Weight: One Thing Leads to Another

I contribute occasionally on Reddit and offer my opinions and experience. There are occasionally times when someone asks about large format recommendations. (I should probably declare that I can be cheap and shop for value/bang for the buck.) I have my own experience and journey that has not been particularly long but as with any journey insights are gained. Reflecting on this I can now look back at how ones choice in equipment influences subsequent choices. 

Now my viewpoint is specifically as a hobbyist photographer who enjoys landscape film photography. With respect to the Intrepid camera it meets certain needs such as cost and low weight that have meaning for me. If you work in a studio weight will have little meaning in your choice. 

When Intrepid first launched they got a few YouTube reviews/endorsements from the likes of Ben Horne, Alex Burke, Steve Onion’s, and Justin Lowry. I have noticed a number of them stopped using the Intrepid in their more recent videos. Returning instead to their legacy large format cameras. This is an important data point as the Intrepid clearly did not win them over enough to drop their legacy cameras for good. No doubt this is related to the relative quality/ease of use but also to familiarity which is a difficult hurdle to overcome. They also te to rely on the equipment for their livlihood so are probably less tolerant of risk and discomfort. 

My Journey

At some point I 'accidently' purchased a 4x5 large format camera on eBay. I say accidently because I wasn't really interested in large format at the time being immersed in medium format at the time. However I saw this MPP MKIII up for auction and I lowballed the bid expecting I wouldn't win. 

One of my first large format images Nov 2013 (Ilford Delta 100) 

Well I did. I took it out and tried it a few times and got some images at least. It was novel and interesting but didn't really grab me. I had a Manfrotto 190xB tripod my wife bought for a birthday. It is a 'sturdy' and I think well regarded tripod. It had a pan-tilt head which just barely handled the 2.7kg + lens weight of the camera. The MKIII is not the first choice for an MPP. I does not support the Graflock accessories but it has most of the useful movements and is built like a tank. Well machined and smooth to operate. Over time I became more enthusiastic and took it out more. I even bought some expired color film and eventually got into using it more regularly. 

Fen Drayton on MPP MKIII (Portra 400 expired)

Meanwhile the head on the tripod gave out. The tilt screw could not be tightened enough to keep the camera level and would flop over with the slightest provocation. I got a 410 junior geared tripod head based on some online recommendations. This was very expensive but a joy to use. It easily handled the weight and gave smooth and precise control over the camera movement. However the head weighs 1.2kg! The tripod itself weighs 2kg. So with a 2.7kg camera I have 3+kg of tripod to support it.

Around this time I became aware of the Intrepid 4x5 and like its lightweight and low cost. I still was not sure about how deep my interest in large format would be so I didn't want to spend big bucks yet. I could see however how the weight of my current setup was interrupting my enjoyment of being out in the woods with the thing. 

I bit the bullet and placed an order for the Intrepid MKIII 4x5 in 2018. I was immediately impressed with the weight at 1.4kg with a 150mm f5.6 lens. I began shooting large format in earnest. With some study and practice I managed some images I am pleased with. 

Monk’s Wood (Fuji Astia 100)

Holme Fen (Kodak Ektar)

Holme Fen (Fuji Astia 100)

Holme Fen (Fuji Velvia 50 on Sinar Zoom Rollfilm holder)

Later I was on a trip and left the Manfrotto at home so I decided to get a cheap tripod. OnLandscape had recently done a tripod review mostly of very costly graphite and carbon fiber models. They included a K&F Concept TM2324 very cheap tripod as it was surprisingly stiff. I bought one at £70 on Amazon. This was a much lighter tripod at 1.35kg. It claims to support 10kg but doesn't need to with a lighter camera. This is now my goto tripod. I don't like ball heads so I am looking to switch back to the pan tilt head from the Manfrotto which will add more weight (535 vs 160gr). The added weight means I am not at all certain of this change. 

The lesson is that once you get a heavy camera everything else ends up being heavier or more expensive. For me the Intrepid + K&F tripod makes a useable budget setup at less than 2.8kg with lens. For about £350 you can get started just add a lens and film holders and dark cloth. 

People interested in dipping a toe in the large format world often ask if a more expensive 4x5 is worth it compared to an Intrepid. The same with a tripod. I think it all depends on what you can afford. Better quality more expensive equipment can be a joy to operate. However if it deprives you of the money, for more lenses, for instance I wonder if it is worth it. 

For me I am careful with my money and this is a hobby. A little more time or small frustration doesn’t stand in the way of my enjoyment. I do not think better equipment yields better results. I have improved my own work enormously by focusing on techniques such as composition, exposure, focus and depth of field. As with most of my initial forays in an activity I now have more experience to make better decisions should I chose to spend more money. 

Update: Since writing this I was reviewing the Large Format Info website as I had not been there since I started puzzling out the basics. A couple of interesting articles there came up as relevant. First the idea t that the equipment does not make the artist. (Confessions of a recovering magic bullet chaser (largeformatphotography.info)) 

Then this article (Large Format Photography: View camera stability) on camera stability is relevant to my endorsement of a cheaper tripod like the K&F Concept. The chief concern about a cheaper tripod is stability in the wind. Most of my landscape work is intimate landscapes and often involves a lot of foliage. Wind is not friendly to this kind of photography and so I don't photograph when it is windy.  So tripod stability is not paramount. If you anticipate working in wind (behind an umbrella as suggested in the article) then having stiffer tripod legs may make more sense and added weight or cost may be the best option to achieve that. However unless you protect the camera from the wind then more tripod probably won't help you. Personally I don't like photographing in a steady or strong wind with large format so tend  avoid it. Better to break out the medium format and shoot faster film with bigger apertures.