Is Bender the only 4x5 kit out there?

[Garrett Lee]

Hello.

I have decided to take the plunge and supplement my Canon Elan with an LF camera. I've decided to get a 4x5, since I have an Omega D-series enlarger and that's the most it will take. Seeing as I have some skill with carpentry and love to work with my hands, I would like to build it myself. The amount of time and tools needed for assembly is irrelevant (assuming I don't need access to a 5-axis CNC milling machine, a TIG welder, and a vertical bandsaw; if I need that, I'll put the camera on hold for a while). I have seen the Bender 4x5 and read a lot of reviews, nearly all positive, so I think I will get it, but does anyone know of any other kits out there? I don't want to be having a case of buyer's remorse because I see another one ten minutes after I place the order.

(Just for information's sake, one reason I'm going with LF is that windows and frames seem to feature prominently whenever I go out and burn up a roll of 35mm on whatever catches my eye, and I would love to be able to keep the lines straight rather than converging in my shots. Another reason is the fact that I can get my parents to help me with the cost of the camera this year, but after I move to college in the fall, no luck. I'd rather foot the bill for a MF than for an LF camera, lens, other accesories, and all the tools my parents have that I would be using to build it.)

Garrett Lee

[John_4185]

I have built a couple 4x5 Benders.

I will keep this short - while it is a pretty camera, and Jay Bender does a downright remarkable job of selecting and accurately cutting every piece, it ain't a field camera. The most agravating nuisance is that the movements do not lock down adequately, however they can be made to do so by gluing some wet/dry sandpaper on an opposed sliding part. But that's not a good long-term solution. It is also a very fragile camera. Anf finally, for what he's selling them for, you can buy a better used 4x5 body today.

You don't need any more tools than Jay suggests, which I think was just some sandpaper, a flat piece of glass and breadboard, straight-edge, a couple clamps and a little screwdriver. Oh, people go out and buy all kinds of jigs but that is because they can't bear to read the friggin directions and actually follow them - the instructions work and are a rather good study ingenius, economic thinking.

But it ain't a real camera.

[eric mac]

There are quite a few diy webpages for Large format cameras. Quite honestly, you can probably but a used graflex or something for the money you spend on materials. However, it is the challenge and pride of workmanship that drives most of us to try to build our own. Here is a link to whet your appetite.

http://www.cyberbeach.net/~dbardell/index.html

There are a couple more sites that have home brew cameras. Do the usual search and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Eric

PS Contact me off site and I'll send you a copy of the Aletta plans. (another saga in itself.)

[Bill_1856]

When you print your 35mm negatives, an off-square perspective can be easily corrected by tilting your easel on the enlarer (or Photoshop if you're scanning and printing digitally). You don't need a 4x5 to do that. Or you could get a nice Perspective Control lens for your Canon and do it when you make the picture.

[Christopher Nisperos]

The English company, Camera Bellows, has a great looking kit-camera due out at any moment. I haven't used it yet, but I saw a prototype at Photokina 2004 (Garrett, that's the biennial international photo equipment convention), and I mentioned it in this forum in a "Photokina report" while the show was still going on (the other 'scoop' was the Schneider Fine Art lenses)..

The assembled product looked very good, with an excellent "finish quality". It may be worth waiting to see, before you make a final decision. I don't know who will be distributing this camera in the U.S., but check with your local camera dealer for Lee filters, as they are the parent company for Camera Bellows. They weren't sure about the selling price at the time, but they were knocking around a figure of "about $200. to $250." . But don't hold me (or them) to it!

Hope this helps you find an affordable solution.

[fred arnold]

I built a bender 4x5 a few years back, and would say that it's a real camera, but it's not a fancy, modern, camera. With mine I have two issues: (1) the springs on the back needed to be tightened so that I could reliably use an old Calumet C2 roll-film back in vertical orientation, and (2) it's a monorail, which is less than convenient in the field. I've since supplemented it with a 4x5 tailboard Burke and James, which is rigid and compact when folded for travel.


With a short rail, simple modification of the front standard, and a bag bellows, it makes a nice field camera for use with a wide-angle lens. I also have a number of pictures that I'm very pleased with, shot with a 203 mm lens out on hikes. It is certainly a capable piece of equipment, and it's very light, as well as a lot of fun to build. I had an amusing encounter once with another tourist who'd hiked a couple of miles with an RZ-67, where we compared relative bulk and weight. The Bender comes off rather well in that kind of competition.


One of these days, I'll get around to copying the B&J's bed design, swap out the rail, and start using the Bender while hiking again. You'll have to decide whether you enjoy woodworking as much as you do photography.


On the other hand, LF cameras are fairly inexpensive now, and someone like KEH, MPEX, or Badger, can probably set you up with a used camera pre-assembled for about the same money.

[John_4185]

bill Or you could get a nice Perspective Control lens for your Canon

Not the same thing. See the camera above. Sad, isn't it?

[Bill_1856]

I have a very useful 35mm P.C. Nikkor with adapter which works well on my Canon Elan.

[steve simmons]

I have always said if you want to build a kit get a Bender but if you want a camera get a camera. The Bender is a crude monorail that i would not recommend as a using camera.

If you want to get into large format may I suggest one of these books

Large Format Nature Photography by Jack Dykinga

Using the View Camera that i wrote a few years ago

User's Guide to the View Camera by Jim Stone

also, there are several articles on the view camera web site that will be helpful to you

www.viewcamera.com

and then go to the Free Articles section

good luck

steve simmons

[Brian Ellis]

I've never used a Bender but I have a friend who used one for several years. He made some excellent photographs with it. Nevertheless, as others have said, it's the most basic and crude of all LF cameras. If you have woodworking experience and enjoy that kind of thing I think you'd be better served by buying a different camera that's not in the best of condition and spending your time fixing it up rather than building a Bender.

If the city where you live has a decent library see if they have a book on LF photography. My local library has two and I don't live in a huge city. There aren't that many LF books still in publication and they're all pretty good so there's no need to spend money on one right off the bat if you can check one out for free. But if you do want to buy a book I'd recommend "View Camera Technique" by Leslie Stroebel. I think of it as the bible of LF photography and it's a valuable reference that will continue to be useful long after you've mastered the basics. With respect to web sites, IMHO this is by far the best. The LF forum in photo.net is o.k. but it's a commercial venture and the pop-up ads have become very annoying lately. APUG is another non-commercial web site that's good if you aren't interested in digital.