Hello, I'm considering a Rittreck View and can't find any info how much the camera weights?
Anybody owning one and a kitchen scale?
Regards and thanks in advance.
Hello, I'm considering a Rittreck View and can't find any info how much the camera weights?
Anybody owning one and a kitchen scale?
Regards and thanks in advance.
Rittreck View with 4X5 back weighs around 9lbs 3 ozs. - should be much the same with the 5X7 back. Great camera and whole plate and 8X10 backs are also around but hard to find at reasonable prices.
As a reference for future readers, I add my results here in international units:
Body with 13x18/7x5 back, smallish tripod plate, no lens: 4100 g
Body with 9x12/5x4 rotating back, smallish tripod plate, no lens: 4300 g
Rittreck cannot be folded with a lens mounted, so these are the weights one has to carry.
thank you all for the info, boy this heavier than I thought.
they are tanks. good camera but a tank none the less. the good news is that these days they can be had on ebay for somewhere around the 300.00 range. if you shoot 4x5 only, i would go with something smaller and lighter. if you do intend to shoot 5x7, you won't find a better camera for the price i don't think. personally, i shoot 4x5 and 6x12 so i use a wista sp. i believe it is around 5 lbs or so. the going rate for this newer wista model is 3 times the cost of the rittreck you mention above. with 5 lenses, my back pack is full and heavy but manageable for a guy in decent shape.
depending on the type of shooting you do, there aren't many accessory choices for the rittreck. about the only thing i have seen are various backs for 4x5, 5x7, and 8x10. if you intend to shoot 5x7 or bigger, this would be a good camera for you as long as you don't have to carry it too far.
if you are looking at this camera based on its price but intend to shoot 4x5, i suggest getting a wista "d" or "n". personally, i prefer the "d" model because it is the same camera as the sp but it does not have the swing movement on the front standard. the n model is the same as the vx but it also doesn't have front swing. the going rate is about the same as the rittreck at 300ish dollars. it weighs half as much (about 1/3rd smaller) and will accept all the accessories the newer wista metal folding cameras are designed to use. heck, i couldn't resist such a good deal. i just purchased another one off ebay this morning. great cameras, lots of movements, cheap prices. what could be better?
@flyboyx: thank you for the info on the Wista camera line, great suggestions, I'm shooting 4x5 at the moment, but would like to upgrade to 5x7 for the next project, but still not sure about this 5x7 thing, cost is considerable higher and the quality gain????, I just don't know.
Regards
Heinrich
hi, i have one with all the backs that were made for it. 5x7 is almost twice the negative area of 4x5 and the aspect ratio really suits architecture and such. QT Luong did his entire National Parks project with 5x7 http://www.terragalleria.com/
Hello Evan, do you use 5x7 frequently or do you rather reach for 8x10 if you want superior quality over 4x5? Curious.
5x7 is pretty awesome for a fact. It has some serious disadvanteges as you alluded to. Cost of film is crazy high compaed to 4x5. Equipment is bigger and heavier. Lenses are mor expensive. For me personally, 4x5 is big enough because every piece of eqipment I own needs to fit and be carried in my backpack. There is no way that will happen for me with a rittreck or likely any 5x7 for that matter because I have 5 lenses to carry as well.
Now and again I wish I could shoot 6x17cm. I guess I can buy a 5x7 back for my sp if I really get the wild hair up my rear. Then I would need a film back........
With all that said, if I did decide to switch to 5x7, I would get the lightest wood camera with as many movents as I could afford. Probably the price tag will be around fifteen hundred bucks for the camera alone to fit that bill.
The Ritteck View sounds like the camera that I need. I have a Deardorff 8x10, with reducing backs to 5x7, 4x5, 3¼x4¼ and I have several of the various sized Speed and Crown Graphic (13) but I want a dedicated 5x7, no reducing backs, no elarging backs tp 8x10. Just a straight 5x7.
Anybody have one?
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