I just randomly “found” this video by way of KZfaq’s mysteries. Thirty years ago I tried to understand Fred Picker’s magic, but the closest l got was processing FP4 minature negs for better tonal range and buying some wonderfully inspiringly prints that still hang in my living room. Your 12 x 20 adventures transported me back 70 years when I was 5 and accompanied my dad into his x- ray film manual lab to develop huge sheets of film for medical diagnosis. Thank you so very much. Yours is not my path, but you did inspire my photographic creativity with some nostalgia. Call me a newly created vicarious ULF enthusiast.

Wow and I thought 8x10 was big but the monster next to you is really a chonker. :O nice Jo-Jo reference.

that's huge step forward, congrats mat, Im so happy to see your energy and success, best wishes 👌👌👌 that's awesome 🔥 🔥

The stoke is just extreme, thank you for sharing your infectious enthusiasm

Your channel is by far the best large format information, presented so enthusiastically.

That camera is wild! That very first environmental portrait is so good

Congrats! May you have many years of joy shooting with your new 12x20.

Outstanding video on ultra-large format cameras. You're a real breath of fresh air for us old-schoolers!

Love it! Great video as always Matt. Thanks for sharing the journey and excitement.

"work hard, play hard" is taking its full potential with you and your ULF beauty :) Happy for you Mat

Okay this was worth the wait to see something even crazier than the 8x20!

congrats matt, super happy for you... and us because we get to enjoy it too :)

Good lord, there's always bigger. Very happy for you. ULF is way outside my little world, good luck and I know you'll have success.

That was ultra-satisfying, Mat. Every bit of it. Thanks.

Very dangerous episode.....^^ Didn`t even considered this ULF(F) BEFORE. Thank you

Man! Im so happy for you! You deserve all of it! Enjoy, enjoy enjoy ❤️

That is so awesome that you were able to have this happen!!! Congrats!!!

Fantastic portrait! Amazing!

Mat, this is so cool! Congratulations; it's going to be fun watching your journey with this camera.

Loved your first portrait of your friend. Very cool,.

Mat! I'm so happy that you get to unveil the 12x20 after all this time. One of the best things about this video is how excited you are to work with the camera, and I can't wait to see all the new work (and LFF/ULFs) you make with it! When are we going to get some JoJo's styled fanart with Ansel Adams as your stand by Laur?

I'm very excited for you with this new ULF venture. The creative possibilities are very broad. I remember that FPP episode when you spoke of your booth visit with Keith at the show and how jazzed you were at the time. The universe fills a need where it needs to be filled. I don't envy the $18 a sheet cost for 12x20 Shanghai GP3 or $22 for FP4 price though. The secret sauce that the Canham cameras have that a lot of people seem to overlook or at least under-utilize is that massive rear shift, in the case of the 12x20, 10 full inches of rear shift. This makes it very easy to add diptychs into the mix without changing the nodal point of the lens. Huge panos via side-by-side 12 x 20 diptychs.

OMG this is massive... After long time, I bought my first ever 4*5 large format camera (so excited about new journey with large format camera and will document all that on my channel!!!)

Hey Mat, WOW...what a camera!! Congrats on getting something you've waited for for so long....and earned it!! Can't wait to see your adventures with this beast! Great to see you back for season 5...looking forward to your productions this coming year. Have a great weekend, CC

Absolutely love this episode, and you’re super brave for going with 12x20! Definitely look forward to more ULFF episodes. Funny you went with the Mystery Ranch bags, because that’s also what I use with my 8x10 and I must say, even being the heaviest kit, it feels the lightest on my back.

Never would I have imagined seeing my two favorite things in a KZfaq video, jojos and ulf. Awesome video!

Congrats Matt, very nice camera and super video

WOW! - that's an amazing camera, Mat. I do like the wide perspective and how you worked the back-pack is real cool. I find taking my 8x10 out hiking really hard so can't imagine how that feels. Great and inspiring video.

