Recommendations on a good first 4x5 camera

[fishbulb]

I started with a Sinar F monorail. Then I bought a Nagaoka (japanese wood folding 4x5). I use the Nagaoka for 90% of my 4x5 photos. A wooden folding field 4x5 is really the best "all arounder" for most people - lightweight, small size, functional, flexible. Most work great with lenses from 75 to 300mm, or say 90 to 210mm if you want movements at each end.

The Sinar is a pleasure to use, for sure. But what I didn't understand when starting large format is that a little movement goes a long way. You'll see these pictures of monorails with snake-like movements set up - but no one uses that in real life. The Sinar has way more movements than the Nagaoka but I never used them! And it weighs 3x as much as the Nagaoka and takes up 5x as much space. So, it stays at home where I use it for portraits.

Like others have said, once you're much wider than 75mm you won't have a big enough image circle for significant movements. And, the lens will be so close to the ground glass that even if you had the image circle, you can't move the bellows or standards, even with a bag bellows. A recessed lens board will give you a little more flexibility if the standards or bellows are causing the issue.

A bag bellows is most useful for lenses in the 75 to 125mm range. Much wider, and you run out of image circle or the standards hit each other too much for movements. Much longer, and you might as well just use a normal bellows.

So, if you plan on mostly shooting with a 75mm and 90mm with bag bellows, and are SURE you need the extra movements, then a monorail is probably right for you. The lightest-weight and most compact monorail I have ever found is a Sinar A (a.k.a. Sinar Alpina). They have a different rail than the F with a much smaller and lighter rail clamp. They usually came in a lightweight plastic carrying case, as shown in this image. There is one on eBay right now for $280, with a bag bellows, no case. They are fairly hard to come by but are good cameras and are fully compatible with the Sinar system (except the rails which are exclusive to A/alpina models). They also don't have the primary weakness of the F/F1/F+ which is the front standard clamp (fixed on the F2).

But if you want the most portable all-arounder, get a folding wood field camera. Tachihara, Ikeda Anbo, Nagaoka, Hasemi, Toko are some of the many Japanese brands. Good cameras, lightweight. Like a lot of 4x5's the early ones tended to have fewer movements than the later ones. Take a look at the standards and see what you are getting. For example, this Nagaoka has front swing, while this older model does not. Note the difference in knobs on the front standard. Likewise, this model has a fixed rear standard, unlike the other two.

Wista, Zone VI, Wisner, are very good as well. Shen Hao and Chamonix are new Chinese-made. And Ebony for new Japanese-made. And rarely, you will see a Deardorff 4x5 a.k.a. Deardorff Special.

[Peter De Smidt]

A Toho FC45x is way lighter and more compact than a Sinar A1 (Alpina). The A1 is a good camera, but the rail is bulky to pack. It's a better camera, imo, than an F.

[fishbulb]

Oh interesting, haven't run into that one. It looks pretty neat though, cool rail: http://www.thalmann.com/largeformat/toho.htm

[Peter De Smidt]

I owned one for a few years. It can't be beat for multi-day backpacking. That said, it's not as easy to use as a regular monorail. It's quite fiddly. I don't recommend it as a first LF camera, unless the main goal is light weight.

[Ari]

The camera you can afford is the best place to start, keep in mind the cost of film and accessories, too, when budgeting.
There's also no better way to find out what you want/need in a 4x5 camera than by using a 4x5 camera (any one will do), and playing with it.

[Kyle M.]

I started my foray into large format with a pacemaker crown graphic and a Schneider Xenar 135mm F=4.7 lens. I was lucky enough to find a near mint one with a warranty on ebay. The lens is calibrated to the rangefinder so I can shoot it hand held if I feel the need. But I've only actually done that twice, with great results by the way. Yes it is lacking in movements but thats fine for my shooting style, the lens also doesn't have much coverage for movements. For what I paid for it ($400) you could get a nice monorail, lens, and holders. But for what I do the Crown Graphic suits me. I later acquired an Arca Swiss monorail and hardly use it, it's light for a monorail but it's just too awkward to take into the field if I'm going very far from the car. I find that the Crown Graphic is by far and away. It all depends on what you want to do with the camera. Also LF can be addictive at this point I have three 4x5 cameras with a fourth on the way in the mail and five lenses with a sixth on the way and I've only been shooting LF since late November.

[Len Middleton]

Sorry I cannot see your location (Tapatalk, or not posted?), however you do indicate CAD in your pricing, so welcome to another Canadian here, as there are a few of us.

If you have never done LF photography, you might want to try to arrange an outing with someone else doing LF work. That way you can get a feel for it, have someone to ask questions and get advice, even though they are likely extremely opinionated. Besides another LF photographer is likely happy to have someone to talk to about one of their favourite pastimes and providing services as a Sherpa are generally welcomed...

Might help you make a better first decision on what LF camera to get. I say first decision, as while my first LF camera (Technika IV) was generally a good decision, it had a limitation that I resolved with later purchases (Karden monorail to supplement then Technika V to replace it). If you buy used, making changes are less painful.

Hopefully that helps,

Len


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[B.S.Kumar]

LF is a completely different ball game compared to 35mm and/or medium format, and your past experience will not have prepared you for the many things that need to be done before the first click of the shutter. Even viewing the image on the ground glass will take some practice. Len makes a good suggestion, and it would give you a feel for LF before buying an expensive camera, lens and associated paraphernalia.
Field vs. monorail - there are compelling reasons for both. And many of us have several cameras of both types

Kumar

[mangobar]

Thank you everyone for all the replies, reading what many of you are saying im starting to lean towards a field camera though the Sinar A and Toho FC45x also look like good choices of the field cameras i am looking at the Shen Hao HZX45-IIA, Nagaoka, Tachihara, and Anba Ikeda. Much of my decision will be based on what i can find for a decent price used as i am not rich and don't want to be spending money if i don't have to. Other than the cameras listed what might some other ones be to keep an eye out for and do any of those cameras have major drawbacks such as hard to find lens boards or stuff like that which may not be totally apparent at first.

[seezee]

I can tell you 1 of the things I like about my Wista is that it takes Linhof-Technika lens boards. They are plentiful, and the Chinese clones are cheap on the big auction site. I imagine some of the other brands you are looking at also use these boards, but I haven't done any research so I can't speak to that.