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View Full Version : Which wooden field camera is most 75mm friendly?



Aaron Rocky
8-Oct-2003, 20:26
I'm building my LF system and have gathered 75mm, 150mm, 300mm(tele) lenses over the past few months all from e*bay. Now looking for an economic light weight wooden field camera. Among Horseman woodman, Tachihara, shenhao and wista, which one is most 75mm friendly with the standard bellows?

Tony Karnezis
8-Oct-2003, 21:00
I have the Shen-Hao and a 90 and wondered the same since I'm thinking about getting a 75. I focused the 90 at infinity and simply moved the standards ~15mm closer and found that there's room for enough front tilt necessary for landscape work. One advantage of the Shen-Hao is that you can simply move the rear standard forward and avoid the hassle of dropping the bed.

A little off the topic, but there's also the inexpensive bag bellows if you want to use more movement or use the 75 often. It might have enough extension to use the 150 at infinity. Anyone know the max extension of the bag bellows?

Frank Filippone
8-Oct-2003, 23:11
Get a Bag Bellows.... any other solution will probably make you very unhappy. There is just not enough bellows flexibility to get any movements any other way. Especially true with rise and fall.

tim atherton
8-Oct-2003, 23:18
or get a Toyo 45A/AX/AII

I have no problem with a 75mm on a slightly recessed board - bellow are flexible enough to give me the movements I need with it.

I use the same lens on my Arca with the bag bellows which gives me more movments than I ccould ever think of using with it, but the Toyo generally does just fine.

And it's not too bad for the 300mm end of things.

Brian Ellis
9-Oct-2003, 04:54
While a bag bellows will provide the ultimate in flexibility, they are also a real pain IMHO to use with many cameras. A 75mm on a Tachihara will work quite well unless you need really extensive movements, as is often the case with things like architecture. However, for most purposes the Tachihara bellows is sufficiently flexible to handle a 75mm lens. A friend of mine uses a 65mm lens on his and I think Tuan talked somewhere in this forum about using an even shorter lens on his. I tested a 65mm on mine and it worked but I didn't buy the lens for other reasons and don't remember whether movements were possible. I don't know how the Tachihara compares with the other cameras you mention in this respect since I haven't used those cameras.

Most used camera dealers wil let you return items within a week or two for a full refund so I'd suggest buying one of the cameras you mention that way and seeing how it works with a 75mm lens for your purposes.

Gilbert
9-Oct-2003, 07:48
I can second Brian. I use a Wista DX III without a bag bellows. But I can use my SA 75 mm well on a recessed Linhof lens board. Maybe I cannot use the most extreme movements. But as I don't use them, I don't mind.

Gilbert Dumont

Ellis Vener
9-Oct-2003, 11:25
Canham DLC

Not wooden, but a great field camera with no need to change bellows for a 75mm or for a 720mm T-Nikkor either:

George Hart
10-Oct-2003, 00:35
Ebony 45S + Super-Angulon 75/5.6. Wonderful combination, plenty of freedom for movements etc!

Osman Eralp
11-Oct-2003, 11:55
I have a Tachihara and use a 75mm Schneider SA and the Nikor 300M with no problems. As someone else mentioned, the Tachihara bellow may not allow enough rise for architectural photography but for everything else it's fine.