Thanks Mat for this. I love my 8x20 and 14x17 ULF's

I noticed when you were shooting that you don't shield the open end of your film holder with the slide while you have it withdrawn. I then noticed that the contacts you presented were blown out at the left edge, first I thought this was the studio lghting reflecting on the print but then realised that it must have been fogging on the negative. I know you mentioned some of the filmstoxk had some prefogging but the prints you showed looked most definitely like the negative had been hit by light coming into the film holder while you had the sheath/slide withdrawn. When I learned to operate large format cameras we always shielded the open end of the film holder while shooting in the studio jus in case but it was considered crucial to do so out in daylight no matter how good we thought the the light baffling was in the top of the film holder. Interesting video though. I have just re-entered the world of b&w photography and can't wait to use my Sinar P(we pronounce S-eye-nar like the manufacturers do, and Nick-on not N-eye-kon) 5x4. Thanks for the video, keep on ultra format clicking Leslie

Funny that after watching this video, I was fortunate enough to come across one of these beasts in a complete set with plenty of films from a local photographer. Now I am back to re-watch this video again with more attention. :D

Great episode, Mat. Very thorough. I can't wait to see images when you get better film.

The amount of awesome in this video is not conveyable with typed words in a KZfaq comment but I'll have a go at it anyways. I recall you talking about the Canham 12x20 for years so it's simply magical to see that dream realized. And some super, super kudos on figuring out how to take that monster on the trail. I am so pumped to see what you do with the camera, Mat. The first shots from it already look great and I am eager to see what kind of sublime imagery you can capture with it as you get more and more comfortable with the camera and the process. Again, big congratulations!

Had just made the jump to 8x10 all thanks to your channel and now you have brought this beauty out to inspire. Looking forward to your adventures with this beast.

I have an 11x14 (which Michele from Stenopeika custom build for me, together with two double film holders) and I use a very special tripod for it: a Novoflex Quadropod, which is not a tripod but has, as its name says, four legs. I only very rarely move the camera, since I more or less exclusively use it for 1:1 head shots (on 11x14 you can take pictures of heads in their original size) in my little home studio, so the somewhat difficult process to level the Quadropod out doesn't bother me that much. The ball head I use for the camera is rated for 30kg, so everything is quite stable and sturdy. I don't use ULF outside of my house, for large format in the field I have a 5x7, also from Stenopeika.

Awesome Mat. You are going to have a blast with that camera. It is great that it also uses Sinar boards. I settled on 11x14 because of lens choice, film availability and ease of scanning with my v700. I use a Granite Gear canoe pack for hiking but the shoulder straps aren’t the greatest. For ULF panoramas, I use a half frame dark slide to get 2, 5.5 x 14 panos per sheet. Looking forward to seeing more.

Looks awesome, great job

Fantastic camera and great shots. I'm very much looking forward to seeing more of this. I'm now trying to work out the engineering it would take to put it into portrait mode.

I've been thinking of ULF since I did a workshop with Michael Smith and Paula Chamlee many years ago. Must...Fight... urge!!! Seriously though, congratulations! I look forward to seeing your work with the 12x20.

Mat! Super cool stuff and what a beautiful camera. I just picked up the Canham 8x10 and just adore using it. Keith makes a great product!

I’m astounded that you were able to set up a backpack with that camera! I might try to do something similar with my 11x14. I really like the images you’ve shown from the camera and I’m looking forward to seeing more… especially out in the field.

This was one of the last places i would expect jojo. But im sooo happy about it! :D

Hey Mat. Welcome to the 12x20 Canham club. An 18" Verito with the 22.25" extension lens and both single components of the Cooke Series XVa convertible are great 12x20 lenses as well. So glad you got those AWB holders with your camera. I have 7 S&S holders and though (mostly) adequate, they are no where near as nice as the Brubaker holders.

Never did I ever think I would see a Jojo Reference especially the Golden Ratio in a Photography video but here I am

Thanks.

The diagonal of the film is not "roughly" the standard focal length. The diagonal of the frame is the definition of the normal lens for that size.

Damn those were some nice looking images! Looks pretty funny strapped to your back though!

