Razzle/Littman: Good Travel Camera ?

[Ken Lee]

Would a Razzle or Littman make a good travel camera ?

Let's say you are planning a long distance trip, and like many of us, scan your negatives.

Good MF cameras require a good scanner ($). Otherwise, what's the point of using those high-end lenses ? And if you shoot hand-held, are you getting genuine value from those fine lenses and scanner ?

Shooting 4x5 film, lets you get by with an Epson scanner. But what's the point of shooting 4x5, if you're hand-holding the shot anyhow ?

With a Razzle/Littman, don't you have to carry around some film holders ?

Is the main point, that a Razzle/Littman can be shot hand-held ? Or is such a camera small, light and portable, compared to a field camera ?

[BrianShaw]

Yes, to all questions except "But what's the point..."

[Walter Calahan]

You could travel for years on the price Littman requests for his cameras.

[Turner Reich]

Both would be great choices, let us know how it works out for you.

[Frank Petronio]

A Razzle will do just as well as a Littman, and the stock Yaserex lens is more than fine, it's absurd that these people waste their time and money "upgrading" the lens. If you have a sense of how slow a speed you can handhold then your photos will be fine, at least mine are -- more than half my portfolio is shot handheld 4x5.

Frankly I use an even cheaper Crown Graphic for a variety of reasons but I like Dean very much and have owned a couple of his Razzles before. They are fine cameras but you do need to practice just like anything else.

Oh and did I mention that I would not ever consider a Littman? email me for why since I rather the thread not be locked.

[BrianShaw]

Frankly I use an even cheaper Crown Graphic for a variety of reasons...

You be Frank and I'll be Ernest.

Earnestly, I use a SuperGraphic or Anniversary Graphic. Possibly heavier but as Frank says cheaper... and other variety of reasons.

[walter23]

Yeah, a crown graphic is much cheaper. Put it in a shoulder bag with a couple of lenses and a couple of grafmatics (and maybe a quickload / readyload holder) and you've got 10x the camera in scarcely more space.

I guess maybe these polaroid things appeal to people who really want to handhold (I dunno, maybe for working with models and studio equipment).

[Thomas Greutmann]

I own a Razzle and I like it, but it would not be my camera of choice for a long trip. For a long trip I prefer a more versatile equipment with 3 or 4 lenses (a Linhof Technika in my case, but any other field/press camera would do as well).

I have used the Razzle for short trips where I want to have a camera with me, just in case something pops up. The Razzle plus a simple lightmeter plus two or three Grafmatic holders, loaded, will fit into a backpack easily. But I agree with other posters here that you can do the same with a Crown Graphic / Speed Graphic as well.

I think the true advantage of a Polaroid conversion is that you can focus and shoot very fast, using the combined rangefinder/viewfinder. Very good for moving subjects. Throw in a Grafmatic holder and you shoot as fast as with any mechanical small or medium format viewfinder.

Another fun thing about the Polaroid / Razzle is the f90 lens cap on some models. If you use it you can get anything sharp from 4ft to infinity. It turns the Razzle almost into a pinhole camera, although you cannot use the full 4x5 format due to vignetting. But I have made some interesting shots with it.

To sum it up: when I want to do serious shooting I take the Linhof. When I just want to have some fun shooting I take the Razzle.

[Ash]

If you got a Razzle you could put the saving/price-difference toward a helluva lot of film, film holders, and travel costs.

I'd love to travel with my 5x4, but right now it's not viable due to how many photos I take on a regular holiday-style trip.

A specific photo trip where a tripod is cumbersome, yes go for a handheld press camera.


I use my Razzle for almost all my 5x4 stuff, but the weather has pushed me into the studio, not out and about.

[Scott --]

You could always build yourself a Neretta (tip o' the hat to Sandeha on that one...).