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Calamity Jane
29-Apr-2005, 03:47
After trolling e-bay for a coon's age I finally picked up an old folder to go along with my home-made monorail and home-made flat-bed. It comes with a lens but I don't know anything at all about the lens. Does this look familiar to any of you folks:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7510167310&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEAFB%3AIT&rd=1

I wanted to own at least ONE original antique camera :-) This one will get restored, refinished, overhauled, and be my carry-about camera. I figure I'll keep the camera, a few holders, and a cheap meter in a bag in my truck for those occassions when I stumble upon a geat scene unexpectedly. (Of course, if I was EXPECTING to take pictures, I'd be packing the flat-bed and the "full kit"!)

What would ya'll recommend when ya don't want to pack a full-blown tripod? I think LF speeds run a bit slow to hand-hold a 4x5?

Edward (Halifax,NS)
29-Apr-2005, 06:04
I don't handhold LF but when I am shooting with my Yashica Mat (always handheld) I always use 400 speed film - HP5 in B&W. That puts my shutter speed at 1/125 at least - usually higher. That camera would be fine on a much lighter tripod. What do you use for 35mm (if you even shoot 35mm)?

John Kasaian
29-Apr-2005, 07:50
Calamity,

You can certainly handhold a 4x5 like a graphic or techika. Long exposures won't be much to write home about and composing on the gg then inserting a filmholder takes a bit of getting used to. Using any movements is a lost cause. OTOH if you use a moderately fast lens and film combo and don't enlarge to 20x24 the results can be pretty spectacular. I find here is often an element of spontaniety in handheld lf. Subjects are often different than when using a tripod. Try shooting a galloping horse or panning a vintage racecar with the sportsfinder or shooting off the deck of a fishing boat or out of an open airplane window. Good luck!

Ole Tjugen
29-Apr-2005, 09:38
I have successfully hand-held the worst camera that was ever made for hand-held shooting, the 14 lb Linhof Technika III 5x7". To make matters even more interesting, I used a Xenar 300mm/f:4.5 which wighs another 2 lb, and has a fastest shutter time of 1/50 second.

Your camera should be just fine :)

Ernest Purdum
29-Apr-2005, 10:46
Going mostly by the struts with their back tilt adjustment, I think the camera is a Conley. It should clean up quite handsomely.

ronald lamarsh
29-Apr-2005, 19:09
I have just recently taken up the sport of hanholding my TechIII 4x5 with wire sports finder, 180mm lens and using scale focusing. A little homework on DOF and hyper focl distances, a cheat sheet, and HP5+@400 developed in rodinal or diafine works great. I've been able to use 1/30 at f32 on a sunny day successfully. For a real knock-about camera I carry an old Moskva IV Russian 6x9 folder; its totally manual with knob winding but what do you want for $60. The lens is quite sharp and contrasty, in fact at a recent presentation in my local area where I submitted 3 entries the one taken with this camera as a rather "oh-by-the-way" shot is the one that got accepted and sold! The ones taken with my 4x5 and slaved over weren't even accepted? Go figure

tor kviljo
30-Apr-2005, 11:52
Nearly hand-holding but with very much improved control: have a monopod in the car! (or an appropriately long piece of broom-stick, if You want to go old-fashioned all the way), makes it possible to control camera at much lower speeds than without - where You have to both fight gravity + using the rest of muscle to try keep camera from wobbeling...

Lens look old & cheap - probably a 3 element anastigmat - extreeeeeeemely common standard lens on everything from 8 & 16mm film-cameras to enlargers & LF cameras. It's the last expensive sperical lens construction being somewhat well corrected for major defects (AN-ASTIGMAT = corrected for astigmatism, developing this formula were one of the more difficult fights the lens designers won in the late 1800 or early 1900).

Cool camera - and then You can use it as firewood if it gets to cold, my Sinar don't burn well at all!