I know what you mean about how sharp the big prints are after seeing an 11x14 inch contact print at a gallery in Cherry Creek, Colorado in 1980. In the 1870s William Henry Jackson lugged around a 20x24 inch wet plate camera in the mountains of Colorado. His solution would not work for you. he used a mules.

That is a beast of a camera! As always excellent photos. I think I'll just stick to my "tiny" 4x5!

This is wicked awesome! Congrats! Can't wait to see your work. That photo of Lauren and Strudel, especially, is amazing and is one of the looks I'm after if I ever get around to finishing my ULF build 😅💸. For giggles, I picked up a 36" f/8 telephoto lens off a reconnaissance aircraft lol. 26 pounds with the shutter! Won't be doing many environmental shots with that (and the image circle is slightly smaller if I remember right) but it's worth it for the conversation factor.

Yesss it finally showed up in a video!!

Very cool Matt! As a wet plate shooter, I can definitely recommend repurposing a jogging pram (stroller) if you're travelling over level ground. You might look in to the Ilford Pop Up Darkroom for being able to reload holders in the field, or at least on a multi-day trip.

wow, mat! im now super jealous, thanks! now ill have to get a 30x40" to outdo it! jokes aside tho, that's such a cool camera and I'm happy you finally got one! can't wait to see more LFF (or well I guess it´ll be ULFF now) episodes of this incredible camera

I've been collecting lenses and accessories for a 7x17 kit for a few years, but every time I see a 12x20 (like Art Sinsabaugh) it makes me want to just go big or go home. Love the driveway portrait the best, I think the context that the wide aspect ratio gives is really special.

Congratulations on your new dream camera! Interesting that ULF is more than just LF only bigger. Also interesting is your enlightening observation that aspect ratio is as important as total size. Hmmm...

Really happy for you getting a dream camera. I love shooting my 4x5 and have a good solution for packing it around, but it's hardly "convenient." Seeing that absolutely preposterous behemoth of a pack on you for carrying the 12x20 made me laugh out loud. Really would love to see a livestream of you making kallitypes or salt prints from 12x20 negs. One of my favorite episodes of LFF of all time was the livestream making platinotypes. Alt process is one of the only reasons I can think of that I might someday make the jump to 8x10.

The spirit of Fred Picker is happy... 🙂

Just saw this. I bought my 12x20 from Keith back in ~1993. It was the second one Keith built along with the first.. Something to consider that I had done at the time - I had Keith build a 7x17 reducing back for the 12x20. As for small lenses, you should consider finding a Fuji 600mm lens. It will cover. Another very interesting lens is the Nikor 1200T - which is speced at just 8x10 format but which covers 12x20 --- remember that you are contact printing and that the softness does not show around the edges that would show with enlargements (and Nikor did not put a hard stop circle in the lens. I don't use it because I have the crazy sharp Schnieder Fine Art XXL 550mm and the 1100mm(Yes there is plenty of bellows) as well as another 750mm. BTW there is NO standard for film holders for ULF - I had to have Alan Brubaker make the holders first and then have Keith make the camera to take the holders (Again no standard exists for the depth of the film from the holder and Keith had never had one of AWB's holders so I had to loan him one for the build). So other holders like S&S or Chamanoix or the older holders from the 1900-1930 period you might find will not work properly). One other thing I had Keith do to the front lens support is to place a 3/8 threaded hole in the bottom crosspiece under the front swing control;. Whereas the tripod effectively supports the body of the camera and holder, the lens is way out there on a lever arm. I use a monopod under the lens standard to support it especially when I have the bellows out to four (4) feet for the 1100mm. I think Keith incorporated the idea on all the later ones he built so you might look to see if it is there on yours BTW those loops on the side of the bellows are to be put over the support screw on the rear standard to shorten the bellows and prevent the droopy bellows from cropping the bottom of the image (inverted image on the ground glass of course). And AWB custom makes nice white polycarbonate cases for film holders - I have 4 for the 6-12x20 and 6-7x17 holders I had built. Nice for storage to protect the holders but not for carrying in the field. Well looks like you are hooked! Great to see this video and thanks for making it.

