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View Full Version : Linhof 'Baby' Technika 23, still available new?



Henry Carter
24-May-2008, 09:42
The Linhof Super Technika V 6X9 is still shown on the Linhof website, but as this site shows several discontinued cameras, I am wondering if it is still available new from Linhof?

Can a 6X9 Super Rolex back for a 4X5 Technika be converted for use on the smaller 6X9 Technika?

Does Linhof still cam lenses for the 6X9 Technika (58, 100, 180)?

David A. Goldfarb
24-May-2008, 09:48
Bob Salomon posted over a year ago that there were only a few left, but maybe he can post an update.

The inserts are interchangeable between 4x5" and 2x3" Super-Rollex backs of the same format, but the shells are different.

Marflex just cammed my 55mm/4.5 Apo-Grandagon, 105/2.8 Xenotar, and 180/5.6 Caltar II-N (Sironar-N) for my Tech V 23b, so yes, they're still doing it.

Henry Carter
24-May-2008, 10:08
Thanks David.

I use a 4X5 Master Technika, and when I can't travel with 4X5, I thought that a 6X9 Technika would be a good alternative to the MT.

I just can't bring myself to buy a plastic MF rangefinder camera...

Anupam
24-May-2008, 11:24
I just can't bring myself to buy a plastic MF rangefinder camera...

Did you just call the Mamiya 7s II a "plastic camera"? :p

Peter K
24-May-2008, 12:13
Can a 6X9 Super Rolex back for a 4X5 Technika be converted for use on the smaller 6X9 Technika?
The fixing plate is different. If this plate is aviable as spare part, one can exchange it by loosening six screws.

Peter K

Bob Salomon
24-May-2008, 12:17
Henry,

No. In 6x9cm cameras the current Linhof models are the TK23 S and the M679cs. The STV23b is out of production and out of stock.

Bob Salomon
24-May-2008, 12:17
The fixing plate is different. If this plate is aviable as spare part, one can exchange it by loosening six screws.

Peter K

So is the shell. A 45 Super Rollex back will not mount to a 23 Linhof camera.

Peter K
24-May-2008, 13:35
So is the shell. A 45 Super Rollex back will not mount to a 23 Linhof camera.
Sorry Bob, I've changed myself the the mounting plates from Super-Rollex and Cine-Rollex to convert it from 23 to 45 and vice versa.

Peter K

al olson
24-May-2008, 16:37
Henry,

If weight is an issue for traveling and if you are considering a used baby Linhof, it would be best to handle one before you buy. These little buggers are surprisingly heavy as well.

David A. Goldfarb
24-May-2008, 19:37
Thanks David.

I use a 4X5 Master Technika, and when I can't travel with 4X5, I thought that a 6X9 Technika would be a good alternative to the MT.

I got mine for the same reason. I have a 4x5" Tech V, which seems to have become my main travel camera over the last couple of years, but now with a toddler I wanted something a little more compact with more or less the same functionality, and the Tech V 23b is definitely it. I'm in the middle of my first extended trip with the 23 right now, and it was great to be able to travel with the camera and five lenses (55/65/105/135/180), ergo grip, loupe, Gossen Digisix, film, 6x7 back, and six Grafmatics, in a case about half the volume of my 4x5" bag, and with a compact tripod that fits in my suitcase instead of requiring a tripod case. I did bring my Technika filters and shade, though, in a separate fanny pack.

It's also a bit cheaper to have lenses cammed for the 23, since a significant part of the cost is the blank cam itself, and a three-lobed 23 cam is less expensive than three 4x5" cams.

David A. Goldfarb
10-Jun-2008, 10:19
Back in New York after three weeks traveling with the 2x3" Technika, and everything worked well.

One thing I think I'll do differently next time, though, is to get 67mm step up rings for all my lenses, so that I can use my 67mm filters (my largest filter size with the lenses I carry with this camera, unless I decide to use a center filter with the 55mm Apo-Grandagon) and a collapsible rubber shade or two, instead of the 70mm Linhof drop-in filters and shade. The collar for the 70mm filters is a bit bulky, so with some lenses it doesn't fit with the front standard release levers unless I raise the front standard or drop the bed and tilt the lens back. This is okay when using the groundglass, but awkward for rangefinder focusing, because it introduces parallax error with the viewfinder. Collapsible shades, of course would also be more compact than the two hard plastic shades I use with the drop-in filters, and I could fit it all in my bag without having to carry an extra fanny pack for the filter and shade system.

Linhof made a 51mm shade and filter system for the 2x3" Technikas, but that would be too small for the 55mm and the 180mm lenses that I use on this camera.

Here's a quick scan of one of the negs from the trip attached. This is handheld with the 105/2.8 Xenotar, 1/400 sec., f:16, Tri-X 400 (6x7 back) processed in Crawley's FX6a monobath. I focused with the rangefinder on the eye of the fish. Neg digitized with a Nikon CP990 on a copy stand with a light box. We drove down to Hale O Lono harbor on the island of Moloka'i in Hawai'i to make some landscapes/seascapes, and while we were there, this gentleman who runs a fishing charter boat was doing some spearfishing on his day off and pulled up this big 'ulua just as we were packing up, and he asked if I would make a photo for him.

Henry Carter
14-Jun-2008, 08:03
Thanks for the direct and experienced used feedback David.

The Baby Technika sounds like the ideal travel camera for an experienced 4X5 Master Technika user. It has most of the same functionality, but in a smaller package.

David A. Goldfarb
14-Jun-2008, 10:43
No problem.

The one thing it doesn't have that the 4x5" has, by the way, is front swing. If you need a front swing and can do without front tilt, you can tilt the camera sideways and rotate the back, so the front tilt becomes swing, or you can swing the back, rotate the camera on the tripod head, and recompose with front shift for an indirect front swing.

Henry Carter
14-Jun-2008, 11:21
Thanks for the tip. I did notice the lack of front swing, but thankfully I use mostly rise and tilt. Your suggestion certainly helps.