Noah, I am an instructor of 20 years and, sir, you are an excellent communicator! Your videos are truly inspiring - on top of being informative. Thank you!
As a newbie to 4x5, the Lomograflok is a great way to practice getting used to using a LF camera instead of wasting expensive sheets of film. Also, a note about the Lomograflok is that when using in colder (below freezing) temperatures, the device will just give up, not respond, and spit out all the sheets in the pack. There's no way to stop it unless you take out the batteries. I learned this the hard way.
@@Nobody-Nowhere That's true! But the cost of developing and scanning can add up, but once I invest in a developing and scanning setup for LF then definitely. Also, as a newbie, it helps to know right away what the effect of tilting, shifting, and swinging the lens does, and instant film lets you see that, which is also why portrait photographers used to use pack film back in the day so that they can get a sense of their exposure.
I'm really impressed by the Lomograflok, and find it's one of the most reasonably priced large format accessories on the market, too. I have a removable viewfinder on my Crown Graphic, so I pulled that off to not have to guide out every shot, which helps since I never used it anyway. But now the back is parked on a Polaroid 110A that is completely lovely. Too bad I put it together a whole 2 or so months before non-destructive means were dreamed up and released. ha ha. But anyway, great overview of this very good thing Lomography has done for us. Thank you for sharing!
I dug out my Linhoff Super Technika III and verified the graflok back is working, and then I checked the Sinar F1 I got from a friend after he passed away, and sure enough, it's graflok back is also working wonderfully. I think it's time to get this product and start shooting some analog prints again. I had wanted to get the fotodiox stitching adapters and use that except they don't have a micro 4/3 version and I wasn't ready to fit an adapter to an adapter. Maybe some day. For now there is this.
I love the Lomograflock ... I ended up getting a Cameradactyl Rex that uses my Polaroid 600 SE lenses ... makes it like a high qualty point and shoot with amazing control!!!
@@Nobody-Nowhere I e=zone focus, so it works out pretty well ... don't forget the old adage F8 and be there!!! There is a ground glass back to put on if you want critical focus!!!
I can totally see the Big Shot coming back with the Lomograflok either in the form of a mod or through maxsprkplg's 3D printed Big Wide successor. Instax wide would be perfect for this type of portrait work
It's pretty cool and I thought about doing the kickstarter pre-order for these, but... 2 things. There are a couple Instax wide cameras available for less than the cost of this back that would be much easier to use. And considering the cost of the back and the film, there's still cheaper 4x5 options like the X Ray film out there for ~$1/sheet. I guess I haven't found a reason to justify this setup... yet.
Hey, crown graphic instant buddies! I've actually got it with me on a trip to the upper peninsula of michigan, did some trichrome multiple exposures of some abandoned iron ore docks and some b&w ones just an hour ago at an abandoned mine! I've also managed to get it very jankily attached to my auto graflex early 1900s SLR, and holy shit that is probably the most amazing thing ever. An instax wide SLR is a dream haha
This looks great! I've been shooting Instax film in old-school cameras for a few years now (a mix of DIY, Frankenstein's and lomo products) and love the results! But my biggest issues have been that the Lomo products in particular just can't hold up to heavy usage. I used to shoot 100-200 shots a day, about 3-4 times a week and some of the cameras wouldn't last more than a week or two! I'd love to get this, hopefully it can hold up to heavy usage!
👍Cool vid. thanks. Thinking of buying one just so I can take my 4x5 off the shelf and give it some fun use. On a side note I picked up an old instax 210 for $1 and used a 12 year old pack of film...results amazed me with the longevity of this stuff. The colors were pretty accurate and so I wont be hesitant in buying expired film at reduced prices any more.
I love it. I've seen your old video on the diy polaroid back and have been building my own, both for hasselblad and for sinar 4x5. I'm also in the process of building one from an instax mini for the hasselblad as well, I plan on posting the files at some point, most diy projects just don't because it's very hard to make them precise
I was excited converting my Polaroid pack film camera to Instax wide using a hacked Instax 100 camera, but after using it for a while, I'm left with a big stack of slippery, thick, plastic photos. The best use for Instax is the informal portrait/snapshot....
