Cost of large format?

[ConnorR]

I'll keep an eye on ebay for sure. I have a light meter, access to a darkroom, etc etc, so I assume I'll only need a body, lens, and film holders? Assuming the body comes with bellows? Am I missing anything?

[Drew Bedo]

Dark Cloth, magnifier (loup), cable release, a bigger-than-35mm tripod, filters (optional)....

[ConnorR]

Any idea as to the worth of the following?

Calumet Cambo 45NX
Calumet Caltar 165mm
5 Fedilty Holders
Bellows, cable, dark cloth, everything I would need + misc accessories.

I had someone offer to sell it to me, but neither of us know the price range and I'm having trouble finding anything on eBay/KEH. Any idea?

[neil poulsen]

The Calumet Cambo cameras are excellent and can be found for relatively little money for good models. I'm not sure that they fit your easy to pack criterial. They're a monorail. But, they can be excellent cameras. There are lots of reasonably priced accessories available for these models.

Two of the most reasonably priced lenses are a 180 and the 210.

[aduncanson]

The Caltar 165mm f/6.3 was made by Ilex and is a tessar meaning that it is good for 4x5, but will only offer a moderate amount of movement, 15 to 19 mm. Still that would be good for most landscape work, but probably not for tabletop or architecture. An Ilex 165mm/6.3 sold on eBay last week for $68.

[sailbad]

As a new comer I can honestly say that I have taken full advantage of the
folks who are emptying their closets and going digital. I searched all over the
net etc, for an enlarger and found one from a local source ( Prism Imaging )
who have gone totaly digital. The owner of the store gave me the Omega
complete with 5 rodenstocks and a lens turret & a ton of accessories for the
price of $100 Canadian. He also threw in all of his remaining paper stock and
anything he could find related to B&W printing.........what a score and yes it
even does 4x5, 120 6x6 6x7 6x9 6x4.5 and 35mm too!
Some of my best shots are done with an old Moskva folder that I
got on e-bay for $65, the prints may not be of the sharpness of a Fuji 690 but
it was cheap and allowed me to learn rangefinder skills and it's 6x9. My
Calumet c400 cost me $300 and came with two great lenses and a ton of
gear. Most of my stuff is 120 and you can get an old Yashica 635 for $75 and
shoot 35mm or 120 with the same camera..........and cheaply too.
Darkroom gear is all over and if you're nice you can get a mountain of
gear for a song because of the closet thing again.

[Andrew O'Neill]

Calumet Cambo 45NX
Calumet Caltar 165mm
5 Fedilty Holders
Bellows, cable, dark cloth, everything I would need + misc accessories.

The Cambo is a great studio camera. I still have mine but don't use it as I prefer a field camera that I can pack around with me. The 165mm lens is slightly longer than "normal" for 4x5. Good lens to start with. You will eventually want something wider. When you say bellows, what are you refering to? Is there an extra bellows with it? If all are in good shape, offer $500.

[eddie]

you can use paper or film for your pinhole. check out the pinhole designer to help get you going. f295.org is a great place to hang out too.

edie

[ConnorR]

Would a Tachihara + 150mm ish lens that will last me forever be a good choice? That way I can get into it relatively cheaply and will have a lens to use forever. Ken Rockwell seems to rave about them, though I don't usually assign much value to what he says. Everyone seems to like them as a lightweight field camera. Yay/nay?

The Cambo deal fell through - He was $800 firm and that was more than I wanted to pay.

[Kuzano]

Would a Tachihara + 150mm ish lens that will last me forever be a good choice? That way I can get into it relatively cheaply and will have a lens to use forever. Ken Rockwell seems to rave about them, though I don't usually assign much value to what he says. Everyone seems to like them as a lightweight field camera. Yay/nay?

The Cambo deal fell through - He was $800 firm and that was more than I wanted to pay.

This gentleman/acquaintance has been using a strict formula for well over 20 years:

A well maintained Tachihara
Three superb lenses (can't quote what they are)
Fuji Velvia
A good relationship with his processor.

He does NO post processing himself (I know because I maintain his computer.. no photo editing software of any consequence)

He visits his photo sites many times without the camera to gauge various light and composition facets before capturing an image.

But back to your query....will a Tachihara do the job. ??????

http://www.brucejacksonphotography.com/index.htm