Zone VI Tachihara purchased, need tripod, film holders...

[yoyar]

Hi, I'm very much a noob in the world of LF. I've been researching things for about a year and finally decided to buy a Zone VI on ebay.

The camera comes with a few decent lenses and 2 film holders. I think I will need more film holders. I have an ok tripod but I would be interested in a new or used tripod. I'm not really sure what sort of head I need.

I'd really appreciate some thoughts on what sort of film holders to buy and tripod/head as well.

Thanks.

[sully75]

Some variation of the "Tiltall" tripod is a good choice, they are very cheap on ebay.

Buying a used tripod, the shipping is often more expensive than the tripod. You could also get a used Manfrotto (millions of variations) for pretty cheap, might be a step up from the Tiltall.

Generally holders are holders. Get cleaner, newer ones if you are a paranoid person...like myself. You don't want to doubt your holders. But people get away with pretty ratty ones.

[Fred L]

welcome to the world of LF and shrinking wallets ;)

Just one thing if you're not in a hurry, there's a camera show later this month in Toronto where you should be able to find tripods and other pieces of equipment. You can definitely find lots of film holders at these shows and often times decent deals on film. I'll dig up the dates and other deets in case you're located in Toronto or the GTA.

[yoyar]

Thanks very much. I see a few Lisco ones on ebay (http://bit.ly/yepUGT <- ebay listing).

So, anything like that would probably be fine then? Cheers, Matt

[yoyar]

I am near T.O. and the show sounds great. Please post the details. :D Cheers, Matt

[Fred L]

Toronto International Camera Show
Sunday March 25 2012
10am-3pm
$7
Toronto Don Valley Hotel 1250 Eglinton Ave. East

There's also The Big One camera show in Woodbridge later this spring. Imagine an indoor soccer field with tables all over the place (not quite the entire field but close). Some good buys, some meh. You can find the info at phsc.ca

[MIke Sherck]

Lisco, Fidelity, Riteway are all pretty much the same, film-holder wise. Toyo are too, but more expensive. Most folks prefer the plastic holders over very old wooden ones. Older plastic film holders have small wire handles to pull the dark slide out; newer ones have a plastic tab. Both should work fine unless they've been dropped and gotten cracked or (more often) if there's a crack or hole in the dark slide. Good luck!

Mike

[jbog]

You can't go wrong with a Majestic tripod and the Majestic Geared Head. Super strong. Made near Chicago. Cheap on eBay.

Link >>> http://www.bencher.com/

[yoyar]

Thanks to all who have replied. It is very helpful. I guess I should have mentioned that I plan on taking the camera on canoe trips which involve a lot of hiking so weight is always a concern. Or at least minimization of weight in that regard. Are there tripod recommendations for hiking specifically?

Cheers, Matt

[Roger Cole]

One difference in film holders - later model Riteways have a different darkslide design. There's a button on the film holder body that has to be depressed to remove the darkslide. When the holder is inserted into a camera back, the back automatically pushes the button in so the slide can be easily removed with no other action, just like the others. But with the holder out of the camera, it pretty much cannot be accidentally removed, unlike the others. You have to hold the button down while pulling the slide.

So they're better? Well - yes and no or maybe. I do like them and use them. But some people don't like them because the tabs or handles on the slides are bigger and shaped differently, the result of which is that a holder won't fit in a quart ziplock. You should keep your holders in ziplocks when not in use, or some other dust tight container. I just carry six of them at a time in a single gallon ziplock, which seems to work as well. Also, reportedly [some] Linhof cameras don't properly depress the release button. I put "some" in brackets because I have a Technika III and it works fine with my Riteway holders. I don't know if it's something about later model Linhofs, or just some Linhofs, or I have a fluke. What can I say except "works fine with mine?"

[John Koehrer]

RE: tripods Carbon fiber will be the lightest, also not harmed by being dunked. Several brands are used by the members here, Gitzo($$$) Feisol, Induro and a load of others. You should be able to find several threads by searching CF Tripods here on the site.

[John Kasaian]

Congratulations! That swap meet sounds like a good prospect for rounding out your kit.

[yoyar]

Congratulations! That swap meet sounds like a good prospect for rounding out your kit.

It does indeed. I plan to go. :)