This is a solid review. I was an initial buyer from the kickstart and have been using the back for a while. I also have a graflex with the top rangefinder and have some problems with the ejection but it's not often. I have a 4x5 view camera that might actually be 5x7 with 4x5 back, it COMPLETELY interferes with the ejection, so caveat emptor. For me this has served well but getting the exposure down can be a real challenge. So just expect some experimentation. The film is sensitive and not very forgiving in its range. At the end of the day, this isn't the old instant film. The image quality is different and, since the back is at a different focal plane, it is not too useful to preview much of anything except maybe the framing.... oh wait the frame is different... HOWEVER, as a stand alone instant camera, used to its capabilities and the idiosyncrasies of the film itself, it is marvellous! I wouldn't sell it back, I actually love mine, just takes some getting used to. I've dropped it twice and it survived. The dark slide gets bent sometimes, and then there is the usual issues of large format photography ... leaving the slide in, not ejecting the dark shade for the first exposure, not opening the shutter, not closing the shutter. You can make cool double exposures with a speed graphic by leaving the dark slide out when you change shutter speeds. Ask me how I know! Lol. Great review!
wow this such a cool tool. i used to be a huge lomo fan but their urban outfitters expansion made their already awful quality somehow get worse. good to see old cameras get new life with cost efficient formats
That looks really interesting. An affordable way to use them, hmmm. I’m mentally spending money now. Thanks for the video. Very helpful as always.I’m still wondering too why Fuji haven’t made a half decent camera for Instax yet.
I'd love to have a use for my 4x5 camera, but there are just so many things I don't like. I hate the shape of instax film, I shoot a lot of Polaroids so the colors don't feel quite right to me, and it's a huge process just to use instant film. Now with the new Polaroid cameras I can take reliable double exposures, and with my old camera I can do long exposures and light painting, so Instax doesn't do enough even though it's cheaper. I'm grateful for this review, because I didn't know that this existed. If they ever make a back for 4x5 cameras that can use regular Polaroids, I might give it a shot.
Yep, got one. Love it. Don't have to worry about the cold problems because if it got to 0C where I live, they'd declare the beginning of another ice age and everyone would move to PNG :) :P Or, Venus :P It only has to drop below 25C and everyone thinks it's winter!!! :P
Does your finder on your Crown Comes Off? Mind does but my Graflex is from 1952 as the RF unit is at on the side of the camera body. Having way too much fun with my Lomo Back, as I have to be very careful in photographing at the Beach, due to that the Ocean Beach in San Francisco is a National Park - Part of the GGNRA, that is Golden Gate National Recreational Area, a Beach that is invested with Fleas, Cigarette Butts, Beer Cans, Plastic Bottles, Dog Poo and 9 out of 10 the Carcass of a half eaten Seal wash off the shore line bitten by a Shark is a National Park? as the SFPD, and the Park Police will cited you due to that you do not have a permit to photograph a beach...
Because they want you to buy their digital cameras. Anything, especially an analog camera, that cut into the sales of their (already) declining DSLR business would never get the go with them.
My god, why don't the just make an instax back that sits on the PROPER focus plane?! They can do this, they just cant be bothered because they want to keep as much of the original Fuji instax body as possible to save price. This is typical Lomo, just a cheap gimmick rather than a genuinely useful thing.
![Cameradactyl REX: The Instax Wide/LomoGraflok & Medium Format Film BEAST [Instant Review]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/j01jzFktG8s/mqdefault.jpg)
Noah, I am an instructor of 20 years and, sir, you are an excellent communicator! Your videos are truly inspiring - on top of being informative. Thank you!
As a newbie to 4x5, the Lomograflok is a great way to practice getting used to using a LF camera instead of wasting expensive sheets of film. Also, a note about the Lomograflok is that when using in colder (below freezing) temperatures, the device will just give up, not respond, and spit out all the sheets in the pack. There's no way to stop it unless you take out the batteries. I learned this the hard way.
Sheet film is cheaper. Fomapans sheet films are 36.5€ for 50 sheet.
@@Nobody-Nowhere That's true! But the cost of developing and scanning can add up, but once I invest in a developing and scanning setup for LF then definitely. Also, as a newbie, it helps to know right away what the effect of tilting, shifting, and swinging the lens does, and instant film lets you see that, which is also why portrait photographers used to use pack film back in the day so that they can get a sense of their exposure.
I'm really impressed by the Lomograflok, and find it's one of the most reasonably priced large format accessories on the market, too. I have a removable viewfinder on my Crown Graphic, so I pulled that off to not have to guide out every shot, which helps since I never used it anyway. But now the back is parked on a Polaroid 110A that is completely lovely. Too bad I put it together a whole 2 or so months before non-destructive means were dreamed up and released. ha ha. But anyway, great overview of this very good thing Lomography has done for us. Thank you for sharing!
There's an even better version on the way! ;)
Yeah, you can pay $75 just for a basic 4x5 film holder, which has no motors or electronics at all. I was really surprised at the price.
