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Is there a field camera being manufactured now which has a clear advantage in st ability, sufficient to be usable with a digital back? Given the long exposure t imes, I assume that everything must be optimizedm, i.e., heavy tripod, rigid bal lhead/QR coupling, umbrella to windward... However, all the work I've seen has been done apparently on Sinar or other rail cameras. Are the backs just too hea vy for field designs? Are some field cameras sturdy enough for the task?
I have no idea about the backs' weight, but I've looked at a few field cameras lately. The Toyo 45A was the most rigid, the Canham wood was second. The Canham DLC and Wista followed in that order. These are all I've looked at recently.
I could be very wrong on this but i believe Stephen Johnson is using a Sinar P o r P2 camera with his digital rig. if you like to make 2 minute plus exposures fo r landscapes, i guess digital in the field will work for you. Having said that I am impressed with the contrast range of his imagery. there is probably more in fo at his site: http://www.best.com/~sjphoto/
Too further answer your question I think Johnson uses a Sinar P series camera be cause of the mass, not just the rigidity or sturdiness. The ccd capture area for most digital capture cameras is much smaller than 4x5 so this means you have to use shorter lenses as equivalent focal lengths for standard lens choices. So yo u will need to keep this limitation in mind as well.
More explnation: Stephen told me this morning that he uses a Sinar X camera, als o that he is looking at a field camera because the Sinar is getting too heavy th e farther afield he goes.
Michael at BetterLight, who makes the digital system Stephen Johson uses, says that he knows of one photographer up in Washington state who is using the Canham DLC and that he also thinks the Linhof Master Technika would be a good choice. Michaels confirms the choice of the Sinar X camera for mass.
So perhaps a good alternative would be the Arca Swiss F-Line?
Ron Wisner responded to a similar posting on CompuServe by referring me to Nicholas Hellmuth's work, shooting Mayan archeology with Wisner 4x5 and digital back. Fairly demanding conditions. Some of the images thus created depicted at www.digital-photography.org, also very extensive review of lots of equipment. Must be that's how he repays manufacturers who donate stuff to him. Having said that, the reviews seem to ring true when he writes of equipment which I know.