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Thread: advantages of monorail over field camera

  1. #11

    advantages of monorail over field camera

    I haven't used a monorail, but I can confirm that the Ebony 45SU referenced above is indeed a very flexible camera with generous movements. I use it without any fuss with lenses from 58 to 300mm. There is virtually no set-up time. It is relatively heavy for a field camera.

  2. #12

    Join Date
    Jan 2002
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    Besançon, France
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    1,617

    advantages of monorail over field camera

    There is one aspect of the question not addressed here is the fact that many wooden flatbeds used by professionnals and serious amateurs nowadays are modern and improved re-creations of an old kind of camera. My understanding, if you look back to the 1950's and 1960's is that professionals in the studio used monorails, hand-held 4x5" press cameras gradually vanished in the sixties not so long before the Rollei TLR ceased to be #1 for hand-held press photography. So many cheap used monorails of this era do not benefit of modern improvements induced by competition between modern LF cameras aiming at new users of the XXI-st century.

    Once the workhorse of any professional photographer at a time when 4x5" was th minimum size for a professinal quality image, 4x5" cameras have changed to being (at least this is my feeling as an amateur) a connoisseur's tool for fine art and pleasure. So the choice of materials and style of the camera is extremely important beyond pure geometrical specs expressed in pounds, grams, inches, millimetres and degrees of tilt.

    So I would say : any modern 4"x5" camera of recent design, since the manufacturer is still on business and since the competition is hard even if LF equipment appears now as a niche marker, proves that the model is good and has some appeal to a minimum number of customers. New 4x5" models have been introduced in the last few years which is amazing and proves that there is still room for newer styles of cameras or newer technical improvements.

    If we compare two top-class modern 4"x5" cameras of totally opposite spirit, on one hand the Ebony wooden field and on the other hand recent Arca Swiss 'field' monorails, we get a similar (outch !) price and similar weights. Being on a budget, used monorails are cheaper and more robust that entry-level wooden field cameras... but their weight and overall size make them less attractive for field use.
    So you have the choice of the camera style and how your hands and eyes feel with the controls. The best being : try to put the hands on some models you'd be interested in before making a decision.

    I second the idea that if movements are needed, the monorail is best because movement controls are simple and logical with few limitations in wide angle photography. Monorails with identical front and rear standards offer a kind of redundancy in possibilities of movements that you do not find in flatbeds, but do you need such flexibility ?

  3. #13

    Join Date
    Sep 2003
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    221

    advantages of monorail over field camera

    Depending a lot on how much movement you will need. I am a fan of monorails, and using Sinar & having collected bits & pieces over the years, I can more or less put together a camera for the occation, and I can decide in last moment if I want to bring the 5"x7" back instead of the 4"x5" back - the rest of the outfit being the same. The Sinar F can be folded together (both standards tilted 90 degrees & resting on the rail) for compacktness & fast set-up. Substitute front standard for much more stable Norma front standard, and you have a light but very rigid monorail which stays locked also when you have to use a little force to push in the cassette. Try that with the more flimsier wooden field cameras. The older Norma is also very compact when slid of rail, but requires a little more time to set up - but still under a minute: a fraction of the thime you probably will use for a LF shot. Having a system-monorail as Sinar or Arca Swiss, You can add geared standards later on - having the oportunity to use your standard field camera/lenses with added stability & precision of geared movements when shooting in "see-you!" distance from the car. As mentioned earlier - monorails are now more & less obsolete in most studios = nice prices on used, while field cameras are as expensive as ever.

    But - if you need an even easier backpackable & undestructable camera with precise & ample movements (but not so readily applied as on a Sinar): a Technika V or 2000 (or a tech III late model which is nearly like a tech IV which is nearly like a tech V - so possible to save money....) would also do a good job....

  4. #14
    Beverly Hills, California
    Join Date
    Feb 2000
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    1,108

    advantages of monorail over field camera

    If you plan to use a lot of wide angle and or telephoto lenses, you need some kind of compact monorail such as the Arca Swiss F Metric series, or for the Linhof Tecknikardan 45S.

    If you plan to use primarily from 90mm to 240mm lenses, look at the Wista and Toyo field cameras.

  5. #15

    advantages of monorail over field camera

    I own both monorails and field cameras in 4x5 and 8x10, and am large and strong enough that any size or weight difference between them is meaningless to me. However, I find a field camera faster to set up in the field, more convenient to place in a backpack, and more able to withstand rough transport (as the bellows are protected very well by the body of the camera when it's in the pack).

