YMMV depending on the back. The old no-slide-under Rollex backs actually were pretty bad where film bending was concerned. As far as my experience goes, the later generation of post seventies slide-unders were quite a improvement on them, even where film flatness was concerned. The wrap-around bottom roller of the Sinar slide-under (Vario and Zoom) backs is huge by comparison, and the feed cartridge barely bends the film at all - they actually behave better than the best clamp-ons or MF camera backs.
Sevo
I use a Calumet "Wide Field" for 6x9 and some 4x5 shooting architecture. I use the Calumet C2N 6x9 roll film backs. It is good down to a 47mm without a recessed board which is great for architecture. It has a very flexible bellows and has full movements on the 47. At the other end, for 4x5, with a 210 you will need an extension board to achieve full use with 4x5. You run into these occasionally on EBay for under $300 and Calumet still has all the important parts.
Thanks,
Kirk
at age 73:
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep"
"- because I have a good 6x9 scanner, but only a V700 flatbed for the 4x5 trannies"
There's the rub, at least with regard to initial expense. With 4x5, even a consumer scanner will get you acceptable results, for print sizes that many people would consider fairly large. To get the same from Medium Format, you need, at least, a good film scanner. At present, the only one still being manufactured is the Nikon, and it costs around $ 2000 new. An Epson 4990 can be had for around $200, 1/10 the price. Compared to the 4000 spi of the Nikon, the Epson gives only somewhere around 2000 spi at best, probably closer to 1600 spi.
Initial expense may be inconsequential over time, if you shoot a lot of film, and depending on how you evaluate the cost of having someone develop it, or develop it yourself.
Well, I had the scanner (Polaroid Sprintscan 120) already before getting into 4x5. I have prints from 6x9 scans in 60x90cm that look excellent. With the Epson, even from a 4x5 slide, I have not yet been able to come close to that. If I want to get a good print from a 4x5 slide (anything larger than 30x40cm), I send them to somebody who uses a Hasselblad X5.
First I must admit that I have never used a 4x5 camera. Because I have a Minolta Multi Pro Scanner, I use a Horseman VHR. Yes focusing on ground glass can be a bit of a challenge and I am limited regarding my lens choices. However, I do hike several miles with this setup in the Yosemite's High Country. Someday I want the real ground glass experience but if I do that I would really like to learn a traditional bw process and maybe just contact print.
Speaking of Medium Format: If anyone wants to get me a Holiday gift... here it is.
I think it would work out better if you found a monorail with interchangeable bellows. Flatbed cameras and cameras with non-interchangeable, standard bellows don't usually have the freedom of movement for 6x9 wide-angles.
If you're not concerned about mobility, being able to backpack the camera, etc., then the Cambo-Calumet cameras would be excellent. Lot's of reasonably priced accessories available, and it has both wide-angle and standard bellows. I've seen good examples of these go for less than $300 on EBay. Another camera that comes to mind and fits into this category are the Sinar F series cameras. It would be good for both formats, but I'm not sure how easy it is to backpack. The camera that Kirk mentioned fits into this category, except that it can't take long lenses. (Not sure on backpacking.) Also, the Horseman monorails.
If mobility and backpacking are important, then the decision may come to convenience versus expense. The Arca Swiss works very well for both and easily backpacks. But, it's expensive. The same can be said for the Toyo VX125. Light weight. Expensive.
As to complicating the learning process, I don't think this would be a problem. These cameras are intuitive. You don't usually need an instruction manual to use these cameras.
Thank you for the great advice! I really don't plan to take the camera backpacking so a Cambo-Calumet monorail would be fine and affordable for my 1st LF camera.
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