Cambo 4X5 SCIIRS - Thoughts?
I've been shooting a Crown Graphic Special and I'm ready to get my first view camera with full movements. Budget is extremely limited. I primarily do landscapes and close up indoor subjects. I can get a bargain grade Cambo 4X5 SCIIRS for $180 to my door. The geared movements look good. I'm not expecting to shoot in anything more than a lite breeze but I have no experience with how much wind a camera like that can handle. I suspect that the more expensive bodies are more rigid, but just how much difference this makes I'm curious to find out. Any thoughts on this body would be greatly appreciated or if something else in that price range would be superior, I'm open to suggestions and not in a rush. Thanks!
Re: Cambo 4X5 SCIIRS - Thoughts?
Are you sure that the camera has geared movements? If this https://www.keh.com/shop/cambo-4x5-s...dy-679670.html is it, it doesn't have geared movements. A plain vanilla SC 2 (or II) will do as well.
Re: Cambo 4X5 SCIIRS - Thoughts?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Dan Fromm
I'm sure that with some ignorance and a bit of wishful thinking I can think some silly things. lol. By "will do" I take it that spending a bit more for the models with extra letters will just give me a little less money for glass without any significant advantages? That's the one from KEH. Considering the cheaper Calumets as well. I'm in the Atlanta area and have been dealing with them for decades without issue. I'm going the check to see if anything interesting comes along here as well. I'd rent a copy of different models to really know for myself if it didn't cost half as much as buying one. Thanks for the info! BTW I've got a print by Armond Scavo that he shot on Velvia in the meadowlands years ago. Didn't realize parts of NJ resemble the GA cost. :-)
Re: Cambo 4X5 SCIIRS - Thoughts?
The various models of the ungeared version are all very similar, the variations being mainly in two places. First, different track and bellows length (16" or 19" vs 21", if I remember correctly) and secondly having measuring scales on the movements. There's also a difference in knobs from model to model, period to period, and Calumet vs Cambo. The other major difference is that lower models can have the reversible back (flipping between V and H) where more expensive ones have a back that rotates with the flip of a small lever and can stop anywhere between V and H.
IMO, there's no strong reason to want the scales that the top model offers.
I did order the geared model from KEH, first, when I got mine. It came in a box, with one small sheet of bubble wrap. Pieces were sticking out the sides of the box, and the front standard was bent! So I sent it back. But what I learned from that was that the geared model is huge and very heavy--definitely not easily portable--so then I got the cheaper model, without the gearing, and have been happy.
The one in the KEH link has the latest knobs, the rotating back, and scales. I can't tell the bellows length from the listing.
Re: Cambo 4X5 SCIIRS - Thoughts?
My first 4x5 was a cambo 45sc. Solid camera and a real bargain.
Kent inSD
