Camera:
The exposure has to be very precise due to the very limited range of a N+3 (A.Adams Zone System). Therefore a spot light-meter might be helpful.
For contact copies a large format camera is indispensable. Negatives of 4X5 inches or 13x18 cm should be the minimum. Nevertheless, small prictures can be beautiful, too, they just need a special design. The working style with such big stuff is very different to the rapid working of small frame digital photography. Architecture and all non-mooving things are the favourables of this technique. But taking portraits with this 19th century technique is possible and may lead to results of very high quality. One should have a view on the work of the early masters of photography to understand the capability of this ancient technique. To take portraits, peaople have to stand still, they should not move for ¼ up to ½ seconds. The photographer has to navigate. The outcome will be photos where the people might have a very concentrated expression in their faces, like the ones more than 100 years before, but only the clothes might not appear to fit in the present times...
Conclusion:
Over all this Talbot procedure is in general quite simple, it is just the technique of the 19th century. But from an actual point of view it consumes much time and in addition someone has to know the technical aspects of the material very thoroughly. Using modern material is a help but there is no automatic exposure no, automatic at all, the photographer has to do it all by himself. So there is the confusing situation that the comparatively simple, traditional procedure, good for training on photography, asks without any compromise to handle the technique with perfection.
Is Calotype expensive? NO!! In case of contact copies, very modern technique is not necessary. Used lenses are easily available on the market. Once the technical stuff is collocated the current costs are low. A PE-paper negative will cost only a few cent.
