LF virgin here, wants used lightweight landscape field 4 x 5 - recommendations

[Weihan]

I can highly recommend the Walker Titan XL, which is primarily designed for wide to ultra-wide angle lenses. The camera is very light weight and is the closest thing to "indestructible" in the LF range. It sets up very fast, and can be equipped with both a standard and a WA bellows. The Schneider SA 47mm XL can be used very easily on this camera, and the stability / firmness is first-rate!

[Doremus Scudder]

A lot of good answers so far.

However, I'll take a different tack and come out in favor of wooden folders.

I spend a lot of time lugging my gear around hiking, backpacking and just walking in the city. For me, a three-pound camera is really nice to have. I have some folders that are six-plus pounds and they always end up staying at home or in the car or just going short distances. My lightweight monorails also tend to stay behind just because of the bulk. I like my field cameras to fold up into a small package that is easily packable and protects the front standard. I also always have a ground-glass protector. This allows the camera to take a little more knocking around.

As for sturdiness, I have never had a problem except in high winds. This I can usually deal with by weighting the camera with a jacket or the like or just laying my hand on the rear standard before releasing the shutter. Sure, if you drop a wooden camera off a cliff it will likely break easier than a metal one of the same design. I think it's worth the weight savings to just treat my gear with a little more TLC.

My lightest camera is a Horseman Woodman; a bare-bones wooden field camera that still works with lenses from 75mm to 240mm (300mm with a lens on a top-hat lens board). It weighs 3.2 lbs.

One of my favorite field cameras is the Wista DX (not the DXII, which has no shift, or the DXIII which is heavier because it has a graflok back). It folds up with a small lens on it, saving space as well (I can even fold it with my 240mm Fujion A mounted). It takes the same lenses as above and it weighs 3.25 lbs.

The Chamonix cameras look very interesting to me and would be on my short list if I were looking for a new field camera. The longer bellows would enable the use of slightly longer lenses. Shen Hao and Tachihara cameras look nice as well, but I have no experience with them.

Generally, however, the lightest weight wooden (or other) cameras are going to lack all the features found on bigger, heavier cameras. Tradeoffs include shorter bellows (12 inches for many wooden folders), fewer and less-extensive movements (shift on only one standard, or no shift at all, base tilts only, rise/fall on only one standard, etc.). The lightweight cameras that do offer more extensive bellows and movements (like the Chamonix) tend to be a bit more fiddley and time-consuming to set up.

Fuller-featured and longer-bellows wooden folders can be bulky and just as heavy as the metal field cameras (six pounds and up). I have a nifty Zone VI camera that I use very little just because it is bigger and heavier. Some of the Shen Hao cameras are in this category.

If, like me, you want an easy to carry and easy to operate kit that will be adequate for all but extreme cases, I'd recommend looking at camera weight specifications first. Get a selection of light-weight folders and then compare other specifications. I would not get a camera without shift on one of the standards. Other than that, you can get by easily with rise/fall just on the front standard and base tilts (which are easy once you take the time to learn them). Bellows length may be a factor for you if you want to use 300mm or longer lenses. That said, I use a 300mm Nikkor M on an extended lensboard on cameras with 12-inch bellows all the time.

Looking past the camera, if weight is going to be an issue, do take the time to inform yourself about lightweight lenses and accessories. Kerry Thalmann's website is a good place to start.

FWIW, I usually carry a Wista DX, four or five lenses, six film holders, a spot meter, two sets of filters, dark cloth, loupe and other accessories and my kit weighs in at under fifteen pounds. Add a light weight tripod to that and it is still really portable for long distances. My packing lens kit consists of a 90mm f/8 Schneider Super-Angulon, a 135mm of some make (usually a plasmat like the Nikkor W or a Wide-Field Ektar), a 203mm f/7.7 Ektar, and a 300mm Nikkor M. I'll toss in another lens like a Fujinon A 240mm or 180mm, or a 75mm lens if I have room/need. Or, I'll cut down to bare bones and take a 100mm Wide Field Ektar, a lightweight 135mm and the 240mm Fujinon A.

I prefer dividing my kit between lumbar pack, a vest and other pockets instead of having everything in one backpack. For backpacking trips, I'll cut down on the number of lenses and filmholders/accessories and my kit will still be manageable even with everything else in my pack.

Hope this helps,

Doremus

[John Kasaian]

Ultra light 4x5? Look for a Gowland while you're at it. And a Nagaoka, if you can find one.

[sethlatimer]

If I were in the market for a backpackable 4x5 camera I would try to buy this one:
http://www.largeformatphotography.in...hlight=gowland

[Cor]

I second the Gowland suggestion, I have one too. There are a few drawbacks though; setting up and taking down takes time/practice, no big deal, but a bigger problem that you have to lock down all knobs really well, else it will not be sturdy. Swapping between landscape and portrait mode is annoying, I have to get out an Allen key to be able to turn the back (plus a small screw driver I need to carry to tighten the focusing wheel). On the up side you'll only need a flimsy light tripod (and pray for the wind to lay down, or hang a bag from the tripod).

