The largest and/or heaviest 4x5" camera ever?

[Tin Can]

When I get around to it, I will assemble a Horseman and weigh it

They are now selling for way less than I paid, eBay Japan

The GTL should still be heavier. Without accessories it is 18.25 pounds out of the box!

[Mark Sampson]

John, you are thinking about Doug Busch. His 'de Golden Busch" cameras were, I think, the first of the modern boutique ULF cameras. He had Rodenstock make lenses for those cameras under his own name; there was a feature on him and his 40"x60" field camera in 'View Camera' magazine, c.1990. He did not make a 4x5 camera, though, so off-topic for this thread.

Tin Can, a friend recently acquired a Horseman L-bracket 4x5. It looks pretty heavy and very capable; it might give that monster Linhof a run for its money.

Also off-topic, the heaviest camera I've ever used was a 16mm Hycam high-speed movie camera; that was in the mid-80s when I worked for Kodak. It was almost too much for its Majestic tripod and sidearm.

[jnantz]

John, you are thinking about Doug Busch. His 'de Golden Busch" cameras were, I think, the first of the modern boutique ULF cameras. He had Rodenstock make lenses for those cameras under his own name; there was a feature on him and his 40"x60" field camera in 'View Camera' magazine, c.1990. He did not make a 4x5 camera, though, so off-topic for this thread.

Tin Can, a friend recently acquired a Horseman L-bracket 4x5. It looks pretty heavy and very capable; it might give that monster Linhof a run for its money.

Also off-topic, the heaviest camera I've ever used was a 16mm Hycam high-speed movie camera; that was in the mid-80s when I worked for Kodak. It was almost too much for its Majestic tripod and sidearm.

YES! that was him, it's a shame he didn't make a 4x5 camera it would have been a beast but sadly it's off topic
Sounds like you had to eat both your Wheaties AND your Spinach to use that thing !

[reddesert]

Here are a couple of photos of other large Chinese studio stand cameras (click to enlarge). There are some similarities, look at the shape of the top of the stand columns for example. I may have posted these before, not sure. I took these photos at the Shanghai Camera History Museum in 2019. They have a very wide collection of Chinese-made film cameras, and some of the old tooling from the Seagull TLR factory. Most of their collection is 120 and 35mm cameras, but there are a few large format cameras. The first of these cameras has a Seagull name plate, and the second one has a plate specifying model "NM8-I" and some Chinese characters that aren't very clear in my photo. Like others said, I imagine that these could have taken film larger than 4x5 with an appropriate back.

[David Lindquist]

John, you are thinking about Doug Busch. His 'de Golden Busch" cameras were, I think, the first of the modern boutique ULF cameras. He had Rodenstock make lenses for those cameras under his own name; there was a feature on him and his 40"x60" field camera in 'View Camera' magazine, c.1990. He did not make a 4x5 camera, though, so off-topic for this thread.

Tin Can, a friend recently acquired a Horseman L-bracket 4x5. It looks pretty heavy and very capable; it might give that monster Linhof a run for its money.

Also off-topic, the heaviest camera I've ever used was a 16mm Hycam high-speed movie camera; that was in the mid-80s when I worked for Kodak. It was almost too much for its Majestic tripod and sidearm.

I'm thinking it was Melles Griot that made the ULF lenses for Doug Busch but my memory is not to be trusted. Maybe they made the shutters? Maybe both Rodenstock and Melles Griot made the lenses?

David

[Tin Can]

very easy to put a 4X5 back on any larger camera

I only have 5X7 for my Deardorf, I will convert to 4X5, maybe

Deardorff S11 New Bellows by TIN CAN COLLEGE, on Flickr

[cjbecker]

And here i thought my Toyo ROBOS was big and heavy.

[gary mulder]

A camera obscura with a sheet of 4x5" against the wall.

[domaz]

A camera obscura with a sheet of 4x5" against the wall.

There have been quite a few "van cameras" made so I think your line of thinking here is right. A camera obscura is the heaviest, a van/trailer camera is the heaviest "mobile" camera.

[Mark Sampson]

David, the best information about Douglas Busch and the de Golden Busch lenses will be found in that old "View Camera" article. But whoever was involved, I believe that very few of those lenses were made.