LF virgin here, wants used lightweight landscape field 4 x 5 - recommendations

[NancyP]

I have never shot LF and I have never had a camera/lens with movements, aside from a 35mm macro bellows with swing and shift (Nikon PB4). I have NO large format equipment. Shooting LF has been a bucket list thing. I started photography on 35mm SLR shooting, developing, and printing my own B&W. I want to assemble a kit, starting with a lightweight field 4x5 camera with enough movements for landscape, including shooting from the base of river bluffs (I live in St. Louis, and the Illinois bluffs on the Mississippi north of St. Louis are impressive). I have noted Chamonix, Shen-Hao, Tachihara, wooden Calumet, Toyo on eBay over the past few months. I was hoping to spend $500.00 to $700.00 for a lightweight camera I could carry in a hiking pack. Chamonix looks very appealing, as does Shen-Hao. Which of the lightweight field cameras would be a good novice's camera ? Thanks in advance. Once the camera is in hand, expect questions on lenses and spot meter and accessories and scanning and.....

[Ari]

The lightweight field cameras are made of wood; the heavier field cameras are metal.

I find that metal cameras have a higher degree of precision than their wood counterparts, the trade-off being a few pounds gained in your backpack.

If you think you'd be ok carrying a few extra pounds and would prefer a little more stability and precision, look for a metal field camera (Toyo, Wista, Linhof Technika IV are within budget).

I know there are some fine wood cameras as well, I just can't speak to their robustness or strength.

I can only speak to my own experience, which is based on much heavier use of, and appreciation for, metal cameras.

[Alan Gales]

Hi neighbor and welcome to the forum.

I own a Tachihara and a friend of mine owns the Toyo. Like Ari said the Toyo is sturdier but my Tachi is lighter. For a wooden field camera the Chamonix is said to be really sturdy but lightweight. You might find one used for $700.00.

To he honest, any of the cameras you mentioned should work fine.

[NancyP]

Thanks, that was quick! I weigh 120# dripping wet, and figure that the kit would include my 5.5# tripod, one or two smaller lenses, a loupe, a spot meter, and I would like to keep the weight at 12# or so total, exclusive of a 6# LF-adaptable pack and the hiking "10 essentials" including plenty of water.

Alan, do you belong to any of the camera clubs in STL? Is there a LF user group in STL?

[Alan Gales]

I'm not a member of any clubs now but I was a member of The St. Louis Camera Club back in the 1980's. You can check out their website if you are interested. There is also The St. Louis Photography Club which also has a website. I believe that there are a few members in each club who shoot large format but most of the members are all into digital capture.

I have heard about a Strobist Club and a Nature Photography Club but I don't know much about them.

[AtlantaTerry]

I weigh 120# dripping wet, and figure that the kit would include my 5.5# tripod, one or two smaller lenses, a loupe, a spot meter, and I would like to keep the weight at 12# or so total, exclusive of a 6# LF-adaptable pack and the hiking "10 essentials" including plenty of water.

There is a thread somewhere around here where people discuss alternative ways of transporting their LF gear on hikes instead of on their backs. One that got a lot of attention was when use of one of those three-wheeled baby carriers was mentioned.

[Erik Larsen]

Pm sent

[Bruce Watson]

The lightweight field cameras are made of wood; the heavier field cameras are metal.

I love generalities, especially when they are so wrong.

The lightest field camera in production is metal: the Toho FC 45X. There were a couple of wood cameras that were a few grams lighter, but they're out of production now. Rumor and hearsay indicated that they took out so much structure to become light that they lost some of the required rigidity and had wear problems. IDK for sure since I never used either one.

I bought my Toho strictly for backpacking, and I built a light weight kit around it. But I liked it so much that it's been my only camera; I use it for everything. I've been using it for over a decade. It's an outstanding LF camera; I've made some excellent photographs with it.

If you're looking to build a lightweight kit, do some searching on Kerry Thalmann. He did a ton of research on light weight LF and published a lot of it, especially what he learned about lenses.

[redshift]

Michael graves has a CC-401 listed in "For Sale" for $125. It's a monorail but from my perspective it's a featherweight. I wouldn't hesitate to take the standards off the rail and throw it in a pack.

[Alan Gales]

Bruce is right about googling Kerry Thalmann Future Classics. Kerry has a wealth of information on lenses and which ones are great for backpacking. Also check out Ken Lee's site and the LF Home Page on this forum.

No large format groups in St. Louis but I have learned a lot from this forum.