Going Mad - I'm collecting now

[moltogordo]

Part 1:

I'm back into 4x5 with a vengeance. I collect cameras, and about 5 months ago I posted here asking what I should be getting for a monorail. I did have a nice Linhof Color Kardan, and there is nothing wrong with it except it's rather limited movements, so most of the advice, all of it good, centered around either a Sinar F1 or a Toyo GX. I decided on a GX and began to look. Years ago I had a Toyo 45A Field and loved it, so it would be like going home.

Part 2:

I also wanted an excellent condition Nikon F2 for my collection. I found for what I wanted I'd have to shell out about $400. I winced and did a bit of surfing. I also wanted an extra back for my Kardan, so I began looking for that, too. Well, I saw a nice Linhof 45S on auction with the back I wanted for a starting bid of $119. I put in a stink bid, and got it - I was the only bidder. A back alone would have cost me double. Then I did the same thing with a Toyo D. $50 bucks. Got it. Then a Linhof Color Kardan came up with brand new bellows. Mine are well taped, so I bid on this machine ($230 inc a Nikkor-W 180mm F5.6) and again, was the only bidder.

So I decided to add 4x5 monorails to my collection because they are going for a very low price. I guess there's a lot of old pros retiring now because everything I've got, including lenses, have been of very fine quality and very cheap.

Part 3:

I'm having a blast and taking a lot of pictures, too. So far, I've got a Calumet, a Burk&James Orbit, the Toyo D, two Linhof Color Kardans, a Linhof 45S, a Horseman L45, a Burke&James 5x7 Grover, a Sinar F2 (almost mint - $275!!! - with a case! Again, I was the only bidder.) which will become an indoor table topper, and a bunch of fine lenses.

I'd like to get a midrange to upper range model from every major manufacturer. Unfortunately, I have yet to get a Toyo GX or Robos. I've bid on 2 but lost those. Interesting because that's the camera I really want. I also need an Arca Swiss and I want an 8x10 so I'll be looking for a Cambo Master because I don't have a Cambo. I'm puzzled, though, why the GX or Robos go higher than most other cameras, including Sinar F or F1s. Makes me want one all the more.

I'm a retired symphony violinist, and I sold one of my 3 violins (a student model I used for outdoor concerts) to finance this insanity. But to be quite honest, I've spent less money on the 4x5s this year than I spent on 35mm cameras last year. It's nuts. And my living room is litter with monorails!

Which ones do I like the best? I really like using the Burke&James Orbit for portraits. I still use my original Linhof Color Kardan for most field work. It's the lightest. I really like the Toyo 45D. Don't know why but it just feels good to operate. But they're all great.

So the madness continues!! To be continued . . . . .



PS - my original Kardan:

[Jac@stafford.net]

So the madness continues!! To be continued . . . . .

PS - my original Kardan:

Was it really called a Kardan when introduced?

[LabRat]

Better watch it... Looks like someone is having a GAS attack...

There's no 12 step program here, until you gasp "Rosebud"!!!!!

Have fun, though!!! Kool stuff!!!

Steve K

[Dan Fromm]

Um, er, ah, fat fiddler, y'r "original Kardan" is a Linhof Color, also known as a Technika on a rail. Many years ago when I was thinking about moving from 35 mm to 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 I came across a 2x3 Color at a camera show and hefted it. Heavy, tall (distance from bottom of tripod mounting block to the optical axis), as intimidating as could be.

[Jim Jones]

Moltogordo -- You're off to a good start. Now move up to 8x10!

[moltogordo]

Um, er, ah, fat fiddler, y'r "original Kardan" is a Linhof Color, also known as a Technika on a rail. Many years ago when I was thinking about moving from 35 mm to 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 I came across a 2x3 Color at a camera show and hefted it. Heavy, tall (distance from bottom of tripod mounting block to the optical axis), as intimidating as could be.

Thanks for the replies, guys.

Technika on a rail - I like that!

Jac, whether it was called a Kardan when introduced, I don't know, but the instruction manual says "Linhof Color Kardan" so that's what I've called it. But now, I think a "Linhof Color" is what I'll change over to.

The only thing I have that's actually smaller is the 45S (S45?) Linhof, but it doesn't have a rotating back or as many places to grab when hauling it out of the car. I guess I don't find it intimidating because it was the only 4x5 I had for the past 8 years, and I know it operationally. The camera I have that I find intimidating and heavy is the Horseman. It is also one beautiful piece of machinery.

All the other forums I belong to know my history, so I might as well fill you all in on the "moltogordo" thing. Yup. I played a violin, and now teach and conduct an orchestra for a living. I was also not so "molto" for the first 3/5ths of my life - I was a prospect as a soccer and football player in university, but music at a high level won out. Throughout my music career, I kept up with heavy lifting in the weight room, and also participated in martial arts to the bb level and played recreational basketball.

When I hit the age of 47, my knees crashed, and my back deteriorated too. So I became molto. My real name is Gordon Lucas, so I became moltogordo online. As I'm a fairly well known in the classical music world, it's not difficult to get hold of me online, so everybody knows my name. As my Mom was a professional chef, I developed a good appetite and am a pretty fair hand with my Sabatier in my fist and a stove in front of me as well. The rest is easy to figure out, eh?

[moltogordo]

Moltogordo -- You're off to a good start. Now move up to 8x10!

Planning to. Summer is no makey money time for musicians and music teachers, so for the next 2 1/2 months I have to learn to use what I have. But I have a line on an 8x10 Cambo Master, which I hope to get in the fall. I have 4 8x10 film holders (I DON'T remember where I got them from), but a big fella is in the cards.

I also want, as stated above, a Robos or GX, and an Arca Swiss as well, so those are the main targets for next year . . . they're all higher price items than I've been playing with so far.

But when you can get a Sinar F2 for less money than a used Nikon F2, the world has gone total crazy.

[Jac@stafford.net]

All the other forums I belong to know my history, so I might as well fill you all in on the "moltogordo" thing. Yup. I played a violin, and now teach and conduct an orchestra for a living. [...] My real name is Gordon Lucas [...]

Welcome, Gordon.

I'm hoping to see a Deardorff 8x10 and Linhof Super Technika on your list eventually.

An amusing aside - decades ago I was installing a good 'hi-fi' in my house and asked my friend, Peter Druian, to help me tune it. He turned on the FM receiver and dialed until he he heard music he could use. "Ah, good", he said, "piano and violin... Hey, that's my old man playing!" You know.

[moltogordo]

Welcome, Gordon.

I'm hoping to see a Deardorff 8x10 and Linhof Super Technika on your list eventually.

An amusing aside - decades ago I was installing a good 'hi-fi' in my house and asked my friend, Peter Druian, to help me tune it. He turned on the FM receiver and dialed until he he heard music he could use. "Ah, good", he said, "piano and violin... Hey, that's my old man playing!" You know.

Rafael Druian was concertmaster of several big orchestras, including the New Philharmonia in England, if memory serves me correctly. He was one of the world's great concertmasters and chamber players. I first heard him doing Ralph Vaughan Williams "The Lark Ascending" on a BBC Prom aired by CBC in Vancouver when I was a boy. It was sensational.

Was he also not in Cleveland and 1st violinist of one of the well known string quartets? Correct me if I'm wrong. Did Peter play anything?

[moltogordo]

Well, it looks like the Toyo GX is taken care of! That will give me all next year to play around with getting an 8x10 Cambo and an Arca Swiss. Thanks to Mike on the forum, and a bit of magic plastic.