Help Deciding purchasing 4x5 Film Camera as it compares to Medium Format Digital

[JoelM]

The only reason I would go back to a LF film sheet camera is if I wanted to continue with my Pt/Pd printing. I don't have the space or energy to do this again, but I do miss it dearly.
Joel

 

[anwarp]

Thank you for all your replies! I recently got hold of a cambo ultima45. My intention was to upgrade it to an actus xl. I‘ve never shot anything larger than a mamiya rz 67.
But now I’m intrigued. I plan to get a pack of forma pan and experiment a bit.
I like the idea of shooting only BW on the 4x5 with film and using the DB for colour.

 

[abruzzi]

I like the idea of shooting only BW on the 4x5 with film and using the DB for colour.

Thats kind of what I'm doing. I'm 99% film, and love it. The problem is that for color reversal/slide film is very limited. While gorgeous, it has, at best, 5 stops of range, which make a lot of photographs impossible. I could shoot C41 color negative film which has a lot more dynamic range, but a)there is no way I'll every setup a home color darkroom for printing so I have to scan, and my setup for scanning (a Sinar Norma and X parts fashioned into a copy stand and a Pentax K-1ii with a 100mm macro lens) creates really difficult color balancing issues (the orange mask). My color sensitivity is very low. I'm strongly red/green colorblind. So using a DB (on a sinar Norma, or a AS F-Classic) lets me take color without the orange issues that need a lot less adjusting, and use film for B&W photos.

(of course I could send out my C41 for dev and scanning, which I do do for 120 film, when I take a camera on vacation, but for sheet film I really like to dev the same day, so everything is processed at home.)

Another point--my $2000 used P1 P65+ is about the same cost as 70-80 sheets of C41 8x10.