In this video I finally unbox my first real 4x5 setup: the Toyo Field 45A. I’ve wanted one of these for years, and the second I pulled it out of the box I was shocked by how heavy it is—and how nice the condition is. I walk through the kit I found online that made the jump to large format actually doable for me: the Toyo body, a Fujinon L 210mm f/5.6 (which I absolutely love), a 6x7 roll film back (cool, but not really my priority), and a few film holders—two of which already had FPP Frankenstein 200 loaded. I’ve only shot 10 sheets so far, but I can already tell 4x5 is something I’m going to keep shooting for a long time. It forces you to be extremely intentional, and that’s the part that feels the most gratifying. I also share photos from a portrait shoot with my friend Lennon at his studio, and I talk honestly about where 4x5 fits in my workflow: I’ll usually shoot digital or medium format first to find compositions, then “save” the Toyo for the strongest frames at the end. On the processing side, I explain why I sent that portrait session to a lab even though I’ve been learning to develop at home with an SP-445 and DF96 monobath. I’ve been getting weird marks and lines, plus DF96 adds contrast and grain—so for important images, I didn’t want to risk it.