What type of camera and lens do I need for wetplate? That used to be the first question a newcomer asked. And interestingly, the answers have changed somewhat since 2006 when I started.

Back then, there was a strong "history" contingent, and re-enactors at battlefields. So having an authentic camera was important. What people learned on then were:
Medium sized tailboard cameras, by Anthony, Scovill, Blair, and sometimes Rochester. Usually about 5x8 sized plates, many were originally dryplate cameras. Work well adapted with a holder. Their lenses are often slow, landscape types like Waterbury or Morrisons. Work well for landscapes, you need a faster lens for portraits. There were thousands of these made in the 1870s-1890s, and they're cheap.

Then there was a "esoteric art" group:
They wanted beautiful, custom made cameras and dark boxes made of expensive hardwoods. Star Camera and Black Arts made nice replicas of the above, and you could sometimes get special woods. Very expensive though, compared to using an original antique.

And then there were the "Huge plate, fast lens" group:
These people wanted to amaze the beholder with a large plate, 8x10 or larger, usually of just a head shot. Often a beautiful girl, sometimes wearing a gas mask. Cameras here become somewhat less portable. You can't get a small field camera with a large enough lens board to hold a fast petzval that will cover. So swirl became part of the picture. Literally. Anthony and Scovill studio cameras from the 1800s, then Century and Eastman studios from the early 1900s-1940s work great. They have a 9" lensboard usually, and you can fit your F3.1 16" Voigtlander petzval on it. Studio cameras were also common, and should be fairly cheap, a few hundred dollars.

Middle ground group:
These wanted medium sized cameras with some movements and moderate sized lenses. The Kodak 2D or 2 work nicely, in 8x10 or 5x7. Also Burke and James. Usually pretty cheap. Rochester made some nice cameras, but again, their lensboards are small, usally 4.5" or so.

In the past 5 years, it's changed. Many young photographers and do it your self people want to shoot wetplate, cheap. They don't want mahogany and brass. They want to shoot plates.

Small and cheap group: Speed graphics work well for wetplate, but the same difficulty exists of getting a petzval that will cover 4x5 onto a 4" board. It can be done, but you'll need a slower petzval. F5 would be great....like a Dallmeyer 2D or 3D.

Huge and modern group: These people want to shoot mammoth plates. They don't care what the lens or camera is. A box, a packing crate, a U-haul trailer all can be used. You can make a wetplate camera out of a pumpkin. Be creative and try just about anything.

That's all for now. Lenses next.