@@bendykst Why would you pay 75$ for a sheet film holder? They cost like 10$ in ebay.
@@Nobody-Nowhere No idea, but that's what they retail for! Personally, I got a set of eight for $50 from a forum member.
What's the equivalent angle you are getting for the 127mm in the polaroid 110? I'm tempted to follow that rout but I'm worried 127mm is too long
I dug out my Linhoff Super Technika III and verified the graflok back is working, and then I checked the Sinar F1 I got from a friend after he passed away, and sure enough, it's graflok back is also working wonderfully. I think it's time to get this product and start shooting some analog prints again.
I had wanted to get the fotodiox stitching adapters and use that except they don't have a micro 4/3 version and I wasn't ready to fit an adapter to an adapter. Maybe some day. For now there is this.
I love the Lomograflock ... I ended up getting a Cameradactyl Rex that uses my Polaroid 600 SE lenses ... makes it like a high qualty point and shoot with amazing control!!!
expect focus control, those box cameras offer no way of actually accurately focus your lenses
@@Nobody-Nowhere I e=zone focus, so it works out pretty well ... don't forget the old adage F8 and be there!!! There is a ground glass back to put on if you want critical focus!!!
Outstanding review. And the best Instax Wide Lomograflok photos I've seen. Please, consider making a video on how you expose your images.
I can totally see the Big Shot coming back with the Lomograflok either in the form of a mod or through maxsprkplg's 3D printed Big Wide successor. Instax wide would be perfect for this type of portrait work
You really just need to cut the back of the big shot off And glue on a graphflex mount plate
@@jeffjarboe3634 You should also put a -3 stop filter on the lens.
It's pretty cool and I thought about doing the kickstarter pre-order for these, but... 2 things. There are a couple Instax wide cameras available for less than the cost of this back that would be much easier to use. And considering the cost of the back and the film, there's still cheaper 4x5 options like the X Ray film out there for ~$1/sheet. I guess I haven't found a reason to justify this setup... yet.
You don't need xray film when you can get fomapan, its less than 1$ per sheet. 50 sheet packs go for 36.5€.
Thanks!
Your videos got me into Instant photography that I would of dismissed, thank you for what you do.
I just bought my first ever large format last week.. so many different things to discover and this looks so fun!!
Hey, crown graphic instant buddies! I've actually got it with me on a trip to the upper peninsula of michigan, did some trichrome multiple exposures of some abandoned iron ore docks and some b&w ones just an hour ago at an abandoned mine!
I've also managed to get it very jankily attached to my auto graflex early 1900s SLR, and holy shit that is probably the most amazing thing ever. An instax wide SLR is a dream haha
This looks great! I've been shooting Instax film in old-school cameras for a few years now (a mix of DIY, Frankenstein's and lomo products) and love the results! But my biggest issues have been that the Lomo products in particular just can't hold up to heavy usage. I used to shoot 100-200 shots a day, about 3-4 times a week and some of the cameras wouldn't last more than a week or two!
I'd love to get this, hopefully it can hold up to heavy usage!
👍Cool vid. thanks.
Thinking of buying one just so I can take my 4x5 off the shelf and give it some fun use. On a side note I picked up an old instax 210 for $1 and used a 12 year old pack of film...results amazed me with the longevity of this stuff. The colors were pretty accurate and so I wont be hesitant in buying expired film at reduced prices any more.
You should put a piece of tape from the Graflex viewfinder the camera body to deflect the fiilm as it ejects.
I love it. I've seen your old video on the diy polaroid back and have been building my own, both for hasselblad and for sinar 4x5. I'm also in the process of building one from an instax mini for the hasselblad as well, I plan on posting the files at some point, most diy projects just don't because it's very hard to make them precise
Would be interesting to see the quality when shooting a 4K monitor as a way to make digital to analog print conversions.
I was excited converting my Polaroid pack film camera to Instax wide using a hacked Instax 100 camera, but after using it for a while, I'm left with a big stack of slippery, thick, plastic photos. The best use for Instax is the informal portrait/snapshot....
Are you going to do a video on the green Pola film? I need a cheap 4 x 5 camera.
