# Large format > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Large_format > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Large_format.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_format > Source revision: 1293835927 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Imaging format of 4×5 inches or larger "8x10" redirects here. For the Indian film, see [*8 x 10 Tasveer*](/source/8_x_10_Tasveer). This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Large format" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Large format" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Old studio camera Lens and mounting of a large format camera Comparison of 35 mm, medium format, and large format **Large format** photography refers to any imaging format of 9 cm × 12 cm (3.5 in × 4.7 in) or larger. Large format is larger than "[medium format](/source/Medium_format)", the 6 cm × 6 cm (2.4 in × 2.4 in) or 6 cm × 9 cm (2.4 in × 3.5 in) size of [Hasselblad](/source/Hasselblad), [Mamiya](/source/Mamiya), [Rollei](/source/Rollei), Kowa, and [Pentax](/source/Pentax) cameras (using [120- and 220-roll film](/source/120_film)), and much larger than the 24 mm × 36 mm (0.94 in × 1.42 in) frame of [35 mm](/source/135_film) format. The main advantage of a large format, film or digital, is a higher resolution at the same pixel pitch, or the same resolution with larger pixels or grains which allows each pixel to capture more light enabling exceptional low-light capture. A 4×5 inch image (12.903 mm²) has about 15 times the area, and thus 15 times the total resolution, of a 35 mm frame (864 mm²). Large format cameras were some of the earliest photographic devices, and before enlargers were common, it was normal to just make 1:1 [contact prints](/source/Contact_print) from a 4×5, 5×7, or 8×10-inch negative. ## Formats The most common large format is 4 in × 5 in (10 cm × 13 cm), which was the size used by cameras like the [Graflex](/source/Graflex) [Speed Graphic](/source/Speed_Graphic) and Crown Graphic, among others. Less common formats include quarter-plate (3.25 in × 4.25 in (8.3 cm × 10.8 cm)), 5 in × 7 in (13 cm × 18 cm), and 8 in × 10 in (20 cm × 25 cm); the size of many old 1920s [Kodak](/source/Kodak) cameras (various versions of Kodak 1, 2, and 3 and Master View cameras, to much later Sinar monorail studio cameras) are 11 in × 14 in (28 cm × 36 cm), 16 in × 20 in (41 cm × 51 cm), 20 in × 24 in (51 cm × 61 cm), various panoramic or "banquet" formats (such as 4 × 10 and 8 × 20 inches (10 × 25 and 20 × 51 cm), and metric formats, including 9 cm × 12 cm (3.5 in × 4.7 in), 10 cm × 13 cm (3.9 in × 5.1 in), and 13 cm × 18 cm (5.1 in × 7.1 in) and assorted old and current aerial image formats of 9 in × 9 in (23 cm × 23 cm), 9 in × 18 in (23 cm × 46 cm) (K17, K18, K19, K22 etc.), using roll film of 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, or 10 inches width or, [view cameras](/source/View_camera) (including [pinhole cameras](/source/Pinhole_camera)), reproduction/process cameras, and x-ray film. Above 8 × 10 inches, the formats are often referred to as [Ultra Large Format](/source/Ultra_Large_Format) (ULF) and may be 11 × 14, 16 × 20, or 20 × 24 inches or as large as film, plates, or cameras are available. Many large formats (e.g., 24 × 24, 36 × 36, and 48 × 48 inches) are horizontal cameras designed to make big negatives for contact printing onto press-printing plates. The [Polaroid 20×24 camera](/source/Polaroid_20%C3%9724_camera) is one of the largest format [instant cameras](/source/Instant_camera) in common usage and can be hired from Polaroid agents in various countries.[1] Many well-known photographers have used the 235 pounds (107 kg), wheeled-chassis Polaroid. ## Control Scheimpflug principle Most, but not all, large format cameras are [view cameras](/source/View_camera), with fronts and backs called "standards" that allow the photographer to better control rendering of [perspective](/source/Perspective_(graphical)) and increase apparent [depth of field](/source/Depth_of_field). Architectural and close-up photographers in particular benefit greatly from this ability. These allow the front and back of the camera to be *shifted* up/down and left/right (useful for architectural images where the scene is higher than the camera, and produces images where the scene is lower than the camera), and *tilted* out of parallel with each other left/right, up/down, or both; based on the [Scheimpflug principle](/source/Scheimpflug_principle). The shift and tilt movements make it possible to solve otherwise impossible depth-of-field problems, and to change perspective rendering, and create special effects that would be impossible with a conventional fixed-plane fixed-lens camera. [Ansel Adams](/source/Ansel_Adams)' photographs, and those of the other [Group f/64](/source/Group_f%2F64) photographers, demonstrate how the use of front (lens plane) and back ([film plane](/source/Film_plane)) adjustments can secure great apparent depth of field when using the movements available on large format view cameras. ## Operation A number of actions need to be taken to use a typical large format camera, resulting in a slower, often more contemplative, photographic style. For example, film loading using