How come no Master Technika wallpaper?

[John Cook]

I firmly believe two things about camera sales in general and LF camera sales in particular.

First, none is available for hands-on inspection at your neighborhood camera shop (unless you live in Manhattan). Nearly all are purchased from pictures (mostly seen on-line).

Second, most cameras are sold to amateurs, whose purchasing decision is largely influenced by the beauty of the product. How many have purchased the ebony Ebony rather than the mahogany Ebony because of the color of the finish? How many have spent the extra zillion dollars for a Master Technika over a Horseman because it is prettier?

Given these two facts, would it not seem worthwhile for camera makers to bombard photographers (connoisseurs of fine photographic images) with absolutely gorgeous, massively-large, tack-sharp wallpaper images of their products? Should not every photographer’s computer be graced with a desktop background of the mahogany, brass and black leather-covered treasure of his dreams?

From Leica to Rolleiflex to Nikon to Ebony, I see no such images. I was just browsing the HP site, and their representations of Linhof cameras could each fit on a postage stamp. Same with Toyo View and all the others.

Come on guys! Let’s get with the program!

[Bob Salomon]

John,

You can see Linhof in places other then Manhatten. Dealers in Seattle, Billingham, LA, San Francisco Bay area, Columbus, Atlanta, Monterey, San Diego/Riverside all have cameras in stock.

As for the web, we are happy to mail you a CD with high res images on it if you are in the USA. All you need to do is ask for one.

[Ole Tjugen]

That's why I have some pictures of some of my own cameras on www.bruraholo.no/Cameras. I like my Gandolfi

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

John,

You'd be surprised just how hard it can be to get decent product photos from some large format camera makers. I always request product photos from the manufacturers when I write an article. In many cases, I get nothing. In other cases I get something totally unusable and downright embarassing (like a low res scan of an old, out-of-focus, faded, scratched up Polaroid). It amazes me that some camera makers can't be bothered to supply a simple photo that shows off the beauty of their products. I often end up taking my own photos (which while not "beautiful" are at least usable) for the articles I write.

On the other hand, some manufacturers are VERY generous with providing information and high res photos of their products. Ironically, ARCA-SWISS often gets bashed for not having a web site, but they've always been willing to send me quality, high res photos of their products on request. They also provided many megabytes of scans from old brochures dating back to the 1950s for an article I wrote a couple years ago on the history of ARCA-SWISS cameras. If ARCA-SWISS ever gets around to puting up a web site, it should be a good one as they already have plenty of digitized content.

With more and more people having broadband internet connections, it would be great if some of the manufacturers would post high res product photos online, including shots from various angles and close-ups of camera details, for potential buyers to download. As you mention, the majority of potential buyers don't live near a dealer that has ANY large format cameras in stock, let alone of variety of brands and models to compare side-by-side. This is a great opportunity for one of the online sellers. If they could create a virtual showroom with detailed, high res photos of all the LF cameras they sell, I'm sure it would increase their sales - and also the percentage of satisfied buyers.

In lieu of that, the BEST option I have found is to attend the annual View Camera Large Format Conference trade show. Sorry if that sounded like a commercial plug, but the trade show portion of the show is totally free and open to anyone who wants to show up and walk through the door (no registration required). With many LF camera manufacturers and several major dealers present, it really is a great chance to get your hands on several different cameras in one place. I personally consider it a highlight of the conference - and also a great place to just chat with old friends and make a few new ones, too.

Alas, the conference is "only" once a year and not everyone can attend. So, I still like the idea of an online virtual showroom - perhaps something that contains low, medium and high res product photos for users with varios bandwidth limitations.

Kerry

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

You can see Linhof in places other then Manhatten. Dealers in Seattle, Billingham, LA, San Francisco Bay area, Columbus, Atlanta, Monterey, San Diego/Riverside all have cameras in stock.

The problem is, how many of those same dealers also have other brands of LF cameras in stock. Suppose I was considering the following four cameras: Linhof Technikardan TK45S, ARCA-SWISS F-Line Field, Canham DLC and Layton L45A. This is a realistic scenario as these are all metal 4x5 cameras designed for field use. They are all capable of handling lenses from ultra wide to very long and in the same general price range (not cheap). Is their a single dealer in the world that has all four of those cameras in stock today? Even if there is, I'd be willing to wager that dealer isn't within reasonable driving distance of my front door. Given the niche market that is large format, it's perhaps unreasonable for me to be able to drive down to my local camera shop and see all four of these cameras (or even one of them) sitting on the shelves.

Which is exactly the point - online high res product photos that are available to anyone, anywhere in the world 24 hours a day, 365 days a year would be a GREAT resource for potential buyers and a great marketing/sales tool for manufacturers/distributors/dealers. The time has come. The technology exists. Online storage space is cheap, bandwidth is cheap, millions of households around the world already have broadband internet service and thousands more are getting it every day. Let's see some of those high res photos online. You already have them scanned on a CD, why not post them online? Think of the postage and time you'd save. In our society of instant gratification, many people don't want to be troubled sending an email and waiting for something to come in the mail. They want their information and they want it NOW!

Kerry

[Richard Schlesinger]

Bob, I would dearly love to know where in San Diego I can see Linhof or much else. Calumet has a store in Escondido - not San Diego, and that's about it. What about an association of manufacturers and/or distributors putting together a site with really good pictures and info on LF stuff. B&H puts out big, heavy catalogs of a lot - but not just LF. Maybe we (LF users) would even pay a small fee for access.

[QT Luong]

Well, if any manufacturer sends me those files, I will post them on the LFphoto.info site. After a few start doing that, maybe their competitors would feel compelled to follow ? Any takers ?

[Bob Salomon]

" would dearly love to know where in San Diego I can see Linhof or much else. "

A new store is about to open. They have already ordered a Technika 2000 for the opening.

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

[/i]Well, if any manufacturer sends me those files, I will post them on the LFphoto.info site.[/i]

Tuan,

I was going to suggest your site as a repository for high res images of LF cameras, but I have no idea how this would impact your bandwidth/cost. If you are willing, I have a lot of images on my local hard drive from the articles I've written. In some cases, I'll have to check with the manufacturers for permission as they hold the copyright on many of the images. I can't imagine anyone would object. They originally provided them to me for possible magazine publication, but I'd just want to check before putting them online.

Kerry

[Jim Rhoades]

Damn John; You mean my rubber coated Horseman's not pretty? At almost half the weight of a Linhof it looks fine to me.