This is a solid review. I was an initial buyer from the kickstart and have been using the back for a while. I also have a graflex with the top rangefinder and have some problems with the ejection but it's not often. I have a 4x5 view camera that might actually be 5x7 with 4x5 back, it COMPLETELY interferes with the ejection, so caveat emptor. For me this has served well but getting the exposure down can be a real challenge. So just expect some experimentation. The film is sensitive and not very forgiving in its range. At the end of the day, this isn't the old instant film. The image quality is different and, since the back is at a different focal plane, it is not too useful to preview much of anything except maybe the framing.... oh wait the frame is different... HOWEVER, as a stand alone instant camera, used to its capabilities and the idiosyncrasies of the film itself, it is marvellous! I wouldn't sell it back, I actually love mine, just takes some getting used to. I've dropped it twice and it survived. The dark slide gets bent sometimes, and then there is the usual issues of large format photography ... leaving the slide in, not ejecting the dark shade for the first exposure, not opening the shutter, not closing the shutter. You can make cool double exposures with a speed graphic by leaving the dark slide out when you change shutter speeds. Ask me how I know! Lol. Great review!
wow this such a cool tool. i used to be a huge lomo fan but their urban outfitters expansion made their already awful quality somehow get worse. good to see old cameras get new life with cost efficient formats
That looks really interesting. An affordable way to use them, hmmm. I’m mentally spending money now. Thanks for the video. Very helpful as always.I’m still wondering too why Fuji haven’t made a half decent camera for Instax yet.
I'd love to have a use for my 4x5 camera, but there are just so many things I don't like. I hate the shape of instax film, I shoot a lot of Polaroids so the colors don't feel quite right to me, and it's a huge process just to use instant film. Now with the new Polaroid cameras I can take reliable double exposures, and with my old camera I can do long exposures and light painting, so Instax doesn't do enough even though it's cheaper. I'm grateful for this review, because I didn't know that this existed. If they ever make a back for 4x5 cameras that can use regular Polaroids, I might give it a shot.
At last, a fully adjustable camera for Fuji's Instax Wide film! (Too bad Fuji peddles overpriced box cameras and "tells us it's raining.")
dude your sponsored ad reads fucking rip. hell yeah
I believe you can remove the viewfinder on that model because I own a speed graphic and the viewfinder is removable
Oh look, Instax has an actual use now.
The complicated process of focusing and composing just makes me want to pull my hair out....more complicated than already complicated enough 4x5
Waited 16 months and now that i havr it, my Graflex has a snap back
Yep, got one. Love it. Don't have to worry about the cold problems because if it got to 0C where I live, they'd declare the beginning of another ice age and everyone would move to PNG :) :P Or, Venus :P It only has to drop below 25C and everyone thinks it's winter!!! :P
Would it fit on a spring back calumet 4x5 monorail ?
Polaroid spectrum film
Now, if they would only design a back for 6 x 4.5 cameras like the Bronica ETRS!
Isn't it a pain to have to remove the GG along with the adapter? Could I even do that with my Sinar F?
I'm new at photography. Do they still have polaroid film for sale for polaroid backs?
Hi - not sure if you can answer this but is this compatible with the Polaroid Land Camera Model 80?
No, this kind of instax back will only go on 4x5 cameras.It will not go onto those Polaroid cameras.
I have the same crown graphic as you and was wondering if you have any good info/tips on how to adjust the synchronized rangefinder on the side?
I actually don’t have the side rangefinder on mine! I’ve never really looked into those ones at all
What happens when they discontinue Instax film🙄
Nice! :)
Does your finder on your Crown Comes Off? Mind does but my Graflex is from 1952 as the RF unit is at on the side of the camera body. Having way too much fun with my Lomo Back, as I have to be very careful in photographing at the Beach, due to that the Ocean Beach in San Francisco is a National Park - Part of the GGNRA, that is Golden Gate National Recreational Area, a Beach that is invested with Fleas, Cigarette Butts, Beer Cans, Plastic Bottles, Dog Poo and 9 out of 10 the Carcass of a half eaten Seal wash off the shore line bitten by a Shark is a National Park? as the SFPD, and the Park Police will cited you due to that you do not have a permit to photograph a beach...
Why are the images so poor in quality? Instax wide printed (exposed) via the instax wide link Bluetooth printer has amazing colors.
Are you the guy from “She’s out of my league”?
There are cheap apps to work with that look and format.
I never really got into instax film. The colors are so dark and cold, I just don't get along with this depressing look of most of the pictures :(
Why doesn’t Fuji just make a 4x5
Because they want you to buy their digital cameras. Anything, especially an analog camera, that cut into the sales of their (already) declining DSLR business would never get the go with them.
My god, why don't the just make an instax back that sits on the PROPER focus plane?! They can do this, they just cant be bothered because they want to keep as much of the original Fuji instax body as possible to save price. This is typical Lomo, just a cheap gimmick rather than a genuinely useful thing.