sheet film holders requires a dark space to load and unload the film, typically a [changing bag](/source/Changing_bag) or [darkroom](/source/Darkroom), although prepackaged film magazines and large format roll films have also been used in the past. A [tripod](/source/Tripod) is typically used for view camera work, but some models are designed for hand-held use. These "technical cameras" have separate viewfinders and [rangefinders](/source/Rangefinder) for faster handling. In general large format camera use, the scene is composed on the camera's [ground glass](/source/Ground_glass), and then a film holder is fitted to the camera back prior to exposure. A separate [Polaroid](/source/Polaroid_Corporation) back using [instant film](/source/Instant_film) is used by some photographers, allowing previewing of the composition, correctness of exposure and depth of field before committing the image to film to be developed later. Failure to "Polaroid" an exposure risks discovery later, at the time of film development, that there was an error in camera setup. ## Uses [Ansel Adams](/source/Ansel_Adams)'s large format photograph *The Tetons and the Snake River* (1942) Photographer [Gregory Crewdson](/source/Gregory_Crewdson) with a large format camera in 2007 The 4×5 inch sheet film format was very convenient for press photography since it allowed for direct [contact printing](/source/Contact_print) on the printing plate, hence it was widely used in [press cameras](/source/Press_camera). This was done well into the 1940s and 1950s, even with the advent of more convenient and compact [medium format](/source/Medium_format_(film)) or [35 mm](/source/135_film) roll-film cameras which started to appear in the 1930s. The 35 mm and medium format [SLR](/source/Single-lens_reflex_camera) which appeared in the mid-1950s were soon adopted by press photographers. Large format photography is not limited to film; large [digital camera backs](/source/Digital_camera_back) are available to fit large format cameras. These are either medium-format digital backs adapted to fit large format cameras (sometimes resulting in cropped images), step and repeat Multishot systems, or [scanning backs](/source/Digital_scan_back) (which scan the image area in the manner of a flat-bed [scanner](/source/Image_scanner)). Scanning backs can take seconds or even several minutes to capture an image. When using a [Sinar](/source/Sinar) Macroscan unit and 54H data files, over 1 [gigabyte](/source/Gigabyte) of data is produced. Large format, both film-based and digital, is still used for many applications, such as landscape photography, advertising photos, fine-art photography, scientific applications and generally for images that will be enlarged to a high magnification while requiring a high level of detail. High quality fine art prints can be made at sizes in the range of 40x50″ from a 4×5″ original, and well beyond that for larger negatives. In the printing industry, very large fixed cameras were also used to make large films for the preparation of [lithographic](/source/Lithography) plates before [computer to film](/source/Computer_to_film) and [computer to plate](/source/Computer_to_plate) techniques were introduced. These are generally referred to as a "[process camera](/source/Process_camera)" and consist of vertically mounted models for smaller work and horizontal units mounted on rails for very large works such as maps and plans. ### National Park Service documentation programs Large format film is also used to create a record of historic places and things for the [National Park Service](/source/National_Park_Service) documentation programs. The [Historic American Buildings Survey](/source/Historic_American_Buildings_Survey) (HABS), the [Historic American Engineering Record](/source/Historic_American_Engineering_Record) (HAER), and the [Historic American Landscapes Survey](/source/Historic_American_Landscapes_Survey) (HALS) require large format film-based photography. 4×5″, 5×7″, and 8×10″ large format film formats are the only acceptable formats for inclusion in these collections at the [Library of Congress](/source/Library_of_Congress). 4x5 and 5x7 are generally used in the field (5×7″ is preferred for very significant buildings) and 8×10″ is generally used for photo-duplication of historic photographs, documents and blueprints. Through HABS/HAER/HALS, buildings and sites of historic significance are recorded with large format cameras and black and white film and using techniques that document the key features of the historic resource with special care not to distort the angles and views. This rectified photography can be accomplished with large format cameras by keeping the film, lens and subject perfectly parallel. Smaller format cameras need to be tilted to view high or low subjects, but the same subjects can be captured by shifting the lens element of a large format camera up or down to keep the film, lens, and subject planes parallel. HABS, HAER, and HALS also requires the increased resolution of large format film. A sheet of 5×7″ film has almost twice the resolution of 4×5″ film, and 4×5″ is almost 16 times larger than a 35 mm film image (24×36 mm). This added negative size not only allows for more detail, but the large format [polyester](/source/Polyester) film is also far more durable than [acetate](/source/Acetate) 35 mm stock. HABS, HAER, and HALS require that all submissions to the Library of Congress include the original film (archivally washed) and it must also include contact prints on fiber-based paper; these contacts are the same size as the film being submitted, 4×5″, 5×7″, or 8×10″, and the large size allows people to readily see the prints, while 35 mm contacts would be too small and would require magnification. ## See also - [APUG](/source/APUG) - [Large format lens](/source/Large_format_lens) - [Reisekamera](/source/Reisekamera) (tailboard view camera) - [Wide-format printer](/source/Wide-format_printer) (In digital printing, the term "large format" is also used as a synonym for "wide format".) