Customer Reviews

Using the View Camera: A creative guide to large format photography

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an excellent book which meets its purpose well: providing all the important information you need to dive into the greatest format there is in photography: the view camera.

It's important to note that this book is not titled "How To Be An Artist" - this isn't at all the point of the book. Too many people are interested in being 'creative' before they have a clue technically as to what they're doing, which wrecks a lot of photography that could be excellent. I teach large format photography, and the skills taught in this book are absolutly essential to the technical aspects of the large format camera as a necessary step BEFORE the creative aspect.

This book explores the endless possibilities in shooting with a view camera; possibilities that are nearly never available to those shooting smaller formats. Everything is covered in the book from shooting to processing to printing, in an easy-to-read fashion, with excellent photos and diagrams along the way to help guide the reader.

I would recommend this book to all those just becoming interested in the view camera, as well as those who have quite a bit of experience.

This book is very well organized. Beginners in the large format world will find all the needed info to select and start using their equipment. Intermediate and advanced shooters will appreciate the detailed technical data next to each photo in the showcase section.

As beginer to large format, I was looking for a book that would give me the basics of view cameras and their use. I already have a good foundation of photographic and exposure techniques. I found this book to be just right. No time is wasted discussing basic photography (although a nice intro to the Zone system is included, very basic), and very non-technical introduction to view cameras is presented. There is just enough math and science in this book to make you realize how much you may want to learn. After reading this book just once, I feel I can go out and use a view camera to take a picture.

This book is well-written and contains everything you need to know to buy and use a view camera. It contains information that I haven't been able to find anywhere else. It even gives the disadvantages of using a view camera over a newer SLR to help a novice decide whether or not to get into medium/large format photography.

This short book contains more than enough information for the large format novice to get started. From pictures showing effects of all the movements, to instructions on film handling and processing, to basic background on the Zone system, and finally many example photos, there's a lot of substance here. I needed a couple of re-readings to "get" some of the sections. The pages on the Zone system are the best introduction I've seen in print. The "expose for the shadows" mantra of the Zone system finally made sense after this explanation. There aren't many books about LF cameras, but this is the one to get.

This book is very well organized, clearly written. Everything you need to know to start to LF Photography is there, even the zone system. But I believe it's not only a novice's handbook, it may be very useful even for experienced photographers.
I liked the 2nd section where LF images, of super quality, are explained in a detailed manner.
Buy this book, you won't be disappointed.

The only reason I gave this a 4 star instead of five is that it doesn't cover digital backs. That said I guess this was written a few years ago before the digital revolution came on so strong. I had some information on large format cameras because I took the NYIP correspondence course and knew a little about them, but wanted to know things like how to load film in them, which the NYIP course didn't cover. He went into how the tilt and rise adjustments can make your photography like no other camera can. I found this book very complete and is a great book to find out if LF is for you. I also bought the book Large Format Nature Photography and that does go into digital a little, however he doesn't think much of it so maybe that is why this author left it out. I don't think you would be disappointed with this book.

In my opinion this book gives you a basic training of view camera. In particular it explains very well all view camera movements, but I would have preferred if there had been more details in those explanations, with more examples and other. Another point that I would have preferred different was the sequence of the chapters. In firsts chapters where is explained camera structure, accessory and other, there are too many reference at camera movements, that you haven't known yet, because chapter of movements is after.
Anyway, this book, is well written and easy comprehensible, but in my opinion in some parts is too condensed; so my rate is 4 stars.

Simple put, this is the best book for learners of view camera techniques. However, it is not as exhaustive as Leslie Stroebel's View Camera Technique. But anyone wanting to get into view camera must start with Simmon's book. Well written with great illustrations once you are done with the book it can e given away to another person. But Stroebel's book must stay in your shelf. Hope this gives those who are contemplating purchase of Simmon's book what it is all about.

I used this to get me started using my first view camera. I've also read several others, including Ansel Adam's "The Camera" and Jack Dykinga's "Large Format Nature Photography." While the others are outstanding, they have different a focus than this one, which in my opinion, homes right in on the meat of what you'll need to get started.

Simmons, in this book, is much better at simplifying and going through the fundamental movements showing images to accompany each description of the movements. It also covers basics such as different types of cameras (monorail, field, view), lenses, lensboards, shutters, etc. The only problem I see is the types of film discussed is a little dated since the film market has changed since the publication of the book. Otherwise, it covers everything you need to get started and makes a decent reference after that.

It's also more straightforward than the other books mentioned. Ansel Adam's book on "The Camera" is more of an overview of 35mm, medium format, large format, and covers reasonable detail on each, but does not get as thorough on LF cameras, so frankly I found his description of rise/fall and tilt/shift rather confusing. Dykinga's book is also fantastic but focuses (as the title implies) on specifics for landscape photographers and thus skirts over the fundamentals a bit too much.

I give this book 5 stars for doing what it's intended to do, and does it very well. That said, if you're looking for something that goes well beyond the fundamentals, this one isn't for you.