Do I still need my dedicated 6x17 camera or is a back enough?

[Carsten Wolff]

It isn't necessarily a case of either/or though anyway:
I have a Canham 617 back:
I use it on my Arca-Swiss 5x7,
made a dedicated P&S front for it, turning it into a hand-holdable panorama camera (75mm SW-Nikkor)
and also use it on a third, (obviously also custom made, waterproof, tilt-lens) camera.

Main reason for having it is useability: Apart from handling issues, there is less stuffing around with split darkslides and also the sparse number of 5x7 color emulsions about.

[Joshua Dunn]

I have posted on this a few times so if I am repeating myself I apologize.

I shoot my Canham 6x17 back on a modified Sinar 5x7 standard. Because the Sinar system is modular I shoot 4x5, 6x17 and 8x10 by switching out the rear standard and bellows and adding rail extensions as needed. Its easier than hauling multiple cameras around. The nice part of using 6x17 on the Sinar is you have infinite movements and can use any lens that you can match a bellows and rail combination to. I have shot from 72mm to 600mm on the Canham 6x17 back.

As far as being "better" to have dedicated a 6x17 camera there is no one answer for that. It certainly depends on how you photograph. While my setup is incredibly versatile it is large and requires a large tripod. I can create images that a dedicated camera cannot however the portability of a dedicated 6x17 camera opens up possibilities that my setup might not be able to create. For example years ago I photographed a wedding with a Linhof 6x17 camera. Because of the portability of that camera I was able to get some really nice images but would not have been able to get any of them with my current Sinar. But if you only use one or maybe two lenses and don't use movements (although some dedicated cameras have limited movements) a dedicated camera may be a better choice.

Cameras are tools. There is no one tool that is right for every job. You need to find the best tool for how you work.

-Joshua