Congrats on getting this amazing camera. For me 8x10 is the max (for now😬). Thanks again for this inspiring video

As an owner of 8x20 and 14x17 let me welcome you to the ULF camera. yeah I know you had a 8x20 but you never used it that much. This one I suspect will be use a lot. What a camera too. Keith Canaham makes great cameras. I love working in ULF because I prefer to contact print. There is no print better than a contact print. Great point about the differences in working with your camera as you move up to ULF. 4x5 to 8x10 not difficult but doing up to ULF requires, work, patience and money. Even working with the bigger holders for me became a challenge. I screwed up several times putting the dark slide in and got some light leak When developing old film can't you use Benzotriazole to reduce that fog? I am so excited about this because I am hoping (selfishly) that we are going to see a lot more ULF videos. Congrats

Beautiful camera, I especially loved the portraits!

Finally found a channel to help me. I am about to get into Tin Type and got stuck on lens attachment. I just watched you video on attaching the barrel lenses. 😊😊😊😉

Wow! That 12x20 looks really magnificent! It's hard to believe that's basically 12 times the area of my 4x5. It's like shooting out an entire box of 50 sheets in 4 shots. It's awesome and frightening at the same time. I could live with it being just a few shots because I tell myself that as long as I get one or two photos out of an outing I'm doing really well. I shoot my digital like I shoot my film, and most of my time is spent using my eyes to compose and plan my photos I think I'm sticking with my 4x5 because it's a pretty good balance for what I'm doing. I feel like it's just small enough to be more convenient As far as the dance goes, more recently I was playing around with my Nikon bellows unit with movements, and it took a few moments to get used to the fact that my controls for my standards and movements were in different places than my 4x5. It's like you have to learn a new dance for each view camera you use.

Waw, that will be a sooo god giveaway for the end of the season... ; )

Interesting, as usual though I'm max'd out at 4x5.

great that you have moved up in camera, but with that first shot, gives an inspiration for other videos, like how you used the flash gear with this camera; aka a follow up from the Tariq Tarey studio flash episode, how to meter, connect to the lens, etc. as you actually use these skills outdoors, and would be a good thing to show us.

I likely wont use anything bigger than 120s, but its amazing to see such a big camera.

I watched a youtube video recently where a cjap was reconstructing how difficult i would have been to take the original shots of the opening of Tut's tomb using a 10x8 camera and wet glass plates. He said he was also using glass plates but actually the film holders were deffinintely cut film only holders and he too did not bother to cover the film holder open edge during the time he had the slide withdrawn....in the middle of the Egyption desert where it tend to be rather sunny. He also payed no rgard to the whit side = fresh film, black side = exposed film indicator strips on the sheaths. He was a professional photographer used to shooting large format too. I'm not one of these folks who look for insignificant slips in film or video production but these instances are important skills that are being left out of public information media. Keep up the good stuff on ulf vids tho. Regards Leslie

This is so pretty :)

one other tip Mat, Fred Newman did a video on the 8x10's in the canham range and suggested that with the flip locks do one, then the other, as that way it squares itself automatically, rather than locking skewed, if you did both together.

I like your channel and want to support it when I can. Thanks.

Fantastic camera. Congrats on finally obtaining it. At 50lbs just for the camera/lens/holders combo, not even considering the weight of the tripod, who is going to be your sherpa? 😜. I'm sure this will be a great combo for landscapes. Enjoy it.

I'm surprised that you didn't encounter portage packs in the discussions of bags i the large format forums. I'm really pleased with mine on 11x14, but it looks like you found a great solution.

Hi Mat, Thank you so much for the resources your channel provides. As a new 4x5 photographer I can't express with words just how grateful I am to use your videos to reference and learn. I love large format and perhaps one day I too may get a setup like this, I just don't know how as well haha. Question: is there color film for 12x20? I tried doing a quick search but was unable to find any answers. Enjoy your beautiful camera! All the best wishes!

I worked at the museum of NZ and had the honour of making contact prints off 12"x16" glass plate negs. The detail was amazing. Slightly terryfying handling them. lol

Sometimes, size matters. I've always wanted a full plate camera. 6.5x8.5. Showing up with a film camera outdoors is a statement these days.

