Linhof Kardan GTL vs Arca M-Line as a complete studio system

[Frank Petronio]

I love nice gear - especially Linhof and Arca - as much as anybody. But if I were starting out, and wasn't filthy rich to begin with, I would stick to less expensive cameras like your current Linhof Bi, Arca F-Metric, Sinar F2s, etc. If you're doing jobs that require 4x5 film or a digital scanning back, the few minutes you save with a fully geared studio camera are miniscule compared to the entire process. After all, if you were doing things "quick and dirty" you'd be using a digital SLR or medium format. Put the savings into marketing yourself - you can never do enough marketing. Many photographers have gone out of business by getting gear crazy instead of making sales. I don't know of a single photographer who has beaten out a competitor because he had a Linhof GTL instead of a lowly Toyo or Sinar. One guy I knew in Rochester had almost every focal length of Leica, Hasselblad and Rodenstock lenses. Now he has none and sells real estate. I bet if you learned what beat up cameras Irving Penn, Craig Cutler and Pete McArthur use you'd be shocked... Best of luck - if you get a GTL or Monolith they are beauties...

[Ellis Vener]

when you are at the Arca-Swiss booth take a hard look at the Arca-Swiss F cameras, particularly the Metric orthe FC. I've been doing the bulk of my loaction and studio work with an Arca-Swiss F-line for several years now andas I found it to be the best combination of expandability, convertability, stability, compatability, weight, size & rigidness for both studio & location work. my previous camera was a Sinar C (rear standard of a Sinar P + front standard of a Sinar F) and that was getting too heavy to lug around on location by myself. virtually all of the accessories boards and bellows for the Arca-Swiss F also fit the M camera.

[David R Munson]

Thanks for all the great responses already. This is why I love this forum.

To address some of your questions/comments...

To Mr Driscoll - You make a very good point regarding availability of rental gear. I suppose I haven't put much thought into the importance of this, up to now. I can see how having equipment readily available at a moment's notice could be critical in certain circumstances. But I still have to wonder - is this alone really worth going with a system you're not as comfortable with?

My reason for wanting to move away from my current 4x5 stems mainly from the difficulty in trying to find accessories. Digging up accessories like extra standards or extension rails for the Kardan Bi, while possible if you're motivated enough, is far from easy and the prices these things seem to fetch give me the feeling I'd be better off investing in a currently-supported system. And for still life work, I'd like to have a system that is yaw-free. This has been a point of frustration for me on multiple occasions. I'm aware that I can turn the camera on its side and deal with it that way, but this is hardly an ideal long-term solution.

Mr Harris - the Horseman cameras are indeed quite capable. Price is certainly a consideration, though as I'm trying to make a purchase worthy of the long-term, I'd prefer that it not be the deciding factor in the end. I'll give them a second look.

Ellis - I'll play around with the F-series Arcas at PhotoPlus this year and see how I like them.

Finally, I fully realize that, as anything else, these are all just tools and ultimately they do the same thing, essentially equally well. Most of my recent work has been done with an absolute beater of a Mamiya 645 with a scratched 80/1.9 and the results are excellent. It's all what you do with what you've got. All the same, though, sometimes certain pieces of equipment just fit you better than others, and that can make all the difference in the world when you're pulling out your hair over a still life composition. I've already found that Toyos, Hasselblads, and to some extent Sinars just don't fit me. Linhofs do, Nikons do, and I'm inclined to think that Arca gear does as well, though admittedly my hands-on experience with it is limited. I just want to make sure I make the right choice with this camera. I spent over a year researching strobes before I bought my Profoto gear this past spring and it paid off well - the system suits me perfectly. If I can do that again with the new 4x5, life will be good.

Thanks again for all the excellent feedback.