    Given modern, good quality cameras, the only advantage a monorail has is in more extensive movements than most field cameras. I believe that a good Ebony, or even a Shen-Hao, will give you more movements than you need for any of the work you listed. The extreme movements I can get on a newer Cambo monorail aren't of any use to me in the field, although they are more convenient for table-top work. I've done landscape, cityscape, and macro work in the field with a modern field camera and have never stressed the movements on the camera. I've also done table-top work with a field camera, but it's not as convenient as a monorail. When I tried the monorail in the field, I found the set up/tear down process to be inconvenient at best.

    Since you're not concerned with the size and weight of the camera, you can pick a field camera with more movements than someone who is concerned with the few extra pounds that such movements cost. Packing a field camera into a backpack is very easy...just fold it up and go. With a monorail you either have to find a pack that will take the camera with the standards still on the rail (this setup wastes space in the pack unless you're very careful in designing your pack setup) or you'll be taking the standards off of, and putting them back onto, the rail when you tear down and set up. With a well made field camera, you just pop it onto the tripod and open it up. A poorly constructed field camera may have alignment problems with the standards, but my 4x5 Shen-Hao requires no extra attention to get the standards into neutral position as I set up the camera.

    If I appear biased towards field cameras for work outside of the studio, it's because I am biased. I've shot enough with both types of cameras in many situations, and the field camera just works better for me in the field.

  6. #16

    Join Date
    Nov 2003
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    1,219

    advantages of monorail over field camera

    Although in principle monorail and field cameras have basically different designs, there is in fact quite a lot of variation in how these cameras work. You really have to look at each particular camera and examine which features it has and whether or not they suffice for what you want to do. And, of course, prices vary rather significantly, so that may be a factor also.

    I have a Toho (not Toyo) FC-45X. It is basically a monorail, but it is about as light as you can get, and it comes apart easily for tranport. Badger Graphics sells it for about $1100 and they also sell a Chinese clone of it under their own name for less. It does take a trifle longer to set up than most "field" cameras, but not inordinately so. I use mine for landscapes and architecture, and so far it has fit my needs very well. See Kerry Thalmann's review at www.thalmann.com/largeformat/toho.htm

  7. #17

    Join Date
    Aug 2004
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    159

    advantages of monorail over field camera

    Thanks to all for your informative and useful replies. Guess I'll be looking for a field camera. I live in an area (Michigan) where "field cameras" are 35mm point and shoots that were dropped in the local park. Handling various models is, unfortunately, not an option at this time. (heavy sigh).

  8. #18

    advantages of monorail over field camera

    Leonard-

    The Toho seems to be the one monorail that people love for landscape work. Had I known about it a while back, I'd have probably tried one out. Kerry Thalmann speaks very highly of it on his site, and I imagine that it's probably the one monorail that I'd consider using in place of my current setup for field work. Not so much based on the speed of setup (which is probably a wash when compared to a field camera) but based on how easily it stores for transportation (where it's worlds ahead of any other monorail that I'm aware of).

    Having said that, I have heard rumblings on line about the Toho clone that Badger sells (or at least used to sell...they're not listing anything on their site right now with their own brand name on it in LF cameras). Apparently the quality leaves a lot to be desired. By all accounts, the real Toho is a very well crafted piece of equipment.

    Be well.

  9. #19

    Join Date
    Feb 1999
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    1,094

    advantages of monorail over field camera

    Percy,
    If working close to the car, I think a monorail is actually easier to get up and running than a folding field camera. You just whip it out of the case on up on the tripod (the lens is usally already attached) and you're ready to shoot after racking the bellows out. And monorail cases are usually big enough to hold all the necessary gear. An added advantage is that the case is probably sturdy enough to stand on when the camera is elevated.

  10. #20

    advantages of monorail over field camera

    The purchase of a very large backpack will enable me to haul my Horseman LE around. I'm excited to try it in the field even though I know it will take a few minutes to set up and the gear will be heavy. I'm guessing I'll be able to skip my free weight routine on days I take it out! I've put the full pack on here at the house (much to the amusement of my husband) to get a feel for it so I figure if my small 5'2" frame can handle it, you big, burly guys shouldn't have a problem. Of course, I'm not going to be trekking for miles and miles either.

    Good luck and have fun :-)

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