Toyo field cameras are excellent. My AX has been my main 4x5 camera for 20 years. The limits come if you want us use wider lenses than about 90mm, especially if you also need extensive movements, as you might with some architecture.
Toyo field cameras are excellent. My AX has been my main 4x5 camera for 20 years. The limits come if you want us use wider lenses than about 90mm, especially if you also need extensive movements, as you might with some architecture.
“You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know
i'm kind of in the same boat! want to get into 4x5 when the quarantine is over, been shooting and developing my own 120 for a while and want to take a step into LF.
Mostly looking to shoot interiors, portraits, and occasional landscape. via recommendations i've been looking into busch pressman and crown graphics but all ebay sellers are estate sellers and can't say if the gear works or not.. seeing a lot of faulty shutters on lenses -- guess it's a waiting game or taking a risk.
Last edited by kekkafuza; 16-Apr-2020 at 17:03.
Don't forget you're going to want a sturdy tripod (and possibly head) to go along with that fancy new camera and lens.
You may already have one that will serve you well to begin with. One clever suggestion I was given was to get a nice big umbrella too, in order to block the wind from moving the camera on windy days.
I think you can count on one hand the number of people here using something other than Gitzo (myself being one of those few), but really anything stable and light enough to carry should be fine, at least for starters.
Hi Kumar,
I do know that there are monorails that are more portable than a full-size Sinar F or the Calumet/Graphic View cameras that have been recommended. It's just that those are likely not in the OP's budget and I didn't consider mentioning them.
So, it's good you bring this up. Nevertheless, a six-inch rail limits one to fairly short lenses...
Maybe an Arca Swiss would do the job for him; mine packs up really small and it was cheap too.
Best,
Doremus
I typically sell the Toyo D45M for ~25,000 JPY, and I've seen the equally compact older Oschwald Arca cameras for ~300 USD. So yes, portable monorails are out there. One just has to search for them!
The 6" rail on the Toyo is ideal for packing. The regular rail is 14" and can be screwed on to it in less than a minute...
Kumar
Kumar, what does a D45M weigh? I'd guess at least a couple of pounds more than a 45A, which in turn is quite a bit heavier than most compact wooden field cameras.
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