Half-frame view camera: I can't remember if I've mentioned this before, but Chamonix, the bespoke Chinese view-camera maker, makes a five-by-eight inch camera. Why? Well, because 5x7 film is getting scarce around the world. To get a sheet of 5x8 film, you merely cut a sheet of the more readily available 8x10 film in half. The Chamonix 5x8 starts at $1,850 and is available direct from the manufacturer.
More than one way to skin a cat*.
Because the format is even more oblong than the 3:2 ratio of 35mm or "full-frame," there is no vertical option on the camera—it's horizontal only.
Eye-Fi Pro: I've never used one of these, so don't take this as a personal endorsement (that goes for Chamonix cameras as well, actually), but it looks cool: it's an 8GB SD card with wi-fi
Mike
(thanks to Mike O'Donoghue)
*Which, if you stop to think for a second, is actually a really gross expression.
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Featured Comment by Ken Tanaka: "Talk about two 'news' items separated by a century! Before reading, I got the impression that someone had figured out how to rig that Chamonix to a WiFi card. Now that would be '2 Cool'!"
Featured Comment by Jiri Vasina: "I own and use Chamonix 5×8" camera for almost 2 years, although not the horizontal-only model as is pictured here, but a reversible-back one. It was slightly more expensive too.
"It's a wonderful camera, let's me use 5×8" film cut from 8×10". But with a very slight (and temporary) modification I may also use standard 5×7" / 13×18cm holders (and even half plate ones if I choose so)—with the film in that precise size I want.
"If someone wants to read more about this camera, you're welcome to read my impressions or see some of my photos captured with the camera (albeit with different formats, 5×8", 13×18cm and half plate)."
I went to a wedding where the shooter had some similar wifi technology; the shots they took were automatically dumped to an ongoing slideshow at the reception. Gimmicky, for sure, but also kinda fun.
It did seem a little odd to be waxing nostalgic about an event that was still ongoing.
Posted by: Evan | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 10:17 AM
5 by 8 is very close to the golden section for what it's worth.
Posted by: Dennis Allshouse | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 10:20 AM
That's the funkiest looking microwave I've ever seen. Which bring us back to cats ....
Posted by: Jim McDermott | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 10:28 AM
8GB SD card with wi-fi
Not yet doable,but if it could
download directly to my iPad,
it would be cool. One could
instantly 'chimp' on a 10" screen.
Posted by: paul logins | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 10:30 AM
Given that the net is slowly moving to the Cloud Computing, you are suprised by the cameras and storage having these abilities? I do not see it as lazy but potentially more efficient. Depending on the network availability in other countries, you would have the ability to transfer the files straight to a holding service or your home computer and not have to carry a portable storage device. While backup for the pro or semi-pro is advisable, the average snap shooter could clear out their daily shots this way while on a trip. I remember a story from a few years ago about a couple having their WI-FI enabled camera stolen at a restaurant. A few days later the camera started transmitting new photos to them. The pictures were of the restaurant workers who stole it. It ended well for the camera owner but not the workers.
CHEERS...Mathew
Posted by: Mathew D. Hargreaves | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 10:46 AM
My Deardorff 8x10 back has movable/removable sliders near the film plane that allow me to shoot two 4x10, or two 5x8, or even four 4x5 frames on a single sheet of 8x10 film. The sliding wooden slats cover up part of the film while the other part is exposed.
It's not as handy as it first sounds because it requires repositioning the camera to project the image onto the appropriate section of film. However with a good light meter and some experience, you don't need to bracket exposures, and it isn't that much of a problem.
I always thought that feature was a clever way to make pictures with unusual aspect ratios.
Posted by: William Schneider | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 10:59 AM
The wifi card appears in the first user video of 645D, as some would like to use 645D in studio but it cannot be tethered. The video seemed to show it is not fast though. (Try to avoid the P word here, btw.)
In the other front, landscape photos sometimes have vertical moments, especially the wind allow you to do some macros or something like waterfall or even trees. As LF is mainly about how far you can carry the camera, one will like to have more flexibility but less weight.
I understand that size consideration for 5x8 to have only landscape mode. To accommodate both orientation, it would mean a 8x8 back, which then would be meaningless as it is close to the 10x10 back of a 8x10 camera. Once in that size, a half slide would be a better option. A better idea is like another maker to have a 4x10 camera that can be changed to 4x5/5x7 or simply have a 5x8 that allow half-slide concept. That might be a better idea.
Posted by: Dennis Ng | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 11:01 AM
After spending many hours cutting 8x10 film down to 5x7 (made more difficult by the fact that the 5 inch dimension of the 5x7 film is not half of the 10 inch dimension of 8x10 film)I've often wished for a 5x8 camera. I realized though, that it would mean new and probably very expensive film holders and cause me a problem with my 5x7 Omega enlarger.
If you don't enlarge, but rather scan, I think it would be way cheaper to shoot 8x10 and scan what you need from that.
Take care,
Tom
Posted by: Tom Duffy | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 11:31 AM
EyeFi cards are a waste of money. I know this.
It's too slow waiting for images to offload - I'm sure an 18Mb CR2 should come off *much* faster than it does, over 802.11/g wifi - and using them like a conventional SD-card requires *disabling* the listener on the macbook because the power of the USB slot is enough to stimulate the transmission while it's plugged-in to the machine itself. Too much kerfuffle, not enough performance.
Fortunately, unifying the folder-name format such that Adobe Downloader and EyeFi Manager both write to ~/Pictures/EyeFi/yyyymmdd/ is only a one-time hassle.
