Why I love the 4x5 camea

Here's a little something I wrote a while back for another site. It basically goes over why I love my 4x5 camera. Ever sine I got my hands on my Toyo 4x5 I haven't looked back. I've gone on to other cameras since then but it's a great place to start.

While the digital revolution in photography is nearly complete - film point and shoots and even 35mm SLRs have all but faded into obscurity - there is still a healthy place for film left in the realm of large format cameras. The camera that commands the vast majority of this sub category of photography is the endearing 4x5 view camera.

When you look closely at the 4x5 camera you can see some very good reasons why this piece of photographic equipment is still a favorite of a lot of photographers, pros and amateurs alike. One of the most obvious is the quality of images produced. Hands down, there is absolutely no digital camera - less than the price of a new car (and even then it's questionable) - that is capable of producing images of the quality that can be attained from a 4x5 negative and a sharp lens. While newer CCD chips of higher megapixels rival and often surpass 35mm film cameras, they still have a way to go to match the information present in the surface area of a 4 inch by 5 inch negative.

Having complete control over the the way a photograph ultimately turns out is very important to serious photographers and the 4x5 view camera provides this ability. This is achieved by the built in ability of the part of the camera containg the lens and the part containing the film to be moved indepently of each other. This is called "movements" and different cameras can do this to greater or lesser degrees. These movements can be used to created a variety of desired effects from perspective correction in architectual photography to the intentional distortion of scenes and even to increase the depth of field in landscape photography.

One of my biggest reasons for enjoying 4x5 view cameras is the fact that, due to their size and design, they require a significant time investment for each photograph. Admittedly, this can be a disadvantage in a lot of situations. You would never use a 4x5 camera for action sports photography for instance. However, the extra time and concentration demanded from the user leads to a better understanding of the photographic process and what goes into a good picture. Photographers tend to be shown their deficiencies when using a 4x5. You may find yourself studying the ground glass a bit longer than you would normally find yourself looking at the same scene though your SLR viewfinder - with the knowledge that taking a second shot involves more than pushing down the button in another fraction of a second. Even after going back to point and shoot cameras I find that my time spent with my 4x5 view camera has rubbed off and I make better, more thoughtful photographs.