monorail for field work

[Frank Petronio]

I use an Arca-Swiss Discovery, with several additions and accessories such as one F-metric standard, the bag bellows, a different rail system, and a compendium lenshade. It is the best view camera I have used yet, and I have owned over twenty different models and used many others.

But for starting out I don't think I would spend top dollar on a view camera. There are so many wonderful cameras out there - in the $500 to $1000 price range - that I would experiment with several before deciding on your ultimate. For example, the Linhof M is really very well made, locks down and is very solid, and is not at all that heavy for a monorail. I used to use an earlier version called the Linhof Karden Color GT that I got for only $175 (maybe $300 tops) that was truly excellent. Likewise, the old metal Calumets, Cambos, and Toyos are a bargain, as are most of the other older monorails. Heck, you can get a beautiful Sinar Norma on eBay for about $600 - and they are arguably the "best" cameras ever made. For that matter, you can get an older design of the Arca-Swiss for a few hundred bucks as well - and it will do everything the Discovery will do - albeit not quite as elegantly - but for your first camera!? - spend your extra money on film!!! Or hire me to teach you - send me a plane ticket to New Mexico and let's go shooting!

I like base tilts - Sinar or Arca - most of the Linhofs and Horsemans have center tilts - but it is really a minor point and you'll get used to usinj either.

[Leonard Evens]

Chip,

You might want to give serious consideration to the Toho FC-45X or its Badger clone, the M2. It is a monorail, but it is extremely light, and it comes apart for easy transport. See the review by Kerry Thalmann at www.thalmann.com/largeformat/toho.htm. I've been using one for a couple of years now, and I find it meets my needs very well. I use it with lenses of focal length 75 mm, 90 mm, 150 mm, and 300 mm. Movements are a bit limited with wide angle lenses because of bellows stiffness, but the Toho elliptic lensboard is a good solution to that problem. I use it for purposes much like what you describe except that I am likely to go further afield.

[Sharon S.]

Chip -

Don't rule out the Sinars. I have an F2 that I bought for a good price at Midwest Photo (mpex.com) and I love it. I shoot about the same proportion of outdoor/landscape, etc. that you do and I have taken the camera with 2 lenses and a number of film holders in a backpack for hikes from 2-4 miles. They're heavy but they are good in a stiff wind, solid. And you still have all the movements. An older F1 is also a good choice and cheaper. They just don't have the geared front standard which isn't a major problem. Oh yeah, and you can actually fold up a Sinar to be more compact, rather than disassembling it...

If you don't want to have the additional burden (cost or otherwise) of carrying a bag bellows for a 90 mm lens, you might go with a 110 mm Super Symmar instead. Beautiful lens, pricey, but wish I had one...

[Dave Schneider]

I too would ask you to take another look at a Sinar. You should be able to get a Sinar F for $500 or less. The advantage of the Sinar is the compatibility of components for many years. This means an abundant supply of used extension rails, lens boards, bag bellows and any other items you will want. The Arca-Swiss doesn't have the long history of use and as a result a small used inventory. You can also rent a Sinar in just about any big city. It's kind of fun to rent an 8x10 back for a weekend once in a while.

[Frank Petronio]

Kerry would be the one to answer this, but the difference in stability and ease of use between an Arca (or Sinar) and a lightweight Toho (Badger M1) is like night and day. The lightweights don't have nice big knobs, easy smooth movements, etc. compared to the heavier but more luxurious Arcas, Linhofs, and Sinars...

Also, add a very expensive leather bag bellows and fairly expensive lens boards to the Arca equation - even starting with a Discovery, it works out to be a big investment. The Karden is just as modular as the Arca and Sinar, and the M is nicely priced, but accessories are as expensive as Arca and usually need to be bought new. Only the Sinar has readily available used parts in the USA or on eBay, which makes it the best bang for the buck, unless you want to pay more for the sheer elegance and subtl details of the Arca...

