Wanderlust 4x5 P&S

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Originally Posted by Ken Ford

I personally doubt I'd ever shoot my 127 or 135 wide open on a simple box camera like the Travelwide. Stop down, hyperfocal distance, shoot!

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Yup. Do you remember the Rollei 35? One of the smallest full-frame 35mm cameras ever made. 40mm fixed Tessar or Sonnar lens, scale focus. The lenses were fast, but nobody used them that way.

There are cameras designed for precise focusing of a wide-open lens, but the Travelwide isn't one of them. Its use case is wandering around a strange city, capturing scenes in a way that can support good-sized prints that retain a sense of endless detail and a smooth tonality characteristic of large format, using a lightweight and cheap camera that can be thrown in a suitcase. It can be used for other things, of course, but that's what it was optimized for. Making it better at other things would make it heavier and more expensive.

I highly respect Ben and Justin for their good sense in sticking to the use case and requirements. And I think they have, at the same time, unravelled the notion that large format requires bulky and complicated equipment and exacting technique. If there's a bit of focus error or camera shake, it won't matter for the biggest prints most people make at home, which is maybe 16x20--only a 4x enlargement.

Sure, there are uses for longer lenses. I'm the one that modified a top-rangefinder Speed Graphic that is cammed for the 127mm lens by adding a side Kalart adjusted for a 8-1/2" Ilex Paragon. But the lens is big and heavy, and the camera is hard to use hand-held. And though I travel constantly, I've never yet taken it with me.

Rick "thinking the more limited camera that actually gets used beats the more flexible camera that doesn't" Denney

Just obtained: Ikelite made a high-eyepoint viewfinder for underwater use on a Nikonos. Unlike the Nikon viewfinders, it has flat ports front and rear, and therefore focuses on dry land. It came with white-line masks for 35mm, 28mm, 20mm, and 15mm.

By high-eyepoint, I mean for a diver wearing a mask, so the eye relief is measured in inches, and is fabulously wonderful on a dry-land camera. To accommodate the wide field, the view is fisheye--lots of barrel distortion--but the white-line frames are shaped to show the actual edges of the field. Of course, the aspect is 3:2, but it wouldn't take much to make the appropriate marks with a Sharpie pen.

It's big--no, huge--at 4-1/2" tall, but pretty tough and made of plastic, so it's not as heavy as it looks. I'm thinking that I'll put correction marks on the back side of the 20mm mask, and switch it between the Travelwide 90 and 65.

These come up from time to time and they are not too expensive (usually <$100) when they do appear. Not compact, but plenty goofy enough for this camera.

Here's the one I bought (seller's picture):
Attachment 93786

This one has knob-adjusted parallax correction, and like all underwater stuff, the knob is big and clearly marked. Some don't have the knob-controlled parallax corrector, but instead the shoe is just bolted to the finder with a bolt that can allow it to be adjusted manually. That is actually preferred for the underwater dudes, but for this application, I suspect the one with the knob-adjustable parallax would be best.

You wouldn't have to worry about rain with this puppy, heh. When tightened on the top, it could easily be used as a carrying handle for the camera.

Far more compact, but still under a C-note, is the Russian turret finder for the Fed, Kiev, and Zorki rangefinders. Obviously, only the 28mm position of the turret is useful (and then only for the 90, using the lines at the sides). This one would be a low-eyepoint design with a small pupil and unsuitable for those who wear glasses. There are affordable adjustible finders for the Leica, such as the VIOOH and a similar version made by Walz, but they only go to 35mm, which isn't wide enough for these cameras.

Rick "reporting on cheaper options than the >>$100 Voigtlander and similar models" Denney

I Wander how strong the flash mount will be?

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Originally Posted by Randy Moe

I Wander how strong the flash mount will be?

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I think it will be fine for this. And if it does break, it's easy enough to file it flat and mount a metal cold shoe.

Rick "who did also wonder" Denney

I plan to pop one of those Linhof folding sports type viewers on it. Cheap, sturdy, folding but may need calibration. no biggie, at all. My goal is to keep it small.

I already have a Voigtlander 21mm lens and finder for my Leica M4-2 so the finder wont be a problem. I also like the idea of the included wire frame finder, simple and rugged. (and you can't put finger smears on a wire frame finder)

Hey, only 51 more cameras to go to reach 1000 cameras!

i touched a lens element once, i made myself stand in the corner...

I've been shooting with the Super Angulon 90mm ƒ/8, and it's an easy lens to love. Incredibly sharp, even wide open!

I'm still getting the hang of home developing, which explains the weird artifact in the bottom left of the Cleveland skyline shot.

http://bensyverson.com/images/2013/4...kyline-700.jpg
(Handheld, ƒ/16 at 1/250 on HP5)

Detail from the above:
http://bensyverson.com/images/2013/4...detail-700.jpg

http://bensyverson.com/images/2013/4...nd-jon-700.jpg
(Handheld, ƒ/8 at 1/15 on HP5)

I must admit, I am really looking forward to it. I use a boxy fujica 6x9 camera a lot, so carrying one of theese around with 3 film holders in a bag is just the same as a fujica really.

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Originally Posted by mdm

I must admit, I am really looking forward to it. I use a boxy fujica 6x9 camera a lot, so carrying one of theese around with 3 film holders in a bag is just the same as a fujica really.

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The Travelwide 90 with lens and 6 holders weighs about 1500g all together, so yeah, that's pretty close to the Fujica, which I think clocks in at 1400g or so! :)