Linhof Technika vs. Technikardan?

[Dave_958]

There are only two things about Bob Salomon of which I am certain. First, he has never been to prison. Second, I dont know why. Once again he has stolen my dignity. I dont need anyone's help to make me look like a fo

[Daniel Taylor]

there seems to be a common thread running though many aspects of photography. one of discovery, or lack thereof. how many times do I read of someone purchasing a very expensive camera, only to struggle with the notion of reading the manual, spending time exploring the camera, and investing a few pesos for films to experiment with.

read other threads, and you discover many who spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on cameras, lenses, and darkroom equipment, only to bemoan the fact that their bottle of D76 (or Xtol) that had been stored for six months, had gone flat and ruined their films. invest five dollars a month and mix a new batch of developer!

my point? spend an hour with the Technikardan and modify the instructions to find what works for you. lock it in memory. it really is a fifteen second operation, and if it is taking your longer, your technique needs adjustment.

[Jorge Gasteazoro]

Tony the best I can do is provide you with a comparison of two people shooting with these cameras, I have a TK45 and a friend has a MT. When we both went out to take some pics here are some of the differences I noticed.

With the MT he was able to use a much more compact backpack because his camera folds much smaller. Although the MT is a little heavier than the TK, once you add 5 lenses, 10 to 15 holders, and all the adjuntant paraphernalia, his pack was not much heavier than mine.

With wide angle lenses, 65 mm specially, his camera was a pain in the butt to use, due to the need of a recessed lens board, it was hard to attach the cable release, hard to set the aperture, etc. with my TK this is a simple as it can get, specially if you have the wide angle bellows.

Folding and unfolding operations were not any faster with his camera than mine, of course I have been using my camera for 10 years, so I am practiced with this operation in my camera. I will not deceive you, if you are not careful folding the TK can cause wrinkles in the bellows, in my case sometimes I forgot to unlock the red levers and the standards were not centered, so the bellows got wrinkled. With time you learn not to do this, but I am sure you will at one time or another.

at full extension my camera was much more stable than his, and I also have the advantage of adding a support rail if I wish to. I have not, but is nice to know is there if I want it.

the L standards are very rigid and support a lot of weight, I use a 300 Sironar N on occasion and the camera has no problems handeling this weight, but then neither does the MT.

Movements are a lot easier to do while looking in the gg with the TK, that is once you learn which levers unlock which movements. Again movemets with the MT are a little more difficult specially in the wide angle range (drop the bed, use the recessed lens board, etc..)

Overall knowing what I know now, I still feel the TK was a better choice, it is a much more versatile camera that will allow you to explore more types of photography with ease. The MT obviously is not a bad camera after all it is still a Linhof with it's attached quality and beauty, but if I had to describe in a few words both cameras I would say the TK is a working photographers camera and the MT is a weekend warrior camera.

I hope this helped in your desicion and let us know what your choice was.

[Alan Davey]

Tony If you intend to photograph architecture a lot I would say the TK is by far the easier camera to use. I earn my living using this camera photographing buildings, landscapes, and cars. I have used all types of large format cameras over the years - Sinar, MT, wooden field cameras, but always come back to the TK. It is beautifully built and very versatile. Beleive me the folding bellows is not an issue, I have had mine since 1991 and I'm still using the original bellows. Go for it! ATB Alan.