Justify the acquiring of a new Linhof Technika?

[Mark Sampson]

+1 to Mr. Ingolfsson's, and Mr.Pitman's, comments. My dream 4x5 happens to be a Linhof Technikardan 45S but new or used, not in the budget now or maybe ever.
So I'll urge you to live the dream- and to quote Alexander Calder; "fine tools contribute to fine work".

[dasBlute]

buy one used, travel and stay in awesome places [and take great pictures!] with the leftover funds

I'm a guitarist, and like camera's two things stand out:
- severely diminishing returns at the higher end
- ultimately, the guitar does not play itself

[Corran]

The resulting system would be easily backpackable for day hikes.

No way no how would I recommend a Technika solely for hiking/backpacking. I have/use a Master Technika...bought second-hand for 1/6 the "new" price but in "new" condition, or better than new as it had new, better bellows.

The Master Technika is 6.5 pounds according to the specs online (I haven't weighed mine specifically but that sounds right). My Chamonix 45n1 is less than half that. My 8x10 camera is even a bit lighter! And for all that weight, what do you get? Slightly more precise movements, a lot of headache using wide-angles, and a rangefinder that you probably won't use.

Let me reiterate - the Tech is a pain to use with wideangles, 90mm and lower, especially in situations where you want to use GND filters. With my 90mm, after dropping the bed, my 4x6" GND filters bottom-out on the bed of the camera. So I can only have the filter go so low. Quite annoying. Of course you can work around some of this, but nevertheless if you, say, already had invested in that system, you've got to shell out for a whole new system to fit the camera. Oh, and if you want to use wider lenses, you'll have to spend mega-bucks to get the helicals and special lens boards. I finally gave up on trying to use my 47mm XL / 58mm XL lenses on my Technika.

The Chamonix does everything I need it to do, and the loss of precision in the movements is inconsequential for landscape. My only gripe is there isn't a focus lock. But I also have the first model and it's been beat to hell hiking hundreds of miles with me, over my shoulder, knocking around my bag, or whacking into trees. Any of the variety of wooden cameras I would suggest over the Technika any day of the week. What the Technika excels at is shooting handheld, shooting studio work, and using big / heavy lenses. I still use mine on occasion for landscapes when I am not going far and want to use some specialty lens, like my 75mm Biogon. But it is not a "general purpose" camera and every time I take it out on a hike for more than a couple miles I regret it.

[Daniel Casper Lohenstein]

Looking for forum members who own and use relatively new Technikas. How did they justify acquiring them? Honestly, were they worth acquiring in the end?

Hi,

IMHO spending 10000 $ for a new camera is not justifiable. - Of course, Technikas deliver very high quality (given a costly overhaul on a regular basis). But this is exactly the reason why your prints will show no difference between a new Technika and a Technika that is 50 years old.

I'd rather buy a reasonable recreational vehicle to travel around and take photographs in Greenland, Argentina, New Zealand, Nouvelle Calédonie, Russia, Bolivia ... - while the others don't even dare to take their holy grails out of their vitrines.

If it should be a new camera, I'd prefer a Chamonix or a Shen Hao. They're versatile, especially with wide angles.

You also can engage a young and innocent darkroom assistant for collecting your mail orders at the post office, finishing your prints and cleaning the darkroom.

You could - at last - buy those superduper Halbe picture frames, https://www.halbe-rahmen.de/en/, they're made to last, and they open the door to every gallery.

BTW: is your darkroom really light tight? Your prints are as good as the weakest link in your quality chain, no matter how strong the strongest link may be.

Regards

[EdSawyer]

Agreed that there is no possible way a new technika is worth anywhere near that kind of money, when as-new examples exist on ebay and elsewhere for 1/6 - 1/10 the price. it being "New" really doesn't get you anything in this case except an extreme amount of depreciation.

[John Kasaian]

A Technika is way beyond my means, but if I were buying a used one, I'd want one new enough that Linhof would still support it with parts.

[Jim Jones]

One can spend more on a diamond than on a complete Technika outfit, and what can they create with a diamond? When someone can afford luxury, it might as well be a decent camera. 66 years ago my first new Leica cost over a month's salary, but it was worth it to me then. Now I do much better with well-used cheaper equipment.

[Bob Salomon]

No way no how would I recommend a Technika solely for hiking/backpacking. I have/use a Master Technika...bought second-hand for 1/6 the "new" price but in "new" condition, or better than new as it had new, better bellows.

The Master Technika is 6.5 pounds according to the specs online (I haven't weighed mine specifically but that sounds right). My Chamonix 45n1 is less than half that. My 8x10 camera is even a bit lighter! And for all that weight, what do you get? Slightly more precise movements, a lot of headache using wide-angles, and a rangefinder that you probably won't use.

Let me reiterate - the Tech is a pain to use with wideangles, 90mm and lower, especially in situations where you want to use GND filters. With my 90mm, after dropping the bed, my 4x6" GND filters bottom-out on the bed of the camera. So I can only have the filter go so low. Quite annoying. Of course you can work around some of this, but nevertheless if you, say, already had invested in that system, you've got to shell out for a whole new system to fit the camera. Oh, and if you want to use wider lenses, you'll have to spend mega-bucks to get the helicals and special lens boards. I finally gave up on trying to use my 47mm XL / 58mm XL lenses on my Technika.

The Chamonix does everything I need it to do, and the loss of precision in the movements is inconsequential for landscape. My only gripe is there isn't a focus lock. But I also have the first model and it's been beat to hell hiking hundreds of miles with me, over my shoulder, knocking around my bag, or whacking into trees. Any of the variety of wooden cameras I would suggest over the Technika any day of the week. What the Technika excels at is shooting handheld, shooting studio work, and using big / heavy lenses. I still use mine on occasion for landscapes when I am not going far and want to use some specialty lens, like my 75mm Biogon. But it is not a "general purpose" camera and every time I take it out on a hike for more than a couple miles I regret it.

The 3000 has a built in wide angle focusing system so no need for helical mounts. It’s drop bed goes down to 90°.

The older 2000 also has a built in wide angle focusing system so it to doesn’t require a helical.

Neither the 2000 or 3000 has a rangefinder. The 2000 is what a John Sexton uses.

[Bernice Loui]

Get the camera that appeals to you regardless of other's opinions and experiences. With that said and have been a Linhof MT previous owner (4x5 MT, and 5x7 Technika) , would not own a MT and that Linhof system again. Too limiting and there are better cameras for less $. Much like Graphic Press cameras, they are... nicer made with high precision press cameras which does not alter the fact they remain press cameras in many ways.



Bernice

[Eric Rose]

I had one for about 6 years. It drove me nuts! I thought I needed something practically bullet proof, which it is, something well engineered, which it is and maybe something with a little status, which it has. But in the end I found it to be a well made boat anchor. I went back to using a monorail and a wooden field camera.