Posted by: Tim | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 11:39 AM
Chamonix 5x8. Beautiful camera. I own the 4x5 N-1. Unfortunately 8x10 seems to be gooing the way of ULF film. Special order only!
Time will tell.
Posted by: Don Bryant | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 11:39 AM
I've always wanted to make a aerial camera kite but have been to lazy. Having a wi-fi card in the camera would be a great addition. Then you needn't bring the camera down to see how well you're doing instead you just look at the photos in real-time and make adjustments as needed.
Cool.
Ref: http://www.arch.ced.berkeley.edu/kap/kaptoc.html
Posted by: John Krill | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 12:12 PM
5x8... sweet. Film holder availability?
Thank you Mike; I'm leaving the page open on my desktop. We'll see if the wife discovers it. Christmas looms...
Posted by: Rob Atkins | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 12:40 PM
The number 2 is not a substitute for the word "too".
Does the English language have to be digitized too?
Morry Katz
Posted by: Morry Katz | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 12:58 PM
I've actually owned the 4GB pro card for a while. I bought it for a show in my gallery where we were creating live art and projecting the results onto a white wall. It worked great but I had to shoot in med jpg on a Canon G10 just to get the transfer time down to a reasonable amount. Another issue is distance. I couldn't get more that 30 feet away from the router before things choked. At the time I thought it was pretty slick. Now I have a Droid X - that does all my wireless photo sharing.
As an aside, the packaging is super slick and probably the best thing about the card (included with a free card reader). Pull on one side and a tray holding the product slides out the other side.
As far as the Chamonix is concerned, thanks for reminding me of them. I've been on the hunt for a whole plate camera and never even gave them a thought. I clicked the link and BAM! right there in the navigation is 6.5 X 8.5. Thanks.
Posted by: Chad Thompson | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 01:01 PM
Morry, do not worry. Digitized would be "10".
Posted by: Matthew Miller | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 01:27 PM
@ Paul:
8GB SD card with wi-fi
Not yet doable,but if it could
download directly to my iPad,
it would be cool. One could
instantly 'chimp' on a 10" screen.
Actually, it is doable. Rob Galbraith has written extensively about working wirelessly with an iPad, using the Eye-Fi cards or the camera manufacturers' own Wi-Fi transmitters (Canon and Nikon). The article is here:
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7-10055-10851
Posted by: Eamon Hickey | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 01:29 PM
I have enough difficulty with my "smart" phone (huh! God rot Microsoft's share price and their terminally crummy Windows Mobile software). It refuses to remember both the home and office wifi WPA passwords, needing a reboot on arrival in either location to get with the programme. It does however, throughout the day randomly try - and fails - to mate with any passing wifi signal like a randy terrier does to a passing leg.
The thought of my camera trying to offload pictures by itself scares me.
Posted by: James | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 02:12 PM
Ken, to couple the Chamonix to the EyeFi, first, take 20 Phase One backs and tile them in a 4x5 array...
Posted by: Nicholas Condon | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 02:54 PM
Beware, it sounds like built-in GPS, but it isn't.
"Each photo you shoot will also contain the location of the shot, so you'll never forget where your pictures were taken. The Pro X2 detects surrounding Wi-Fi networks to add location information to each picture. Just snap the picture and after wirelessly uploading to your computer, the photo will be labeled with the place where it was taken. It's that easy."
Easy enough if you are an urban shooter, I suppose. The majority of my images are taken where there is no Wi-Fi.
Moose
Posted by: Moose | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 03:06 PM
"Rob Galbraith has written extensively about working wirelessly with an iPad, using the Eye-Fi cards..."
Holy crap; that's cool! I wish that stupid iPad would stop making me want it though.
Posted by: Andre | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 03:57 PM
Rob: holders are available from Chamonix (per their website), list at $145 each though...
Posted by: Dave Elden | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 04:48 PM
I used to use an old Burke & James 5x7 and an old Arca. Those were the days. When we could shoot with a real camera instead of spending most of my day at a computer after a shoot.
Posted by: Mike Fisher | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 06:32 PM
"It does however, throughout the day randomly try - and fails - to mate with any passing wifi signal like a randy terrier does to a passing leg."
That comment made my day.
I was thinking of having the wifi card in a camera like the D300s; write medium JPEGs to the SD card for transmission, keep the CF card for the RAW files. Use said JPEGs for instant exhibiting, or Facebook spam. :P
Posted by: YS | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 06:43 PM
I've got the cheap 4GB non-pro version of the Eye-Fi. It's fun. I can have it upload directly to the incoming directory on my web server, which gets checked periodically and anything found there turned into photo-blog entries based on the EXIF date.
But for my normal mode of shooting, nobody actually wants to see the full take!
Posted by: David Dyer-Bennet | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 at 08:47 PM
The number 2 is not a substitute for the word "too".
Does the English language have to be digitized too?
Or Americanised!!
Posted by: Steve Smith | Wednesday, 17 November 2010 at 03:49 AM
The Chamonix 5x8 view camera does seem interesting--but what about film holders?
Posted by: fred fowler | Thursday, 18 November 2010 at 11:59 AM
"The Chamonix 5x8 view camera does seem interesting--but what about film holders?"
Fred,
Chamonix sells holders for the camera.
http://www.chamonixviewcamera.com/accessory.html
Mike
Posted by: Mike Johnston | Thursday, 18 November 2010 at 03:06 PM
The question is; in the future will I be able to use my camera out of Wi-Fi range or will I have to get an "old" camera?
Posted by: Steve | Friday, 19 November 2010 at 01:53 AM