choosing a large format camera

[C Jones]

Hello,

I'm very new to the large format world so having a difficult time deciding which camera to buy. I want to travel with my camera so I need something fairly light. I'll be shooting landscape and portraiture. I'm debating between the Toho FC-45X because of it's light weight and range of mobility or a wooden field camera.

Any thoughts on what would be a better choice? Or any other camera that someone could recommend for my particular needs?

Thank you so much for the help,

chloe

[Steve Hamley]

Chloe,

Welcome to LF! I'm assuming you mean the 4x5 format.

I'm partial to conventionally designed and constructed cameras, so something like the Ebony RW45 or SV45Ti (in mahogany) are appealing, or a used later model Picker-built Zone VI (although not particularly light for a field camera).

Portraiture is a bit at odds with a lightweight traveling camera because large lens boards and a longer bellows draw can be advantageous with larger, faster lenses preferred for portraiture, but add weight and bulk, sometimes a lot.

You might also look at the Canham DLC-45.

http://www.largeformatphotography.in...canhamdlc.html

If you're not intending to both at the same time, you could easily justify and afford a field camera and a dedicated portraiture camera such as a older Cambo or Calumet, which can be had for a couple of hundred dollars and has large lensboards. Or for a little more money, a Sinar F1, F2, or Norma with the Sinar shutter.

Now if you aren't restricting yourself to traveling with your portraiture camera, an 8x10 camera such as a Kodak 2D with an installed Packard shutter is cheap, light for an 8x10, and opens up a lot of opportunities for portraiture that isn't easily achieved with 4x5. Search on the forum for Jim Galli and visit his website. Jim used a Kodak 2D and a Packard for many of his "traveling" portraiture shots.

If you're sticking with 4x5, an Ebony SV45Ti, long bellows Zone VI, or Canham DLC and a Cooke PS945 would be hard to beat for traveling and portraiture, but expensive. Just add you favorite focal length used Caltar II-N lenses for the landscape and you're in business.

Cheers, Steve

[Martin Aislabie]

I’m not sure that the weight of the camera is as significant as some make it out to be.

According to the spec, my 5x4 Camera only weighs 2kg

However, my all up trip weight (Camera/Tripod/Lenses/Darkslides/………) weighs just under 20kg

So, getting a 0.5kg lighter or heavier camera isn’t going to be a significant change to my all up weight.

When I bought my 5x4, I had a long hard think about what sort of lenses I liked to use and what sort of camera movements I was wishing to use.

Individual LF Cameras tend to either lean towards shorter focal lengths or longer ones, few do both

As you know, landscapes generally call for wide angle lenses but Portraiture tends to use longer focal lengths.

How wide and how long the lenses you need very much depends on how you and only you.

Therefore I would recommend you consider long and hard the focal lengths you normally use and let that drive you decision about Camera choice.

So far my guess/estimation of the lenses I needed has been pretty much right

Martin

[C Jones]

Thanks Steve,

Lots of great advice!

Chloe

[Archphoto]

Welcome to LF.

There is one or two other camera's to consider: the Shen Hao HZX45-IIA and the more expensive Chamonix.
Both have interchangeble bellows so you can go from wide to long and are not too heavy for backpacking.

Peter

[Brian Ellis]

I'd question the Toho as your first LF camera. They're perfectly fine cameras, several participants here use them, and they're extremely light (weight is important to me, I notice the difference between a 3 lb camera and a 6 pound camera, especially after an hour or so of carrying them around). But from what I've seen of
Tohos (never used one) they're a little quirky so I'm not sure they're an ideal first camera. Obviously someone who uses one would know better than I do though. I believe there's a review of one on Kerry Thalman's web site if you haven't already seen it.

For a light weight (4 lbs or less) camera to use for landscapes and portraits I'd suggest a Tachihara or a Chamonix. I've owned both, both are fine cameras. If the cost difference (about $250 more for a Chamonix the last time I looked) isn't important I'd go with the Chamonix. It has more movements, a longer bellows, axis front tilt, and accepts a bag bellows. It's also a very pretty camera if that's important to you as it is to me. But the Tachihara will also work well for your purposes. While it has fewer movements, those movements are perfectly adequate for the types of work you plan to do. And while it won't accept a bag bellows, the bellows on mine was very pliable and I could use a lens as short as 75mm with room for movements (but not a whole lot).

If you anticipate using a lens longer than 300mm then the Tachihara probably isn't for you with its 13 inch bellows (compared to 15 or so for the Chamonix), especially if by "portraits" you mean typical head and shoulder type stuff. But you can use a 300mm lens on a Tachihara, you'll just be a little limited in how close you can focus it. Both are easy to use, the Tachihara probably a little more so than the Chamonix just because it has fewer moving parts.

I've owned two Ebony cameras, an SV45Te and an SV45Ti, and sold them both, the Te a week after buying it, the Ti about a year after. They are, IMHO, grossly overpriced in comparison to other cameras equally good or better for a whole lot less money. I didn't mention a Shen Hao because it weighs over 6 lbs but it combines some of the best features of the Chamonix (movements) and the Tachihara (price).

