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Thread: Toyo 45CX and wooden cameras

  1. #1

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    Toyo 45CX and wooden cameras

    Hi guys,
    I've been doing some research for my first 4x5 camera. I can afford the wooden field cameras like the Tachihara or the Shen Hao, and I've also been looking at the monorail Toyo 45CX.

    I'm just wondering, is the Toyo 45CX more precise and stable in terms of movements and focusing compared to the wooden cameras?

    I realize the Toyo is meant to be used differently than the wooden field cameras, however, I do not plan to go backpacking with any of the cameras, so really weight is not an issue. (Seriously, I'm not that picky - I don't need a 2 pound camera - I can handle a 10 pound camera out in the field, but I won't be doing it much at all). The camera will stay with me at home most of the time, in my studio and around the house, and maybe out on different locations a few times, close to my car.

    So I guess my newbie question is:
    Since the Toyo has geared focusing, and well, it's not a woodfield camera made of wood and brass, should I assume it'll be more precise in the studio due to geared focusing and the fact that it's a monorail? Just wondering what you guys think. Thanks for any replies.

    - Rob

  2. #2
    Abuser of God's Sunlight
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    Toyo 45CX and wooden cameras

    in my brief experience with monorail cameras, they are often more precise, and usually have more movements and more range of movements.

    they're also a huge pain in the field. weight is part of the issue; size and ungainliness is the rest of it. my college had 4x5 calumet monorail cameras that we could check out. they came in these giant metal field boxes ... i don't know if this is standard for monorail cameras, but i hope not. every time i had to walk even half a block with one of these things i'd end up with bruises. it was like wrestling with a big appliance with a center of gravity was in the wrong place and sharp edges and corners everywhere. my field camera is like a point 'n shoot in comparison.

  3. #3

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    Toyo 45CX and wooden cameras

    "So I guess my newbie question is: Since the Toyo has geared focusing, and well, it's not a woodfield camera made of wood and brass, should I assume it'll be more precise in the studio due to geared focusing and the fact that it's a monorail? Just wondering what you guys think. Thanks for any replies."

    Short answer is 'Yes'. Slightly longer answer is to point out that some monorail (Arca for one) can be folded up fairly compactly for field work – but if that is not your thing then a monorail would seem ideal – for you.

    Or you could cheat (like me) and get both!

  4. #4

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    Toyo 45CX and wooden cameras

    As long as money entered into the equation you can buy a 400 series Calumet for under $100. This is the camera that beat paulr up. The reason is that they were made to take student abuse and give it back. This would quickly and cheaply teach you if you can live with a monorail outside the studio.

    You can buy a new Tach or Shen-Hao for about 7 times as much. If you really like and need the movements of a monorail you can then buy a lighter more compact and well made Arca Swiss for 20 times as much.

    After abusing the Calumet for a few years you can sell it for what you paid. If along the way you come across a nice lens hang onto it for the next camera.

    Don't be suprised if twenty years from now you still have and use your first #400.

  5. #5
    Ted Harris's Avatar
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    Toyo 45CX and wooden cameras

    There are also metal field cameras. Not as inexpensive as the wood fields you mentioned but some often available used for not too much more. The most common are those from Canham, Toyo, Horseman, Wista and Linhof. All have a more precise 'feel' than the wooden fields although in the final analysis the results still depend on the photographer.

  6. #6

    Toyo 45CX and wooden cameras

    If you're working out of the car, monorails are ideal. Stop car, lift box out of trunk, open box, and go. It'll be faster to use a monorail in that situation than a field camera because there's no need to unfold the camera. And monorails are definitely more precise, easier-to-work-with tools once you're set up.

    For a beginner, the only real, functional difference between a low-end monorail and a low-end field camera is extension. With a monorail you can focus closer or use longer lenses than on the simple field cameras.

    Jim's suggestion about the old Calumet probably isn't a bad one. I doubt it's much heavier, and adds geared front rise and a revolving back.

  7. #7

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    Toyo 45CX and wooden cameras

    The real answer to your question is to decide what features you want in a camera - bellows extension, movements, weight, portability, etc. Also, try and decide what range of lenses you will be using. I recommend that the bellows be at least 25% longer than the longest lens and if you will be using anything shorter than a 90mm be sure the bellows is interchangeable witha bag or wide angle bellows.

    There are several articles at this link that might be helpful

    http://www.viewcamera.com/archives.html

    Many people use wooden cameras very successfully so I would not let that decide for me one way or the other, It really is all about the features.

    There are three books I recommend as good intro material. Try and find them in your local library

    Jack Dykinga's Large Format Nature Photography

    Jim Stone's User's Guide to the View Camera

    and the book I did Using the View Camera

    steve simmons

  8. #8
    multiplex
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    Toyo 45CX and wooden cameras

    hi rob

    i have a toyo 45cx. it is a nice camera for the money. i use mine "in the field" to do architectural photography and i found it to be a pretty good deal for what i paid for it. it takes a really small lensboard (110mm square) and can take most-all the "stuff" that the other toyos take - viewers, compedium, bag bellows &C ... i haven't really given much thought to the percision of the movements. it really isn't "geared" at all ... you slide the standards up and down / side to side on the rail ...

    i'm not sure what kind of lenses you have, but the only real drawback i have found with mine is that it can't handle a longish (370) lens, and while it is "modular" like the rest of the toyo line-up, i was told by toyo that you can get a longer rail for it. i use a 65mm ( why i bought the camera ). before i got this camera i used a graphic view II for about 12-15 years, and as said, the only reason it was sold was so i could use a really wide lens.

  9. #9

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    Toyo 45CX and wooden cameras

    Rob,

    My experience is different from some of the other posters. I used a monorail (Calumet series 400 view camera the one with 22 inches of bellows draw) in the field (never far from my car) for years and never regarded it as a burden. In fact, in some ways, it was faster and easier to set up than my folding, Wista field camera.
    I would leave my tripod plate screwed on it, so all I had to do was whip it out of the case (the lens stayed on it) and onto the tripod, rack out the bellows and I was ready to shoot. The whole process was very easy.
    And I don't remember it being particularly heavy (although I was younger then). I could fit everything, including film holders, into the case that came with the camera. So for me, a monorail in the field was no big deal. But then again, I wasn't carrying it long distances from the car, either.

  10. #10
    4x5 - no beard Patrik Roseen's Avatar
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    Toyo 45CX and wooden cameras

    If you are doing mostly home/studio photography, you should consider a camera which allows long bellows because you will focus on short distance and not infinity, you will need 'rear standard focusing' for macro work, you will also like to have the lens at the most front of the camera to get up-close to the subject, you will likely use more extrem movements for plane of focus control (the closer to the subject the more extrem it need to be). It is also convenient if you can adjust Raise/Fall independently from Tilt (which is a problem for me when using my Linhof Kardan-S). This to me means that a monorail equipment is more useful for you.

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