Agfa Universal 5x7

[Jim Andrada]

+1 - great camera. I just wish they had found a different way to lock the rear standard - the way it stocke out adds an inch to the collapsed length.

[Tin Can]

The ad-vantage is you never lose the extension.

http://www.largeformatphotography.in...l=1#post774864

[Leonard Robertson]

Here is additional information you may find interesting:

http://www.largeformatphotography.in...uther-thoughts

The weight of the Ansco may or may not be important to you, but you should be aware it isn't a light camera. However most of the folks who posted on that thread don't really seem to care that it is a bit heavy. The advantages offset the extra weight.

I don't know if all the grey painted Anscos came with a bellows made of a plastic material which hardens with age, but both my 5X7 and 8X10 have that sort of bellows. This only matters because it makes using full bellows extension and front rise and tilt a bit more difficult due to the stiffness of the bellows. Maybe both my camera were stored in a hot attic at some time in their life and the plastic bellows isn't normally a problem for grey Anscos.The earlier natural wood finish Anscos may have a more supple bellows.

I hope I don't sound negative about Anscos since I love both mine.

Len

[Tin Can]

That's a great link to the earlier discussion. My plastic bellows are just fine and an Ansco can support a big lens. I have a Calter S 240mm in Copal 3 always mounted on mine, and it does stick out the front. It's big and heavy, but it's admits great straight rays. I like using the 5x7 slider back, to make 2 tall format 5X3.5 portraits very quickly.