What are/were The Great Masters using?

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

By all accounts Nick Nixon is a serial monogamist - he keeps changing his camera. By now he must have used every 8x10 field camera under the sun, plus a few 11x14's to boot.

There was quite a deluge of his cameras for sale a year ago. A few were for sale on this and other forums as well as ebay, all for sale by proxy. What was amazing was the huge variety of brand, weight, and quality; If I didn't know better I would think he was flailing, and looking for the "magic bullet" just like the rest of us...

[Drew Wiley]

Who gives a rat's *** ?? Forget the hero worship nonsense and go take great pictures with your own equipment.

[Oren Grad]

There was quite a deluge of his cameras for sale a year ago. A few were for sale on this and other forums as well as ebay, all for sale by proxy. What was amazing was the huge variety of brand, weight, and quality; If I didn't know better I would think he was flailing, and looking for the "magic bullet" just like the rest of us...

Quite a few years ago he sold a vertical Phillips 8x10 Explorer on eBay. For all I know, it's the only one that exists.

[catshaver]

Who gives a rat's *** ?? Forget the hero worship nonsense and go take great pictures with your own equipment.

Drew!

Come on, be a sport.

[Oren Grad]

And since exotic cameras are fun, I should also mention Kenro Izu's 14x20 Deardorff.

[neil poulsen]

I recall that Ansel Adams reflected on the following in his autobiography. When asked which camera he prefers, he said that he responded, the heaviest one I can carry.

I never met him, but from the reading I've done, he really liked his Sinar P 4x5.

With that, I don't know that it's worth going out and purchasing the heaviest camera that you can carry. The Sinar P fits into that category. I imagine A.A. had an alternative, when he ventured further away from his vehicle. Bear in mind, the heavier the camera, the heavier the tripod.

View cameras pretty much all have the same design. They're an enclosed area with a lens on one end and a ground glass on the other. Pretty simple. But within that simple design, they each have their own desirable characteristics.

Think about the kind of photography that you want to do and select a camera that's suited for that purpose. For example, flat beds are lighter weight and more portable. Do you like longer or shorter focal lengths in your photography? If longer, then you would want a camera that has more bellows draw. If shorter, then you would want a camera with an interchangeable "bag" bellows. Or, you can find a camera that supports both. There are cameras that have ample movements, and others that have limited movements. Some are are well suited for landscape. Others are optimized for architecture. Many designs can do both quite well.

What kind of photography do you want to do?

[Ken Lee]

"..which camera... lenses/focal lenghts... Please contribute your knowledge!"

"Who gives a rat's *** ??"

All questions are welcome. There is no such thing as a bad question. This one, is an especially good question !

Some of us came to Large Format, and to this forum, by asking a similar question.

[Steven Barall]

Steven Barall currently uses a Shen Hao 4X5 but has in the past has used various Sinars and Deardorfs. I hope that helps.

[Brian Ellis]

Morley Baer - Ansco 8x10S

He used that one camera for virtually his entire career, no gear head he.

[Robert Hughes]

...for everyone who has a hard time deciding which camera to get if they knew what The Great Masters were using...

Edward Steichen (photographing Isadora Duncan at the Parthenon) - the waiter's $5 Kodak Brownie.

Can you top that?