"Perspective distortion" has nothing with focal length to do. It's _only_ depending on distance to subject. So your superwide ULF gives exactly the same perspective (distortion) as you would get with a tiny pocket camera, when the distance and angle of view is the same. 🙂

Very well done video! I really enjoyed it. I have a question regarding the sharpness of the print, i couldn't see for long enough as you were moving it whilst talking but it seemed a bit soft for the aperture you were using, am i correct or is it just how the video was taken? All the best.

You might consider a Fuji Fujinon C 600 mm F/11.5 large format lens from Japan Ebay. The lens is not too large (Copal No. 3 shutter) and has an enormous image circle of 840 mm. Back in the day, I bought mine for $1,600. Unfortunately, that lens, new/mint, now sells for $5,000.

Matt, I’m using a game cart in my fat bike. So I put a rack on the bike behind the seat and I have a little trailer hitch for the cart and I can put my 717 and 1114 cameras and all equipment and ride out to a site and take a photograph. Would not recommend riding down single track or technical areas just dirt roads and dirt pathways. No stump jumping! I

This is the first video of yours I've watched, I don't own a large format camera but I'm definitely subscribing just for the Jojo reference.

Congratulations my friend, I am glad to hear that you have it in exchange for contents! Isn't that bellow sag bothering you while shooting? Cheers!

one other issue with ULF, esp. for landscape work, as the lens diameters are bigger, what filters or filter systems (square filters) do you use, as most landscape photographers use polarisers, ND's, and other filters to adjust exposure and contrast for their film.

Hi! I don’t shoot LF or a beast like that but a question I have Those bellows seem to sag a good bit. Does that show on the film? If not how do you get around that?

🤯

That is crazy huge

Mat that is a fantastic camera. A real challenge to use. One question: does the bellows sag interfere with the image circle at all? It looks like it would. (Time 15:51)

The 12x20 sheet film I found was scary expensive (ADOX CHS 100 II Sonderformat 30,5x50,8 CM (12x20 INCH) / 25 Blatt 30,5x50,8 CM (12x20 INCH) / 25 Sheets) was 500 dollars plus shipping after tax. I guess everything else scales up with it. Too rich for my blood, but I guess you get what you pay for, like everything else.

For transporting provided you live in a place with a (somewhat) descent bicycle network a bicycle cart might also work to transport cameras like this (or any other large format camera), it does for me (but I do live in the Netherlands which is a place with a good bicycle infrastructure so YMMV)

Mat, I like watching your videos. You make it look quite a simple process. One question I have with the 12x20 is in regards to the back. Can it be rotated for actual portrait orientation? Even with "Environmental" photography, it seems you will waste film space with the panoramic view in shots with close-up portraits. This is not a complaint, just an observation of sorts. Right now I can't get pass my 4x5, plus my back would not survive that camera. Great video.

It would have been nice to list the costs of the camera, film, paper etc. a those things are probably quite "challenging".

The portrait with the dog in the arms was pretty glorious. So what truck did you have to buy to move that camera around? 🙂

Try a Saltzman tripod.

Hi Mat, Nice video about the ULF camera! By the way, will the winner of the Graflex giveaway be announced in a seperate video? I'm just a little bit nervous to know who won the camera. ;) Best regards from Holland, Nathan

What made you pick 12x20" over 4x10", 5x12" or 7x17" and how do you think it will complement your 8x20"? I would've thought one panoramic ULF format is enough but who am I to judge!

Which films are available for this format, which one do you use?

Now do some birding with the thing

I agree with you in being able to appreciate the detail in large contact prints. Nothing beats the look of a large contact print. But, I'm wondering about the fogging going on with the one side of the prints. Is this a film fog problem due to age or heat, or is it from the film accidentally getting exposed in the camera back when the shot is being taken? I recall needing to drape the dark cloth over the camera top and sides when shooting large format to prevent this type of light leak in the field.

one question mat, what is a RC print?, as some of us out there read RC as being stood for Remote control, aka the model planes that use a toy car's joystick controller to fly.

Perspective is a dependent on distance and not focal length.