5x7 Monorail Cameras????

[Drew Wiley]

I sure feel stupid for passing up a 5x7 Norma, but the simple fact is, that at my age, I purchased a 4x5 Norma as my old-age " mini-cam", because a 5x7 would be
much harder to squeeze into my pack and quickly pull out to operate, and I've already had my share of bursitis from felling and trees and piling logs. My 8x10 is a folder, so a different story. My big ole external frame packs - true Kelty or Camp Trails - accept a nice plastic kitchen wastebasket - goes right into the top. I just drop my Norma (or formerly, F2 Sinar) right into that thing, 28-inch rail and all. The rail obviously sticks out each side of the top a little. The long bellows, compendium shade, even lens, can all be left right on. Much faster to operate than a folder.

[Tin Can]

Pretty sure we all want a 5X7 Norma!

I would like to touch one first, I did not like my P, everybody has a different opinion. I know Ken Lee carries a 5X7 P and loves it. He even produces wonderful images with it!

[gregmo]

Be patient & keep watching the listings. I picked up my Cambo 5x7 SC a year ago after many months of watching. I prefer the extra film size & rectangular image shape to my Horseman 4x5. It weighs about the same, so transporting is easy in my backpack.

[Drew Wiley]

If I was a 45 year-old teenager, it would be a different story. But I'm not. I need something I'll be able to handle well into old age. And when even the 4x5 Norma gets clumsy, I can use my little 4x5 Ebony folder. But in the meantime, I opt mainly for full 8x10 film because it's much more precisely controllable than either 4x5 or 5x7 when using multiple punch and register techniques for advanced color printing. But if someone is stupid enough to be selling a clean 5x7 Norma on the cheap, I sure as heck won't tell the rest of you about it!

[Roger Hesketh]

I have a 5x7 Linhof Kardan Color. The original one from the late fifties. Which I find a joy to use. They are inexpensive but transportable rather than portable. Rock solid. I have just made a wooden front panel for it to enable me to mount a 16" Wollensak Vitax onto it. The hole in the standard front panel is just too small to allow me mount such a wide lens to it. Such is the precision and quality of it's construction even with such a heavy weight as the Vitax hanging off the front of it their is no discernible movement of the front standard.I also have the 8x10 version of the same camera which I have never used, though I have used bits from the 8x10 camera on the 5x7, they are interchangeable.The 8x10 is just so big and heavy it is difficult to find a way to support it. Some years ago I bought a studio stand to use with it. The column of the stand is 9 foot high which was fine to use in the property in Wales that we had which had high ceilings. I bought the stand . Then my wife was ill so we moved home to our old house, to be closer to hospitals etc, but which only has eight foot ceilings.

[Tin Can]

Those are the very definition of Heavy Duty. I also have both. You need the biggest Linhof tripod, it holds it easily. The rail is heavy chrome steel 50mm. I think the tripod foot is the only weak point and I have seen some for sale without the foot. They also had thin chrome on the rail, I plan to re chrome mine.

Could you show the lens and mount?

I seldom hear or see of another one. I got my 8x10 in USA, But my 5X7 was shipped from UK. They do mix and match well for macro with triple standards.

I have a 5x7 Linhof Kardan Color. The original one from the late fifties. Which I find a joy to use. They are inexpensive but transportable rather than portable. Rock solid. I have just made a wooden front panel for it to enable me to mount a 16" Wollensak Vitax onto it. The hole in the standard front panel is just too small to allow me mount such a wide lens to it. Such is the precision and quality of it's construction even with such a heavy weight as the Vitax hanging off the front of it their is no discernible movement of the front standard.I also have the 8x10 version of the same camera which I have never used, though I have used bits from the 8x10 camera on the 5x7, they are interchangeable.The 8x10 is just so big and heavy it is difficult to find a way to support it. Some years ago I bought a Latif studio stand to use with it. The column of the Latif is 9 foot high which was fine to use in the property in Wales that we had which had high ceilings. I bought the stand . Then my wife was ill so we moved home to our old house, to be closer to hospitals etc, but which only has eight foot ceilings.

[Roger Hesketh]

I did take some digi snaps of my little lad playing with it the other week but for some reason the upload does not want to work. I will try to resize them. Maybe that is the problem.

[Roger Hesketh]

My little lad Martin. I am trying to teach him.




As far as the wooden front goes. It is ply cut to the shape of the front standard. With cut outs for the top and bottom clips. This is attached to a thicker piece of ply which has been shaped to be an interference fit in the internal part of the front standard. It is that good a fit that the front panel with lens attached will actually stay there without further support but you will notice I have used the compendium bellows lens hood to secure it in place. I think the main problem with mounting the 8x10 has been twist at the tripod mount. Now I cannot afford a panoramic tilting mount for it . They are about £120 so I have made my own as you can see using an old Linhof pan tilt head that I had. To that is bolted a piece of timber. the camera tripod mount is bolted to the timber and some pipe clamps also attached to the timber prevent the camera twisting.the camera is sitting on a twin shank Linhof tripod. Randy I am glad to hear you say that a large Linhof tripod will support 8x10 maybe now I have sorted the twisting problem it will fine for 8x10 use . The lens is obviously for 8x10 use but I do not have another 8x10 camera that is heavy enough to support the lens. Coincidentally if you look to the bottom left of the second picture you will see a 5x7 Technika II similar to yours. We would appear to have similar taste in cameras.

[Tin Can]

I didn't notice the 5X7 Technika in the corner. I like sturdy cameras. Those Sinar are just too wiggly for me.

The pan tilt is nice, I have a fairly complete 50's Linhof Color Kardan setup with the huge tripod and the matching dolly.

When I was in a wheelchair I used the 8x10 on the tripod to pull myself up off my bed and into the chair. Gave me something to wake up to and I enjoyed simply having it close.

Gotta have something to get you going in the morning.

I have the catalog and I simply drool over the Gigant studio stand. But they had electric motors that must have burned out and that was it for a huge stand. In the picture that's an 8X10 swinging in the breeze.

My little lad Martin. I am trying to teach him.




As far as the wooden front goes. It is ply cut to the shape of the front standard. With cut outs for the top and bottom clips. This is attached to a thicker piece of ply which has been shaped to be an interference fit in the internal part of the front standard. It is that good a fit that the front panel with lens attached will actually stay there without further support but you will notice I have used the compendium bellows lens hood to secure it in place. I think the main problem with mounting the 8x10 has been twist at the tripod mount. Now I cannot afford a panoramic tilting mount for it . They are about £120 so I have made my own as you can see using an old Linhof pan tilt head that I had. To that is bolted a piece of timber. the camera tripod mount is bolted to the timber and some pipe clamps also attached to the timber prevent the camera twisting.the camera is sitting on a twin shank linhof tripod. Randy I am glad to hear you say that a large Linhof tripod will support 8x10 maybe now I have sorted the twisting problem it will fine for 8x10 use . The lens is obviously for 8x10 use but I do not have another 8x10 camera that is heavy enough to support the lens. Coincidentally if you look to the bottom left of the second picture you will see a 5x7 Technika II similar to yours. We would appear to have similar taste in cameras.

[Roger Hesketh]

The studio stand I have has a similar base with a long column with a boom coming off it. That Gigant stand was $1500 in 1957 so I do not imagine they sold many. The 5x7 camera was $425. I paid £32 for mine and £40 for the 8x10. I have a fairly complete set up too. I also have an 8x10 to 5x7 reducing back and a 5x7 to 4x5 reducing back. I made a discovery the other day which surprised me. It seems it is possible to achieve infinity focus with a 47mm lens if you put the standards together rather than either side of the tripod mount.