Greetings from HK (and RFF)

[pixelatedscraps]

Am a LF newbie researching up to find the smallest, lightest and most wallet-friendly LF camera to take my 35mm and 6x6 photography to a new level. Am planning on spending a few more weeks reading through all the threads in here before I post any "XXX vs. XXX - which one should I buy?" threads.

Just wanna say hi first though, and great forum. Seems like a nice community here too!

[Vick Vickery]

Welcome to group therapy! "...smallest, lightest and most wallet-friendly..." usually means "press camera" such as Crown or Super Graphics, Busch Pressman, etc. Though not particularly small or light, older monorail cameras such as the Calumet 400-series can be very wallet-friendly! Don't forget that you'll have to have a sturdy tripod, a focusing cloth, and some kind of light meter (can use a camera with a built-in meter, but that usually adds a lot of weight), a lens (often not included with LF cameras), lensboard, and film holders...all items that can run up the initial cost quickly.

[aduncanson]

Welcome.

For small light monorails there is the Gowland (or sometimes Calumet) 4x5 Pocket View Camera. One sold on ebay recently for $308. You may judge for yourself if that is wallet-friendly. The Toho camera is small and light, but usually not considered wallet-friendly. Calumet, Graphic View, Cambo, Sinar F, and Toyo/Omega monorails all seem like bargains these days, usually selling for between $90 and $400 (maybe - I don't watch these sales closely.) Small and light they are not.

Wooden field cameras usually cost more than monorails these days. Among them the Nagaoka or Ikeda Anba cameras are light and inexpensive (available used only I think.) The Woodman by Horseman is also small, light and usually inexpensive. It adds a Graflok back (with a detachable focus panel and sliding locks) which provides more inexpensive roll film holder options. These cameras are light enough to be considered flimsy by some. Current Chamonix cameras are light by about any standard. They also offer the Graflok back.

The Toyo 45CF is a folding camera employing carbon fiber composite materials. They are light and often sell inexpensively used, (perhaps because many buyers decide they want something more robust.)

See Badger Graphic Sales to see if many of these, which are available new, qualify as as wallet-friendly by your standards.

Good luck to you! - Alan

[pixelatedscraps]

Thanks for the replies Alan and Vick. I'm coming from a 35mm / 6x6 background with extensive experience with a Hasselblad 500 C/M, Mamiya 6, Leica M4 and some funny cameras like Pentacon Six, Kiev 4M, Petri Color 35, etc. However, I know for a fact this doesn't count for very much in LF terms. The step from 35mm to MF isn't that difficult to negotiate, but the step from MF to LF seems like a completely different kettle of fish.

I'm looking to do portrait / landscape-through-hiking photography. I'm not a big person, but I am used to lugging 3x cameras, multiple lenses and a tripod when I go out seriously. Not sure what the weight of a 500 C/M w/80mm, Mamiya 6 with 3 lenses and an M4 is but the pack isn't that light! I sold off my 500C/M late last year and have space in the bag for a bigger negative.

My three favourite 35mm focal lengths are 24-35-90, with the 35-90 getting the most use. My budget would be about $750 including one lens - am looking at the equivalent of a 35mm here, which I am guesstimating to be around 105mm in LF terms?

I am based in Hong Kong, and regularly ship from KEH and other US sellers, but it does make it quite expensive in terms of shipping and I can imagine not all LF sellers will want to ship internationally. On the plus side, I imagine there is some stock over here which isn't widely available in the US.

I guess almost automatically, I started by looking at a Speed Graphic and then followed it with a Toyo 45CF, Nagaoka and Anba. I've been reading up as much as I can but I know there is still a lot I'm not even close to understanding (do I need a Graflok back if I don't plan on using roll film? How depth of field works in LF compared to 35mm? Those and many more..!)

Anyway, thank you for the warm welcome. I think the best thing to do is buy something practical, easy to learn on, and not too expensive to test the waters - much like you do when stepping up from 35mm to MF. You don't go from an OM-1 to a Hasselblad overnight.

Here's to more reading!