an expensive mistake

[Ken Kapinski]

Don't you hate it when you are shooting in Yellowstone National Park on top of the canyon around the Lower Falls and you change your film back on your Horseman45FA from vertical to horizontal and you think its latched on but its not and it falls off and rolls all the way down the canyon undoubtedly breaking into tiny bits and you can't even climb down to get it. I found out that I do.... Anywho, new guy here looking for where I might be able to get a new/used back for my camera. I can only assume that if a lens board for the camera is 100 bucks, a whole new back will be substantially more...OUCH

Thanks for the help

[Deniz]

I can't say i share your pain or know the answer to your question but i hope none of us ever have to experience what you have. I hope you can find your replacement for a good price.

cheers

[Darin Boville]

You're a very lucky man--lucky it wasn't a Linhof!

If that was the case you might have been tempted to go for a "hail mary" catch. Then some blessed photog would have stumbled upon a gift of the gods--a lovely Horseman (sans film back), just sitting there awaiting its new owner!

--Darin www.darinboville.com

[Ralph Barker]

I lost a Pentax Spotmeter in a similar manner, but at least I could continue making photographs. So now, I double-check everything before letting go of it - lenses, filters, backs, meters, whatever. But, I empathize with your loss.

You should be able to order the back through B&H or another Horseman dealer. Or, someone else may know of a shop that stocks parts.

[Robert Peterson]

I invest about 150.00 per year in a supplemental insurance policy for all field equipment and darkroom equipment I'm likely to drop, ie lenses. It is through State Farm and covers all the stupid things I will probably do. The only downside is that items lost or damaged by common carriers (UPS, USPS etc) is not covered, so they have to be insured thru the carrier.

[Bob Fowler]

Ouch. I feel your pain...

A quick look at the B&H page shows that the connecting frame and the ground glass back will set you back about $500.00 or so, if you don't need the connecting frame, you'll "save" about $160.00.

You may want to try Lens & Repro in NYC. They sometimes have stuff like that from rentals that got trashed or busted in shipping, or stuff that came in on trade. As a last resort, keep an eye on eBay for a beater camera you can use for parts (I picked up a revolving Graflok back for my Toyo monorails that way for about $100.00 - WITH focus panel).

Good luck...

[Scott Walton]

I'm sorry to hear! I haven't really had that bad of an incident... would drop a B+W filter once in awhile but a friend of mine actually has paid for this Horseman about 5 times in repairs. He would fall and something would snap... including him!

[Michael Kadillak]

There is a lot to be said about the quality and the patience of the person making the photograph. Being contemplative and carefully considering a place for setting up while also taking your time to make sure that you do not put yourself (or your equipment) at risk is always advisable versus the short tempered mindset cursing the wind or the failing light and trying their best to catch a falling star when they should be sitting down and taking mental notes for the many return trips it might take to get it right if it truly deserves recording the composition on film. This grip it and rip it mindset is more for shooting a Leica not a 4x5 IMHO. Learn from your mistakes and be more careful next time out.

Lastly, the comment about insurance above is good advice. Look upon it as a business decision even if you are not a professional and you will feel comfort if the unexpected occurs to you in the field. If you can't part with the insurance premium, you better shoot golf courses of flower gardens where you have a nice layer of grass underfoot to cushion the blow.

My two cents.

[CXC]

I just lost my Gitzo 1341 tripod with the 1370 head. Packing the car up after a shoot, I left it behind. I believe that qualifies as a more inane mistake than yours, and certainly more expensive. And the week before I turned on the lights in the darkroom with a near-full box of 7x17 film wide open. Top that!

Hey, we're only human; we make mistakes. My lost tripod is an opportunity to upgrade to a Ries. I'm still working on how to turn the ruined film to my advantage. Unprocessed Bergger film is a lovely dark bottle-green color, by the way.

[Eric Woodbury]

A few years back I bought a Mamiya 7 from a friend after he had had it repaired to like new. He had bought a new one while on a trip because the one I bought had 'quick released' itself off the tripod while it was over his shoulder.

I hope you had some kind of backup camera along for your trip.