cheap large format

[venchka]

For $160 you can get a Rolleicord 120 camera from ebay & learn to shoot. You get 12 tries for the cost or one sheet of 8x10. PLUS the cameras fit your budget.

Add Minolta Autocord or Yashicamat to that list. Possibly for less money as well.

[John NYC]

Add Minolta Autocord or Yashicamat to that list. Possibly for less money as well.

Yes, for instance, I bought a YashicaMat 124 (not the G but who cares) for $80 on the bay last year. The meter even works!

[sha_hong]

LF photograph is like firing the cash..

[John Kasaian]

As others have mentioned, LF is like owning a horse. You can buy a cheap horse, but you still have to feed it and that is where the cash really disappears. But you can still play the game on a tight budget...shoot paper negatives or ortho film. Heck you can even build your own pinhole camera in any size format you desire to keep you going until a good deal on a LF camera presents it's self. It would be a great learning experience!

[Robert Hughes]

OTOH - if you're willing to DYI a bit, it's not so bad, even in 8x10. I built an 8x10 box camera in November for about $150 (including Wollensak Apo Raptar process lens off the Dreaded), and X-Ray film goes for about $.25/sheet in that size. I process the film in my bathroom using D-76 and rapid fixer, and contact print out to cyanotypes (maybe 10 cents a sheet when using the Bostick & Sullivan "old style" kits). And - voila! I've got 8x10 photos for cheap!