difference between Horseman 970/980/985

[James Au]

Does anyone know the main differences between the models 970,980 and 985 of Hors eman 2x3 technical camera ? Thanks.

[Gerald Pierce]

I have a 980 and a 985. The differences are minimal. The 960 was introduced in 1 960. The 970 in '63. The 760 in '65 w/o rangefinder. The 980 was intro'ed in '68. My book stops with the 980, but the 985 obviously followed. It appears th at it was just a progression of model name changes without a change of concept. Maybe I'm missing something, but the only real diff I see looking at my cameras is the latch mechanism for the front. Same lensboards, cams, movements. All a re interchangable. I use whichever one is closest and fumble with the latch. An y specific question?

[Peter Caplow]

I recently purchased a beautiful 970. The only significant difference of which I am aware between this model and the 980 or 985 was the lack of right/left shift on the 970 lens standard. You can get a little bit of shift by swinging the lens and the back in the same direction but it doesn't amount to much and the fairly extensive front rise can't really be used as a substitute (by turning the camera on its side) because the Horseman prior to the LH-R lacked the rotating back.