I use Cambo cameras, their front and back frames are exactly alike so lens boards, bellows and film backs can attach to either side of the frame.
So if I had to use a 600mm lens I would try using two of my standard bellows with a third frame in the middle to connect the two bellows.
A rough schematic would look something like this:
Front|||||||||||||Middle|||||||||||||Rear
========================
.....Tripod.............................Tripod...
Have you thought about what lens you'll be using, a Nikon 600T might be more practical.
Currently I'm shooting with a 17" f5.6 telephoto on a Speed Graphic and it's quite practical and sturdy, only needs one tripod, in comparison I found my Nikon 300mm M unwieldy stuck on my Wista 45DX at full extension, very difficult to stop vibrations a fair weather lens on 5x4 only to be used when there's no wind.
Alan's comment is more sensible than might first appear, you can use any 600mm that covers the format 5x4 or 10x8 and you get the rigidity/stability needed for the required extension.Originally Posted by Alan Gales
Congratulations, you now have an excuse to give your wife on why you need an 8x10 camera. Just don't forget to pick up a 4x5 reduction back for it!
Ian
I wasn't aware that cambo made folding field cameras. Which one do you have?
The Chamonix 5x7 with extension rail and 4x5 reducing back offers 600mm extension... probably a bit more. Add a 100mm top-hat lens board and you'll have a little more than 700mm total extension. You'll probably need to add a second tripod for rigidity/stability. Might as well get an 8x10 instead.
Reinhart Wolf made a series of photographs of the tops of skyscrapers at magic hour (published as 'New York' in about 1981). Spectacular work; he used 8x10 and lenses up to 1000mm. Also a Sinar with multiple tripods and extension rails. Not a 'field camera' by any means but he used the gear that worked. In the mid-90s I took a 4x5 Zone VI field camera up on some NY skyscraper roofs and tried the same idea, using a rented Nikkor-T 500/11. Results were sometimes acceptable but I was at the limits of what the camera could do; wind and the magnification caused problems, and that was midday with Tri-X. If I was to try that again, I'd use my Sinar and a big tripod; I'd still love one of those 500/11s but not on a field camera.
An Arca Swiss Classic F with the long, 700mm bellows can handle this focal length. One would need the extra rails, though. A possibility would be the 300mm telescopic bench with two 40cm rails.
While not a field camera, a much less expensive possibility is a Toyo G 4x5. One could use the primary center rail (female threads on both ends) with either a single 500mm extension on one end or two 250mm extensions on both ends. Given the length, you could use two clamps on a plate for stability. You would also need and extra bellows and an accessory, intermediate standard.
The cameras themselves typically can be found on EBay for less than $500. I'm thinking that one could put the whole outfit together for less than $1000, maybe even in the neighborhood of $750. With the two clamps and those beefy rails, it would be a solid, stable camera.
I wasn't aware that Arca Swiss made folding field cameras. Which one do you have in mind?
Oops. I saw "field"; I missed the "folding" part.
Never mind. It happens even in the best families.
It's called a reducing back on an 8x10 camera.
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