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I am planning a trip to Yosemite and Big Sur for mid October of this year.
Do any of you experts have suggestions?
I was planning on flying from Newark, NJ to San Francisco and renting a car for a...

I hope one of the experts can help me with this.
Last year I purchased this lens as NOS from a dealer in Europe.
I just mounted the lens on my Sinar 8x10 and I found out the B, T, and 1/125 speeds...

Jim did an excellent job on the bellows for my Sinar P 8x10.
I believe he had experienced some health issues and it took a while for him to finish the work.
We should do our best to support people...

I love my Wista SP. It is very well built and as durable as a Russian T24 tank.
Use it with lenses from 65 to 300mm. Have wide-angle bellows and other accessories. Only thing nicer is a Linhof which...

Thanks for the wealth of information you guys have provided.
I am going out with the 8x10 and photographing the beautiful waterfalls in Hacklebarney State Park, NJ this weekend.
I still have to...

I am just starting to shoot black and white 8x10 negatives and I hope some of the experts can give me suggestions. Is Pyrol still highly regarded? Is this difficult to use? What are the benefits and...

I have used many high acutance film developers over the course of the last 35 years.
Sorry to admit it except I am that old. I ran a photo lab in the early 1970s in the US Army. The finest developer...

Get yourself a 240mm version of the same lens or a Rodenstock Sironar-N MC or Nikkor-W. This would be an excellent moderate wide-angle for 8x10.
Take care,
Mike

Buy a used Sinar. This is the most configurable system ever designed. You can shoot 4x5, 5x7 or 8x10. I have had them all and this is THE best.
For the BEST quality, I would go with Linhof and...

240mm is a good wide angle. Most 210mm will not cover 8x10. I have used 240 Nikkor-W and Rodenstock Sironar-N and they are superb.
210mm Schneider is very expensive and excellent.
300-360mm ...

Make that 3 customers..............I have spoken to them 6 times and get the same story each time...........NOT impressed and really starting to worry !!!

Mike:(

Yes, very hard to focus in dim light. I have had an f8, f6.8 and an f4.5 90mm. I would never go back to the slower 90mm lenses. I do a great deal of interiors and sunsets. Even with a 8x focusing...

You can pick up a 240mm Rodenstock Sironar N or Nikkor W for $299 or less. Also look for a 240mm Caltar - same as Rodenstock Sironar 240mm. One went for $190 last month.
Take care,
Mike

Hi Harvey<

Re: What was it that Brett Weston said?

Brett Weston said many things during his long illustrious career. During the last years of his career, he most often used a Rollei SL66 and...

I used one of these years ago....rented it from Ken Hansen Photo. It is a magnificient optic. It is also the most impressive optic I have ever seen or held in my hands. You may have to do some heavy...

I am sorry I do not have the answer to your question regarding age of the respective lens via a serial number. I can tell you the multi-coating on the lenses changed dramatically over the years. I...

Frank,

Thank you for the wealth of information regarding the Sinar P 8x10. I currently have an Arca-swiss 4x5 Monolith. I guess the ideal would be the 8x10 standard for the Arca-Swiss except this...

I am located in Westfield, NJ 07090.
This is about 20 miles form NYC.

Hello,
I am looking for a Sinar P 8x10 view camera in very good to excellent condition. What would be a fair price for one of these behemoths? Are they difficult and/or expensive to repair?
Any...

Stephen,
I usually agree with you regarding slower optics being superior. I have not found this to be the case with Leitz optics. They are simply sterling wide-open or 1 stop down.

Take care,...

The Rodenstock Grandagon f4.5 is just as sharp. I have used both of these lenses. When I bought my Grandagon it was hundreds of dollars more because B&H bought all remaining Nikon stock. I bought the...

The boards from Jim at Midwest are fine. Nikon boards and other boards from Toyo may also work.
Switzerland must be absolutely beautiful.....I would love to go there one day!
Looking forward to my...

Can any of you experts recommend the best lab I could use for making 16x20 prints from my Microtek 1800f 4x5 Fuji and Ektachrome scans? Is it possible to make high quality prints myself from these...

Thanks for the heads up. My friend told me he was hyper-ventillating when he got to the top of one of the steeper hikes. He had to jump in the pool of water to cool off.

Walter,
The BOB 3 wheel stroller looks like the ticket. It is built like a German Panzer tank compared to most of the strollers I have seen. I wonder if I would be able to take my 4x5 and DSLR bags...

Hi,
This is my first post here in quite some time and I am very impressed by the level of knowledge I have found in these forums.
I am going to Zion at the end of October and I will be bringing my...

Exactly right. If Schneider is the Gold Standard - Rodenstock is the Platinum Standard.
I have Rodenstocks in 55mm, 90mm, 150mm and 210mm.
I have Schneiders in 72mm, 110mm.
My 65mm and 210mm...

Yes, you are absolutely right. The TSA is so terribly incompetent, it almost forced me to give up large format photography (God forbid), when I traveled by plane ! ! !
Also watch out for the crazy...

Hi Ling,

A very wise decision! I have the Arca-Swiss 4x5 Monolith and I consider it to be the finest camera I have ever used. Congratulations and I wish you many excellent images.
Take care,
Mike

The Manfrotto is without question, the best head I have ever used. I use it with my Arca-Swiss Monolith, Linhof Technikardan 45S, Wista SP, and Canon 1DMKII. The geared movements are the best...

Hello,
I am a user of the Arca-Swiss Monolith 4x5 camera. I may be prejudice, except I have used every camera in the last 35 years and I prefer this camera to even the Sinar Norma, Sinar P2 and my...

Is it true you can still purchase these in brand new condition? A fellow from Germany told me he got three on ebay - NEW in the wooden box!
I have not been able to find any like this.
Thanks,
Mike

Hi Dave,

I am going the end of April thru May 5th. Maybe we can hook up another time.
I would love to photograph the Southwest in the Autumn.

Take care,
Mike

I am going to Arizona and I plan on photographing in Sedona, Grand Canyon NP and Antelope Canyon. I was going to drive first to Sedona, then spend 2 days at the Grand Canyon and one day or a few...

I picked one up two weeks ago and the lens is superb. I paid $1899 for the large brother of this optic a year ago - the 210mm AM ED Nikkor. Both are great optics. The 210mm will cover 8x10 in the...

I use the ZeroStat Anti Static Gun which was designed for removing dust from LP records, prior to playing them on a turntable.
This is also very useful for cleaning the dust off of film, prior to...

Marmot should make very comfortable packs.....They purchased Dana Design, the company that has produced some of the finest backpacks every designed.
I like the Granite Gear Nimbus Access FZ 3800....

Ryan, Take a look at the Granite Gear Nimbus Access FZ 3800. It has two zippers for fron panel access and a GREAT hipbelt and harness. I use mine with the photobackpacker.com backboard, camera case...

Rick,

Will the MONOLITH fit into the neoprene laptop computer sleeve?
The camera is 14.5 H x5 L x8 inches wide when compressed because of the extra large bellows.

Jack,
The Monolith will not fold flat in a attache type case. The best thing to do would be to bring the standards as close as possible and then put them on a short rail. You could then get it in a...