All in all I would not advice to get a Gowland as first camera, only if you are looking for the absolute lightest setup..(try to get Mido holders type II than also)

Best,

Cor

[Bruce Watson]

...as kool as that Toho FC45X is, and I'd love to have one, it's no field camera.

Don't be daft. Of course it's a field camera. It's design purpose is to be a lightweight camera for backpacking, and it does that duty superbly.

[Bruce Watson]

Thanks! I will look into this - I sought out the Kerry Thalmann link, and it looks like a winner. I have a f/stop gear pack with several sizes of insert, and I think that I could readily fit the fragile stuff in a "medium" insert, and the monorail could sit in the main compartment.

Did you look at his lightweight LF lens pages? Great resource.

[Ari]

Don't be daft. Of course it's a field camera. It's design purpose is to be a lightweight camera for backpacking, and it does that duty superbly.

Ok, it's the lightest field camera ever.

Personally, I like a 135 or 150mm lens sitting inside a Wista or Linhof Technika, and not worrying about shooting at 1 second in windy conditions.
Open the camera, rack the lens out to the infinity stops, compose and shoot.

[NancyP]

This is a very friendly forum, thanks for all the suggestions.
To start with, I know that I am going to need to get lots more than the camera body, the hoped-for budget was $2,000.00 or under for a body, one or two high quality lenses, a light meter, backs, tanks or trays, basic chemicals, box of film. I thought that I should start looking for individual pieces rather than hope for someone selling the "ideal kit". Right now I have nothing other than high-quality tripods and a Hoodman non-magnifying loupe for LCDs.

My Big Fat Hiking Tripod should be adequate: Feisol CT3472 with Arca-Swiss Z1sp ball head. 5.5#, but I can hang a couple of water bottles off the hook - legs aren't going anywhere. (great legs, great head, btw). My aluminum Manfrotto 055 legs and Manfrotto 410 Jr. geared head with Hejnar conversion to Arca-Swiss clamp, a little heavier, but favored for astrophotography (easier to set declination for the mini-equatorial mount ) and for architecture - this could be the choice for any near-car view camera use. There's a third 3# travel tripod/head combo, clearly not appropriate.

I have looked over Kerry Thalmann's site, and appreciate the practicality of going for a slightly dimmer but lightweight f/8 lens rather than the f/4.5 or 5.6 lenses. I do prioritize weight because I intend to hike with the full kit. It seems reasonable to get a camera with moderate movement versatility and light weight, rather than one with extreme movement versatility and heavy weight, because my first goal is to get out and learn to use the camera, mostly for landscapes, and see if I really like using view cameras - remember, I am a complete newbie. If I want to shoot challenging architecture later on, I can get another body. I have both DSLR (Canon) and compact (Sigma DP2/3 Merrill) cameras for different uses, I don't expect one view camera to do everything equally well either. Damn G.A.S.!

Besides eBay and the major used dealers like Midwest Photo Exchange, and specialty dealers like Badger, where does one find used LF gear? Local Craigslist (St. Louis MO, a reasonably big city) is devoid of LF gear. I was surprised that there isn't an obvious "for sale/ want to buy" forum on this LFP site.

I spend a lot of time lugging my gear around hiking, backpacking and just walking in the city. For me, a three-pound camera is really nice to have. ....

Horseman Woodman; ..... Wista DX (not the DXII, which has no shift, or the DXIII which is heavier because it has a graflok back).

>>>>Thanks for the info on these

If, like me, you want an easy to carry and easy to operate kit that will be adequate for all but extreme cases, I'd recommend looking at camera weight specifications first.

>>>>> Time to make that Excel spreadsheet.....an updated version of the list in the 1999 Stroebel book.

I would not get a camera without shift on one of the standards. Other than that, you can get by easily with rise/fall just on the front standard and base tilts (which are easy once you take the time to learn them). Bellows length may be a factor for you if you want to use 300mm or longer lenses. That said, I use a 300mm Nikkor M on an extended lensboard on cameras with 12-inch bellows all the time.

>>>>Thanks

I prefer dividing my kit between lumbar pack, a vest and other pockets instead of having everything in one backpack. For backpacking trips, I'll cut down on the number of lenses and filmholders/accessories and my kit will still be manageable even with everything else in my pack.

>>>>> I keep little stuff, filters, lenscaps, wired release, etc in pockets of a vest. My source for "photographer's vests" is Bass Pro or Cabela's hunting/fishing shops - plenty of sizes and choices, all in "camo"

Doremus

[Ari]

You can try KEH for used gear; meanwhile, a nice kit is available here: http://www.largeformatphotography.in...highlight=zone