Which Linhof is this!?

[drec]

Hi folks! Gotta admit that I went out on a limb, with little real experience with large format, and won this ebay auction for a Linhof Technika.

Only problem-- I don't know which one it is! And the lenses that it comes with make it sound more like a Graphic than a Technika, although of course obviously it's not.

lenses-- Graflex Optar 135/4.7; Ektar 152/4.5

here's the link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300022023734

I'd appreciate if, with such few visuals, you could help me out with any info on this camera!

Thanks
Andre

[David A. Goldfarb]

Odd that they don't show a picture of the side or front of the camera open. It's a Tech III of some sort (there are 5 basic models). There's a good description of the five versions of the Tech III at cameraquest.com, if you want to narrow it down further.

[Brian Ellis]

It's hard to tell much of anything from that small picture but as David said, it's most likely a Tech III since the depth of field table appears to be on the outside of the folding focusing hood. It isn't a Tech II or earlier since it has a rangefinder.

One of the first things you should do when the camera arrives is make a proper check for pin holes or other light leaks in the bellows. The statement made by the seller that he or she didn't see any holes isn't enough since many sources of light leaks aren't visible just by looking at the bellows. Open the bellows as far as it will go in a dark room, take the back off, then shine a flashlight all around inside the bellows while you look on the outside to see if you can see any light coming through. Pay particular attention to the corners of the bellows, top and bottom, left and right. That's where pin holes tend to show up.

[drec]

Thanks so much for the answers... I was just hoping that it wasn't an earlier model than a III... as far as I'm concerned, I'm happy with these lenses for now (changing back and forth between their lens board), so I'll just stick with this until I get my feet planted in LF. I'll check for leaks and add some drops of that plastic stuff that Gandy at cameraquest recommends for leaks.