I'm a young person looking at immersing myself in large format photography. I have years of experience with 35mm and 6x6, and now I'm looking to take my passion further.Took a few books out of the university library. Over the past two months a pile of notes has accumulated from my readings on view cameras. The only caveat is that I work minimum wage (albeit with tremendous savings), and I've got some budget concerns.

I'd really like to get a hefty 8x10, which would probably clear out my savings. Perhaps it would feel well worth it, though. I've considered a 4x5, but my worry there is that by the time I decide I want to try out another camera, I might not be able to get enough resale value out of it to recoup enough cash to upgrade. This is complicated by the fact that many of the brands and models detailed in the books I've read no longer exist. The used equipment remaining from before is then contrasted against modern equipment, like Chamonix or Calumet, which I have absolutely no knowledge of. So where ought I begin? Considering the tenuous future of film negative production, would this be a poor investment?