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["20 x 24 Studio"](http://www.20x24studio.com/). ## External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Large format cameras](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Large_format_cameras). - [*HABS/HAER/HALS Standards & Guidelines*](https://web.archive.org/web/20120212034754/http://www.nps.gov/history/hdp/standards/), National Park Service website v t e Photography Equipment Camera Box camera light-field digital field instant phone pinhole press rangefinder SLR still TLR toy view Darkroom enlarger safelight Film base format holder stock available films discontinued films Filter Flash beauty dish cucoloris gobo hot shoe lens hood monolight reflector snoot softbox Lens long-focus prime zoom wide-angle fisheye swivel telephoto Manufacturers Monopod Movie projector Slide projector Tripod head Zone plate Terminology 35 mm equivalent focal length Abbreviations list Angle of view Aperture Backscatter Black and white Chromatic aberration Circle of confusion Clipping Color balance Color temperature Depth of field Depth of focus Exposure Exposure compensation Exposure value Zebra patterning F-number Film format large medium Film speed Focal length Guide number Hyperfocal distance Lens flare Metering mode Perspective distortion Telephoto compression Photograph Photographic printing Albumen Photographic processes Reciprocity Red-eye effect Science of photography Shutter speed Sync Zone System Genres Abstract Aerial Aircraft Architectural Astrophotography Banquet Candid Conceptual Conservation Cloudscape Documentary Eclipse Ethnographic Erotic Fashion Fine-art Fire Fireworks Forensic Glamour High-speed Landscape Monochrome Nature Neues Sehen Nude Photojournalism Pictorialism Pornography Portrait Post-mortem Ruins Selfie space selfie Social documentary Sports Still life Stock Straight photography Street Underwater Vernacular Wedding Wildlife Techniques Afocal Blur Bokeh Bracketing Brenizer Burst mode Combination printing Contre-jour Crittercam (Pigeon photography) ETTR Fill flash Focus stacking Hand-colouring Harris shutter High-speed Holography Infrared Intentional camera movement Kirlian Kite aerial Lo-fi photography Lomography Long-exposure Luminogram Macro Manipulation Mordançage Multiple exposure Multi-exposure HDR capture Night Panning Panoramic Photogram Photomontage Print toning Redscale Rephotography Rollout Scanography Schlieren photography Sabattier effect Slow motion Stereoscopy Stopping down Strip Slit-scan Sprocket hole Sun printing Tilt–shift Miniature faking Time-lapse Ultraviolet Vignetting Xerography Zoom burst Composition Diagonal method Framing Headroom Lead room Rule of thirds Simplicity Golden triangle (composition) History Timeline of photography technology Albumen print Ambrotype Analog (film) photography Autochrome Lumière Calotype Camera obscura Daguerreotype Dufaycolor Heliography Lippmann plate Painted photography backdrops Photography and the law Photographic plate Salt print Tintype Visual arts Regional Albania Australia Bangladesh Canada China Colombia Denmark Greece India Japan Korea Luxembourg New Zealand Norway Philippines Serbia Slovenia Sudan Taiwan Turkey Ukraine United States Uzbekistan Vietnam Digital photography Digital camera D-SLR MILC camera back Digiscoping Comparison of digital and film photography Film scanner Image sensor CMOS APS CCD Three-CCD camera Foveon X3 sensor Photo response non-uniformity Image sharing Pixel Color photography Print film Chromogenic print Reversal film Color management color space primary color CMYK color model RGB color model Photographic processing Anthotype Bleach bypass C-41 process Carbon print Collodion process Cross processing Cyanotype Developer Digital image processing Dye coupler E-6 process Fixer Gelatin silver print Gum printing Instant film K-14 process Photogravure Print permanence Push processing Salt print Stop bath Lists Largest photographs Most expensive photographs Museums devoted to one photographer Photographs considered the most important Photographers Norwegian Polish street women Photography periodicals Related Conservation and restoration of photographs film photographic plates Polaroid art Stereoscopy Say cheese --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Large format](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_format) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_format?action=history)). 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