[LargeFormat] A pleasant surprise

[rstein]

Dear Friends,

     Well, that was a good evening all round. It started out with hate and
ended up with love.

    I hate copying. Oh, I don't mind getting paid for it and it is easy
enough in itself but up to now I have been going the Hasselblad Makro Planar
route with the classic yellow filter and 2 hot lights at 45 degrees etc. and
the whole lot was a royal pain in the after fuselage. It meant taking the
head off the enlarger, squaring up the camera and lens, setting the lights,
measuring on the baseboard, etc. etc. You've all been there you all know the
drill.

    Went all lazy tonight as I only had 4 little pictures of British
warships to copy for a naval enthusiast. Didn't want to waste a whole roll
of FP4 for 4 images.

    Broke out the back section of the Linhof E - the ground glass, darkslide
holder, and reflex viewer - and idly tried them on the bellows section of
the Fujimoto 450MD. They fit like a glove - even to the point of dropping
down into a light trap flange. A little gaffer to steady it.

    Focussed on the artwork, stopped down to f.16, turned out all the
lights, drew the slide, and then shot one shot from my Metz 45 CT1 from
either side handheld. A fair approximation of 45 degrees. The Metz was set
to a telecomputer setting of f.11.

    Replace the slide, then process the one sheet of film with 4 images on
it in a BTZS tube. 60ml of developer. Cheap as chips. Negative came out as
good as any I have ever done.

    This result means the film and chemical cost is way down compared to
before - even given the higher cost of sheet film. Also quick time setup and
pull down. Also the benefit of a flat field lens. I'm in love.

     Uncle Dick