Re: I'm not sure if it's a popular size, but can I get some 5x7 camera recommendation
Get in touch with Keith Canham he is able to get large orders of 5x7 color film from Kodak.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Two23
Even though I have an 8x10, I find I've been using my 5x7 the most so far this year. I think the first question you should be asking yourself is how important color film is to you. There is no 5x7 color in regular production. I'm mostly doing wet plate with mine, with some dry plates and FP4 b&w film too. It is a nice size.
Kent in SD
Re: I'm not sure if it's a popular size, but can I get some 5x7 camera recommendation
I have three 5x7 Sinar Normas in my studio, if that says anything. Ezra Stoller, Balthazar Korab, Heidrich Blessing, Julius Shulman, Reinhart Wolf and multitudes of others.....
They used Norma for lots of good reasons.
A camera for the Architect/Machinist
https://www.wbur.org/npr/173140765/t...hitects-famous
Re: I'm not sure if it's a popular size, but can I get some 5x7 camera recommendation
5x7 may well be underappreciated. But it is well represented even on the "new" market alone. When you consider the used market, there are lots of options. Two that I've had (the wood Canham and the Sinar Norma) I deeply regret selling yet to this day. But I can't keep 'em all! I was fortunate to find a lovely 5x7 Gandolfi several years ago. It is a delight and lovely to look at, too! I changed out the front standard to one dedicated to Technika lens boards. "Heresy!" say many. But it works for me as my 5x7 lenses are for the most part all on Technika boards.
5x7 is my favorite format. Well, my favorite "small" format, as I am in love with 12x20 and 14x17. But that is a different world altogether. 5x7 just suits me so well that if I had to, I could be very happy just making 5x7 contact prints for the rest of my days. It's a lovely format. By all means, jump in with both feet and support the format! :-) :-)
Oh, and were I to purchase a new 5x7 camera, it would surely be the Canham wood 5x7. A little quirky, perhaps. But it's just muscle memory, so like your piano, practice, practice!
Keith is terrific to work with. And that means SO much! And his product is bullet proof. Reliable and able. My 2¢, with change!
Re: I'm not sure if it's a popular size, but can I get some 5x7 camera recommendation
I obtained a 5x7 Super Technika V a few years back and it goes with me anytime I am heading out to shoot. I normally use a 210mm or 120mm SA. It is heavy, about 13lbs + with a lens and film holder. I also have a Plaubel Peco Profia 5x7 kit that I really like but for some reason is not popular in North America. This kit has lenses ranging from a Grandagon 90 f4.5 up to a Rodenstock Apo-Ronar 420mm f9. I love the format and have a Durst L138S to print with. With the Plaubel I have up to a meter of bellows availble as well as wide angle bellows and rails.
Re: I'm not sure if it's a popular size, but can I get some 5x7 camera recommendation
I got my first Canham 5x7 wood in 1999 and my second same in 2014. I am pleased with how it works. It easily accepts lenses from 72mm Super Angulon XL to 800mm Nikon T*ED. The 1200mm Nikon T*ED is too long. I mostly use it for scenic photography with Ektachrome film. Its weight renders it transportable in the forest.
Best wishes --- Allen Anway
Re: I'm not sure if it's a popular size, but can I get some 5x7 camera recommendation
Whoa, thanks for all these great responses!
It looks like there are a lot of good options. Among the choices I've read so far are the Deardorff, Gibellini, Canham (MQC57 & traditional wood), Sinar Norma, Burke & James, Chamonix, Walker, Gandolfi, and Linhof Super Technika 5x7s.
Truth be told, before I even posed the question, I was actually considering the Chamonix 57FS-2, the Canham MQC57 or traditional wood 5x7, the Linhof Super Technika V or IV, and the Stenopeika Hyper Camera 5x7 Mark II.
The Linhof Super Technika V looks pretty solid, but, at 12lbs, it may be a bit too heavy for me to trek with. I still really like it (or perhaps the idea of it), but I don't know how suitable the Linhof Super Technika V would be for landscape and architectural photography. The Stenopeika Hyper Camera Mark II also looked promising, but after reading about the light leaks on the similarly designed 4x5 version as well as the very questionable customer service, I'm not sure that this would be a good contender. I've also read similar things about the Gibellini cameras. I'd consider the Deardorff, but every available one that I've seen online has looked quite a bit run down. :/
I guess that really leaves me with 2, err 3, of my original options - the Canham MQC57 metal, the Canham Traditional Wood 5x7, and the Chamonix 57FS-2. I'd still consider the Linhof Super Technika V (or IV?) 5x7, especially since I'm a huge Linhof fan, but I don't know too much about it. If anyone else has any good information on it, I'd love to hear it.