[Bruce Watson]

I'm very new to the large format world so having a difficult time deciding which camera to buy. I want to travel with my camera so I need something fairly light. I'll be shooting landscape and portraiture. I'm debating between the Toho FC-45X because of it's light weight and range of mobility or a wooden field camera.

Years ago I decided that LF was for me. Bought a small starter kit including a Zone VI wood field camera. Then life hit with a vengeance. Went back to grad school (both broke and zero time), got married, had back problems, moved a few times, all that. So the camera basically sat in a closet for a decade. When the dust finally settled I reevaluated where I was and where I was headed and decided what I really wanted to do was hike with the camera.

Sold the wood field in favor of the Toho. Best decision I've made from a photographic equipment standpoint. Bought some lightweight lenses based on Kerry Thalmann's recommendations. All have served me well.

I'm not sure what people mean when they say the Toho is quirky. They usually say it as if it were a bad thing. In fact, every view camera is quirky in it's own way. It's really just a matter of matching your own personality with that of the camera. I find the Toho to be easy to use, accurate, repeatable, and surprisingly rigid when locked down.

Now, over the years I've made some modifications. I tossed the paper weight they use for the tripod mount in favor of an Arca-Swiss style quick mount plate. I designed levels for the rear standard so I could level and plumb the film plane. And I swapped out the existing ground glass for a Maxwell screen (highly recommended BTW). All that done and my camera's weight is down to just 1.25Kg.

When working I carry my whole kit on my back. Camera, five lenses, ten film holders, meter, dark cloth, tripod, ball head, pack, three liters of water, and misc. stuff like some nylon rope to tie back tree limbs, comes to a maximum of 16 Kg (about 35 lbs). I'd like to drop a couple of Kg off this, but I persist in carrying lenses I'm pretty sure I wont need because every once in a while I do need them. Same with film holders; I could probably cut down to eight but every once in a while I use all ten on a long hike.

The thing about the Toho is, with it I get the choice of carrying the extra film holders or the extra lenses if I want to. With a heavier camera I wouldn't get the choice. I'd have to leave the extras at home.

Finally, I have to say all I do is landscape work. The Toho excels at this. It should work just fine for portrait work too, but the advantages it has for field work (light weight, full movements on both standards, etc.) won't be big advantages for portraiture where weight isn't a big concern and neither are movements.

A lot of people change cameras every few years always looking for the next best thing. I've been using the Toho for seven or eight years now (well over 1000 sheets), and never been struck by the desire for another camera. It does what I want, it's solid, reliable, and easy to use. I haven't found another camera that tempts me. What more can I say?

[C Jones]

Such a lovely community of helpful photographers. Thank you everyone for your input and suggestions,

chloe

[John Kasaian]

Welcome to LF!
My 2-cents: Start with something used and in good condition. Look for something like a used Tachihara or Wista 4x5 wooden field. Know what they go for new and don't be lead into paying anything close to the new price.

Don't sweat the small stuff, what you get might be your dream camera, or it might point you to another camera with different features---you won't really know what until you start shooting (and have been shooting for a year or so)

Since you want to travel, get a light wieght lens on the wide end of the spectrum (since architecture is one of your interests) Fear not vintage glass---much of it is very good and the price is right. A late model 90mm or 120mm Angulon would make a good start. Alternatively you might consider a 135mm WF Ektar (though they are commanding cult prices these days) My favorite 4x5 lenses are the 203mm Ektar (Wollensak made an equivalent lens which usually goes for less $$) the 168mm Wollensak Velostigmat, and the 215mm Ilex. None of these lenses cost me over $200 in working shutters. Save your $$ for film. Get three or more old style plastic Riteway Graphic holders (save yourself some possible grief and get them from Midwest or another reputable dealer, so if you get a "leaker" you can easily exchange it for another holder (that's not likely going to be the case when buying on ebay!) Add a suitable tripod and home mode dark cloth and you're on your way.

Good luck!

[Ivan J. Eberle]

I don't see where anyone has mentioned the obvious yet, but you may find camera that offers portrait orientation is essential for portraiture. Many but not all of the field camera designs have backs that clip on and off to change modes. A quick perusal at Kerry Thalmann's Toho page doesn't answer that particular question for me. But it answers another: though the camera you mentioned might be a backpacker's delight, it looks nowhere near as rugged as many other cameras likely to better withstand the rigors of other modes of travel (nor does it appear as versatile).

You might also consider a metal folding press or technical camera. A rotating back like those found on the Linhof Technika, Busch Pressman Model D, Graflex Super Graphic (or my choice of camera, a Meridian 45B) make portraiture mode simple. While somewhat heavier (from 4 lbs to as much as 6), any of these are compact boxes ready to deploy in seconds that offer near bombproof protection for your lens when folded up for travel.