Large Format Sources in the UK?

[Nick Thornton]

Can anyone recommend good sources of large format equipment in the UK? So far I have found Robert White (mail order from Dorset) and TeamWork (mail order and an excellent shop in London). Both of these have been extremely helpful but seem t o have a very limited range of second-hand equipment.

Before I take the plunge and buy new I'd like to check the used market, as the g eneral consensus seems to be that this is a better starting point.

So far I've looked at the Wista 45VX and the Horseman 45HD. After looking at the spec, web pictures etc I thought I'd prefer the Horseman. Once I tried the two in the shop this soon changed. The Wista seemed far more solid and robustly engi neered even thought the Horseman seemed more precisely engineered - rather like the difference in feel between a H'blad and a modern Nikon (industrial engineeri ng compared to micro engineering?). So (with apologies to Horseman users) I wasn 't comfortable with the flimsy feel of the Horseman. Incidentally, I was also to ld that the Horseman did not use a full size lens board and so was less flexible .

So, I'd appreciate any views on whether the Wista is a good move for: - an absolute beginner to LF (35mm and 6x6 up to now) - mostly outdoor landscapes - local use (i.e. not backpacking) - moderate wide-angle lenses but nothing extreme - someone who would rather spend money on the lens than the body.

Thanks for your help Nick

[Alan Gibson]

I don't think there is a better place than Teamwork. Look in the back of Amateur Photographer, and you will find other places that somethimes have LF gear, but much more limited, and the people usually don't know much about it.

I can't comment on Wista or Horseman.

[David Nash]

Nick

Good large format dealers in the UK are limited, but you could try the following:

Mr CAD (Croydon - South London) - loads of S/h Stuff Bob Rigby (Bollington) Nr Macclesfield in Cheshire KP (Cambridge) Looking in the back of Amateur Photographer, Professional Photographer and the British Journal of Photography will give you others like

Dales (Leeds) Warners (Wolverhampton) MXV (Uckfield)

plus national dealers like KJP & Leeds etc

Let me know if you want further information (I use Arca-Swiss by the way)

David Nash

[Stephen Fletcher]

Some thoughts: I've only just taken the plunge into LF (straight from 35mm)and s pent several months trying to decide what to buy. I had, in fact, decided to buy a Wista because it was well made, wasn't too expensive and I wanted something r elatively portable. I also wanted to spend more on the lenses than on the body. However, as part of the process I bought the Steve Simmons book on using view ca meras (excellent - buy it) and started thinking about whether a flat-bed design with the latest lenses was really what I wanted for the pictures I wanted to tak e on LF - a little landscape, architecture and still-life. I hadn't really appr eciated how much more flexible monorails were over flat bed designs - I decided that this was more important to me than the fact that they are generally bulkier and heavier (but not by that much and not that much more than my 35mm kit eithe r!), nor had I really thought about older second-hand lenses. In the end, I cha nced on a second-hand Cambo SCN monorail in Teamwork, which I bought after some very helpful discussions with the staff, and found a 90mm Schneider Angulon in t he private ads in AP. I'm incredibly pleased with both, although neither was by any means expensive - half the price of the basic Wista body minus lens. It prob ably isn't the best combination ever, but it got me started! Good luck.

Stephen

P.S. if you go for a Wista, look at their lenses too - Teamwork told me that the y're Nikkors.

[Nick Thornton]

Thanks all for the advice.

BTW you're certainly right about Mr Cad David, - quite a stock...