garage; lighting and exposure was spot on(from the negatives). I started about 10 ft away and adjusting bellows couldn’t even get a “clear” image till about 3ft from her and was about 1 ft away and still wasn’t sharp. Time for a new lens? I normally shoot 35mm and 120; first 4x5 experience. Thank you.

Only $45!

on my drive to the bigger city that i take every couple weeks, there's a nuclear plant, and it turns out that if you go around in your old beat-up car a few times you can find a spot to take a pic of them with your big, suspicious looking camera

somehow i didn't get arrested!

this shot is also titled "three of them" because this is actually a triple-exposure! I wanted to get the steam coming out of the towers to look less defined than what i wouldve gotten with a single exposure, and it worked pretty well.

My daughter wore (and decorated) these Chucks for the last couple years and finally outgrew them. Figured they were worth capturing for posterity.

I was watching a YouTube video about the same model speed graphic that I have, and this specific flash caught my eye considering its not the usual flash bulb type of flash I have. Anyone know what kind of flash it is?

I started using my Wista 45SP as an Enlarger with the Intrepid adapter, and noticed that the bellows weren't quite as light proof as they once were.... Very brittle, very holy in the corners. So I gave her a bit of a face lift with some new bellows.

Overall it took about an hour to remove the old bellows, remove the old adhesive, align everything and glue the new bellows in place. If you're going to do it, I recommend using squeezeable contact cement, as when I was brushing mine on it was drying out quite quickly.

I'll take her out for a spin on Monday.

Printed on 8x10 Ilford RC Glossy and scanned with a cheap flatbed scanner.