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Re: I'm not sure if it's a popular size, but can I get some 5x7 camera recommendation
Quote:
Originally Posted by
manfrominternet
I guess that really leaves me with 2, err 3, of my original options - the Canham MQC57 metal, the Canham Traditional Wood 5x7, and the Chamonix 57FS-2. I'd still consider the Linhof Super Technika V (or IV?) 5x7, especially since I'm a huge Linhof fan, but I don't know too much about it. If anyone else has any good information on it, I'd love to hear it.
You are really being pulled in two directions. A camera that's best for architecture would be a monorail because of it's massive movements. However, they are heavy, bulky, and less desirable to hike any distance with. For landscapes few movements are needed and lightweight and compactness are valued. I have two types of cameras. My 4x5 is a Chamonix 045N, which is lightweight and compact. It does have enough movements with the "universal" bellows and either a 75mm or 90mm lens to do the kind of small town architectural photos I take (no skyscrapers), and excels at general purpose photography. My other two cameras are vintage 1920 field cameras--Kodak 2D 8x10 and Gundlach Korona 5x7. These do well for general purpose but are not designed for architecture other than barns and small town buildings. I mainly bought and use them because they are very sturdy and can hold the heavy 19th C. lenses I use for wet plate. I also like their beautiful wood & brass.
I think you first need to decide which is your priority: lots of movements for architecture or ease of carry & use for hiking. Once you decide that it's really not going to make a lot of difference which one you select from that group. I will say I bought my Chamonix 4x5 about 13 years ago and it does everything I want so well I have never "upgraded" it. If I were to replace it I would be looking at another Chamonix, Ritter, Canham, or Gibellini. If you regularly use a camera outdoors in all weather conditions eventually you will need a part or two, and a maker with good customer service then becomes a high priority.
Kent in SD
Re: I'm not sure if it's a popular size, but can I get some 5x7 camera recommendation
Goes back to image goals primary, lenses required to achieve these image goals then what camera supports the demands of image goals and lenses.
IMO, too many focus on camera as primary only to discover the camera chosen cannot properly support the lenses required to achieve the image goals.
That said, Been and done the Linhof 5x7_13x18cm Technika journey, never again. While the Linhof Technika IS a precision, very nicely made view camera, it remains a field folder with very real camera limitations that can bite bad when combined with short or much longer than normal focal length lenses. Movement of the rear standard is essentially zilch and the camera is heavy. Due to the fixed tripod mounting, balancing the camera-lens-set up can be a real challenge for the tripod and supporting system. With a Sinar Norma, slide the set up until balanced on the tripod. This aids in stability lots and reduces the camera-lens supporting system lots.
Of the 5x7 field folders on the market, Keith Canham's metal field folders remains the fave. Personal and all time Fave remains the Sinar system with the Norma as the portable, and P excellent as an indoor-studio camera.
Worthy of repeating again, a good 5x7 camera like KC's field folders can deal with lens focal lengths from 75mm to past 450mm as delivered. Point being, 5x7 _ 13x18cm has the broadest lens selection and ease of lens availability of the common sheet film formats. Add to this, a Durst 138 enlarger is no where near as huge as a Durst 184 or similar 8x10 enlarger allowing a reasonable sized darkroom with a maximized sheet film size to print from.
Bernice
Re: I'm not sure if it's a popular size, but can I get some 5x7 camera recommendation
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Bernice Loui
Goes back to image goals primary, lenses required to achieve these image goals then what camera supports the demands of image goals and lenses.
Worthy of repeating again, a good 5x7 camera like KC's field folders can deal with lens focal lengths from 75mm to past 450mm as delivered. Point being, 5x7 _ 13x18cm has the broadest lens selection and ease of lens availability of the common sheet film formats. Add to this, a Durst 138 enlarger is no where near as huge as a Durst 184 or similar 8x10 enlarger allowing a reasonable sized darkroom with a maximized sheet film size to print from.
Bernice
Absolutely right Bernice. The OP shoots exclusively in color & is scanning with a digital camera & stitching. Kodak (through Keith Canham) has 3 color negative emulsions available (for bulk orders!)and no transparency films. I'll ask the question again....realistically what will 5x7" do for him that his current 4x5" won't. BTW I do love my Durst 138.
Re: I'm not sure if it's a popular size, but can I get some 5x7 camera recommendation
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Bernice Loui
Been and done the Linhof 5x7_13x18cm Technika journey, never again. While the Linhof Technika IS a precision, very nicely made view camera, it remains a field folder with very real camera limitations
Bernice
I had a probably circa 1960s 5x7 Technika once for a very short time. Excellent plus condition and amazingly acquired for only around $200 at a multi-dealer Antique store in western Massachusetts. More than a bit too heavy for my tastes. (On page 36 of my Linhof General Catalog there is a picture of a man in a suit climbing up a metal ladder with one hand on the ladder and the other holding a Super Technika... the photo had to be staged). Workmanship was excellent but operating the camera was its Achilles heel for me, I just had a hard time using it in the field. Definitely more on my part and not on the camera's.
