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Thread: Upgrade my 4x5 - need input

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Posts
    13

    Upgrade my 4x5 - need input

    I cut my teeth in Large Format on a Super Graphic, and now want to upgrade my camera. Please offer your advice/experiences as to a good 2nd purchase to open my photography up to the next level.

    Criteria includes:

    1) Monorail or Field Camera OK 2) Backpack/travel friendly - I never take a picture near the road... 3) Lenses - 110 to 400 or so. 4) Price - don't want to spend more than $1,500. 5) Landscape mostly, some architecture and I'd love to eventually start some macro. 6) Good movements (Starting from a Graphic, this shouldn't be hard.) 7) Rigid - I don't like sloppy shifts and tilts.

    As you can see - I want it all. I've reading favorable reviews of the Toho FC-45X, Horseman LE, and Ebony - but am open to other suggestions.

    Thanks

  2. #2

    Upgrade my 4x5 - need input

    Unless you are limited to 4x5 consider jumping to 5x7. It takes very little more effort to shoot and/or process and you have 35 square inches instead of 20.

    All cameras with sufficient movements and rigidity are on the same plane; one may be more convenient that another, but to make a quality leap you need more film. The jump to 8x10 is startling, but not to 5x7; it is the last easy step to better picutres.

    Cheers!

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Posts
    1,219

    Upgrade my 4x5 - need input

    I have a Toho FC-45X. It seems to meet all your requirements. It is about as light a view camera, field or monorail, as you can find. As you may know, Kerry Thalmann has written a very favorable review of it. I like mine a lot. Badger Graphics is also selling a Chinese clone of the Toho under their own brand name, the Badger M2, for about 3/4 the price. I don't know anyone who has actually bought one, but Jeff at Badger says it is is identical to the Toho, and he has never misled me before.

    No camera is going to be perfect, and the Toho is no exception. It has some minor faults, and if you decide to get one, feel free to check with me for some pointers.

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    Knoxville, Tennessee
    Posts
    1,789

    Upgrade my 4x5 - need input

    Ebony RW45.

    Steve

  5. #5
    jadphoto
    Join Date
    Feb 2000
    Location
    Solvang, California
    Posts
    465

    Upgrade my 4x5 - need input

    Jack,

    Just a quick plug for the Badger M-2. I'm currently working with one for an article and it is a very nice little camera. It's a bit rough in the finish department, I suspect the Toho might be finished a little better but the design and function are great. Kerry Thalman and Roger Hicks both love the Toho so it's got to be good.

    I also worked with a couple of Gowlands over the years and for a light weight camera with lots of movements they are hard to beat. They are not too expensive either.

    Another winner is the Shen Hao, also available from Badger Graphic Sales (and others).

    Good luck finding the right camera, it's not as easy as it seems.

    Joe D.

  6. #6

    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Harbor City, California
    Posts
    1,750

    Upgrade my 4x5 - need input

    Your desirable factors work against each other somewhat. Backpack friendly generally means a rather light field camera. Macro work, though, can mean a long extension for which a monorail is better suited. Using lenses up to 400mm also requires long extension unless you go to a telephoto which means that attmpts to use front swings and tilts can drive you mad. (No problem with rise, fall, or shift.) Monorails are also apt to be more rigid, though not always. Some of the newest monorails might come closest to your requirements, but are way out of budget. If you don't mind rather time-consuming packing and set-up, an earlier modular type monorail which, with bellows detached, allows the front and back frames to be folded, or turned parallel to the rail, might be sufficiently bacpack friendly. Earlier Sinars, and some Japanese cameras, fit into this category. Extra long rails, etc., for macro work, could be ordinarily left at home.

  7. #7

    Upgrade my 4x5 - need input

    There is a mint toyo VX on ebay, with a starting bid of a grand. It will do everything you need and is also compact like you need. I have a GX, which is a little harder to pack but it does all I need it too.

  8. #8
    Octogenarian
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Frisco, Texas
    Posts
    3,532

    Upgrade my 4x5 - need input

    Hi Jack, I'm assuming that your $1500 price cap is for the camera, only. If so, take a look at the Ebony RW45. I meets all of your criterion. Of course, the lenses you choose will add, substantially, to the price.

    If the $1500 cap also includes the lenses, the 4X5 Shen Hao is about as low-priced as it gets and still have a full-featured camera that meets your requirements, still allowing the funds for purchasing a lens(s).

  9. #9

    Join Date
    May 2001
    Location
    Switzerland
    Posts
    1,330

    Upgrade my 4x5 - need input

    Arca Swiss discovery the cheapest one,will do the job!

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Dec 1997
    Location
    Baraboo, Wisconsin
    Posts
    7,697

    Upgrade my 4x5 - need input

    The 400mm length narrows your options in field cameras considerably, unless you're willing to use a telephoto 400. The Tachihara and Shen Hao would be good choices but for that requirement, neither will handle a normal lens longer than 300mm and even that is a stretch for the Shen Hao especially. You also eliminate Linhof Technikas, Toyo field cameras, and virtually all older wood field cameras. Most Ebony cameras are elimianted either by that requirement (in the case of the non-folding Ebonys) or by your budget (in the case of all other Ebony cameras except the RW that others have mentioned). In addition to the RW, a Wisner Technical Field or one of the Canham 4x5s would work well. Either should be within your budget if bought used, both have ample movements for architecutre and bellows plenty long enough to handle a 400mm normal lens. The Wisner Traditional is within your budget as a new camera but IIRC it's kind of on the heavy side.

    I'm not a fan of monorails for field use. I know some people use them and like them, particularly the monorails designed for field use such as the Toho, so it's strictly a personal view. However, in the time I've been participating here I've seen quite a few messages from people who want to get rid of a monorail they've been using in the field and replace it with a field camera. I don't offhand recall ever seeing a message from someone saying they want to get rid of their field camera and replace it with a monorail for field use.
    Brian Ellis
    Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
    a mile away and you'll have their shoes.

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