Copy-Stand for 4x5

[greyspecks]

Which are the better copy-stands to produce 4x5 copy negative's from?

[W K Longcor]

I don't know if you have them over there -- but the Polaroid MP4 system is really super. It is solid, has the camera as part of the system and the lights are attached to the base. Depending on how it is configured, it could have a reflex viewer for ease in focusing -- a sliding back for quick change from focus to "shoot" and a whole lot more gadget stuff. For a much lower price -- there was an MP3 -- earlier and not quite as well put together.
I would advise staying away from any of the so called stands that are little more than an amature enlarger base with a thin, round piece of pipe as the upright. they wobble ( at best) and get worse as the camera size and weight increase. But, if that is all you can get -- or can afford --- fasten the base to the table or floor and clamp the top of the pole to the wall -- firmly -- with some sort of angle bracket. really, if that is the only sort of stand available to you -- you would do better to fasten the print to the wall and set up your camera horizontally on your tripod. Not convenient -- but fuzzy copies from a wiggling camera are not such a wonderful thing either!

[greyspecks]

I don't know if you have them over there -- but the Polaroid MP4 system is really super. It is solid, has the camera as part of the system and the lights are attached to the base. Depending on how it is configured, it could have a reflex viewer for ease in focusing -- a sliding back for quick change from focus to "shoot" and a whole lot more gadget stuff. For a much lower price -- there was an MP3 -- earlier and not quite as well put together.
I would advise staying away from any of the so called stands that are little more than an amature enlarger base with a thin, round piece of pipe as the upright. they wobble ( at best) and get worse as the camera size and weight increase. But, if that is all you can get -- or can afford --- fasten the base to the table or floor and clamp the top of the pole to the wall -- firmly -- with some sort of angle bracket. really, if that is the only sort of stand available to you -- you would do better to fasten the print to the wall and set up your camera horizontally on your tripod. Not convenient -- but fuzzy copies from a wiggling camera are not such a wonderful thing either!

Thanks, the Polaroid MP4 System seems to be highly regarded on here.
So far it's not come up in my searches today for UK stockist-Any ideas on who might have stock these?

[Jim Jones]

The Polaroid MP-4 is indeed a good system. However, a sturdy enlarger can often be converted to a good copy stand. Sometimes the conversion is very simole and reversable, sometimes not. Some enlargers are as inadequate as copy stands as they were as enlargers. Others work well in either use. With the modest cost of some large enlargers, they are worth investigating. Longcor gives valiable advice about bracing both top and bottom of an enlarger column to a wall. This makes even some flimsy enlargers useable as copy stands. If one can't have a perfectly stable copy stand, one can control exposure by darkening a room, opening the shutter or darkslide, waiting for camera movement to subside, and making the exposure by incandescent lamps or flash. The most primative camera set-ups can work well by doing this.

[greyspecks]

Jim, thanks for your input it's given me plenty to think about, as with all the other replies received so far on this and my other post.
Many thanks all...If anyone else has insights on this & would care to contribute please do so...

[Bob Salomon]

Most libraries, museums, schools, FBI, police, etc. use the Kaiser copy stands. There are a large range of them to choose from.

[Charles Hohenstein]

Another vote for the Polaroid MP4. Besides, it's a babe magnet. :)

[EuGene Smith]

I bought a Leitz Aristophot about 20 years ago and used it as a 4x5 copy stand for several years. It is a heavy cast iron beast that I think was origonally used in labs with a microscope to do macro-photography.

It had a nice Grafloc back on it with bellows focusing and had been modified to accept a Speed Graphic "C" type 4x4 lensboard. A really nice copy stand that I wish I had kept. I found another Aristophot a couple of years ago, but havent converted it to a copy stand yet.