[Ken Lee]

One advantange of your shooting style is that you are not really doing serious hiking/camping, the way that one might on a mountain trek. For you, every ounce is not critical, and you don't need a specialized backpack, etc. You don't want to spend all day assembling and knocking down the camera, I suspect.

I shoot the same way as you do, and enjoy the carrying case of the Discovery, which allows you to store the camera fully assembled and ready to shoot, along with lenses, holders, etc. It seems to have been designed for just the way you shoot (as was the camera, I suspect). Don't overlook the value of the case, and its convenience.

With a 240mm lens, you will be able to focus to infinity, and a touch closer, but not a whole lot closer. While the bellows is plenty long enough, and the rail is 300mm, you need to account for the fact that both standards sit around an inch towards the center. This gives greater stability and strength, but when you subtract 2 inches (~50mm) from 300mm, you are left with little more than required for a 240.

If you give a hint about your location, perhaps one of the distinguished list members will contact you offline and offer to show you some of the cameras you are considering.

[Isaac Crawford]

I went with a horseman LE and I love it. It folds flat so that it's easy to carry around. I have since added a 5x7 rear standard and a Sinar shutter. The shutter allows me to use barrel lenses and I'll eventyally have from 4x5 to 8x10 in one system. It's nice having access to two brands of accesories, used Sinar stuff is everywhere, and the Horseman stuff is first rate (I actually prefer the horseman lensboards).

Isaac

[tim atherton]

The Arca's are lovely - but very pricey both to start off with and for acceroies. The Sinars - I've heard several things about recent lack of support for the Sinar system (as well trying to sell off old inventory at Photokina, and their rep talking about trying to get rid of the warehouseful of Sinar F parts and accesories they have....)

A really very nice option is the Toyo VX125 system. Still somewhat picey to get into, but accesories and extras tend to be quite a bit cheaper than Arca and Linhof. I've only used one in the studio (wasn't mine), but I think there are a few users on here.


http://www.largeformatphotography.info/vx125.html

[Juergen Sattler]

I started out in LF 2 years ago and my first camera was a Sinar F1 Mono Rail. Like you I do mostly outdoor shoots - landscape - as a hobby. I loved the movements on the Sinar and all the built-in dials that helped me to get a better feel for the amount of movements needed. I don't know about other beginners, but I always wanted to use way to many movements - that's where the built-in support of the Sinar came handy. But very soon I got tired of hauling the Sinar out into the field - so I bought a Technical Field Camera - a Linhof Technika. It turned out that I was spoiled by the movements of the Sinar and never really got into the Technika - movements with a wide angle lens are very painful.

So I bought a Canham DCX45 all metal camera - and couldn't be happier. I sold both my Sinar and my Linhof. The Canham weighs a mere 4.4 pounds, folds up and has the feel and the movements of a mono rail. It is sturdy and the movements are totally intuitive - at least to me. I think I found my "perfect" camera - if such a thing exists. I can use small lenses as well as very long lenses with the same bellows - and on top of everything else the camera looks really cool! It is not cheap, but it eliminated my frustrations and it is really fun shooting LF now.

Juergen

[Jim Rhoades]

Buy right, buy once is very hard. Borrowing and renting a camera for a weekend is way different than living with it. A couple of hunderd yards is one thing and a mile or two a whole 'nother story. A mile in, is a mile out, which mile is up hill? Sometimes it's a mile up hill both ways. Out West it's a mile up hill at 8,000 feet.

Your subject of choice would lend itself to the field camera. Why not haunt E-bay and get a cheap monorail and a field camera. Buy good lenses that you can always have. You will know for sure in a year or two just what you want. Then sell the style of camera you want for a high end version, if needed. Keep the other camera for when that type is best suited for the work you are doing. You will also want to carry it as a spare for when that accident happens.

If you do this, don't be suprised if you find out you don't need that $2,000 camera. That old Calumet or Graphic View will do everything you need it to and more. All for a hundred bucks.
Same thing for a Woody for a few hundred more.