Thoughts on 5x7 Linhof Technika invited

[Bob Salomon]

I thought I'd add some more accurate information for anyone who might look at this later doing a search on Technika 5x7s.
The post war Technika 5x7 do indeed weigh about 12 lbs. The model lll & lV do not have direct forward tilt on the front standard. You could get forward tilt by dropping the bed or by using the moves found in the rear of the camera. You had to go to the V or Master - whatever they called the last model to get direct forward tilt.
The prewar 5x7 Technika ll weighs about 6 1/2 lbs. Have about the same moves as the post war Tech lll & lV and use a different lens board then the later models.
Someone above wrote that these older preWar models could not be changed from the 13x18cm European style holders to the more modern international double style 5x7 holders - this is not correct. The flat design of the back of the older prewar cameras presents an ideal surface to which one can adapt a modern back such as a Kodak, Burke & James, Graflex etc. I have seen it done a couple of times. In fact at the time, Linhof offered the option of a 5x7 camera with a Kodak back instead of the European one.

Per Linhof, the 5x7 Technika III weighed 10.5 lbs as was the IIIE version, the V (as I noted earlier, there never was a Master in any size other then the 4x5, weighed 12 lbs with rangefinder and 11.75 lbs without.

[rknewcomb]

[QUOTE=Bob Salomon - HP Marketing;577756]Per Linhof, the 5x7 Technika III weighed 10.5 lbs as was the IIIE version, the V (as I noted earlier, there never was a Master in any size other then the 4x5, weighed 12 lbs with rangefinder and 11.75 lbs without.

Bob,
The 1937 Linhof catalog lists the 13x18cm Technika as weighing 6 lbs 5 ozs. This is the technika with the movements on the rear, not the precision camera without movements. It is called a Technika ll in the catalog.
I have one in my possession and my scale shows it to be right at 6.5 pounds.
Robert N.

[Frank Petronio]

You could always take a 5x7 Tech and drill lightening holes, shorten the bellows, remove the rear movements ;-)

[Robert Hughes]

Heh. Reminds me of those olde-tyme bicycle racers that would drill out their bikes to lighten them: cranks, seat tubes, brake levers... just one more ounce, c'mon baby...

[Bob Salomon]

[QUOTE=rknewcomb;577760]

Per Linhof, the 5x7 Technika III weighed 10.5 lbs as was the IIIE version, the V (as I noted earlier, there never was a Master in any size other then the 4x5, weighed 12 lbs with rangefinder and 11.75 lbs without.

Bob,
The 1937 Linhof catalog lists the 13x18cm Technika as weighing 6 lbs 5 ozs. This is the technika with the movements on the rear, not the precision camera without movements. It is called a Technika ll in the catalog.
I have one in my possession and my scale shows it to be right at 6.5 pounds.
Robert N.

The Linhof book does not list the II. It instead lists the Techinika/Technika Standard/Technika Medizin which was made from 1936 and into the war, except for the 18x24cm which was made from 1938 to the end of the war.
The 13 x 18cm vesion is listed as 6.5 lbs. The 18 x 24cm weighed 22.25 lbs!
The pre war Technika Standard is what you are calling a II. The Medizin was the same camera except it had a special bdy covering which could be disinfected for use in pathology labs and operating rooms. It was available until after the war as a modified version of the III.

[rknewcomb]

The point was that not all 5x7 Technikas weigh 12 pounds.
The 1937 book lists the Standard and the Technika.
It lists the Technika 5x7 at 6 pounds 5oz in the printed page above.
The photo above is of a prewar Technika 5x7 that weighs 6 pounds 8ozs according to my scale.
Its a real life camera and I can read a scale.

[Peter K]

The pre war Technika Standard is what you are calling a II. The Medizin was the same camera except it had a special bdy covering which could be disinfected for use in pathology labs and operating rooms. It was available until after the war as a modified version of the III.

There was also the one and only "Technika 18x24 Medizin" sold in 1949 (!) to a photographer from Stuttgart/Germany. One can see this camera - and the owner sitting on a "double tube tripod" - in Linhof's catalogue from 1959 and also in the first issue of "Grossbildtechnik".

Peter

[tom north]

I love my old 5 x 7 Technika. I bought it in shambles from a guy in Caracus, stripped it apart, cleaned and lubed it. I found a guy in town who made me a couple of lensboards for a fraction of the price of a Linhoff. My camera is from about 1960 and has no front lens tilt, however I have no problem tilting it as far as I want. You drop the bed, raise the standard, and tilt away. I shoot a lot of archecture and have never ran into any restrictions whatsoever. I have shot with a lot of old and new cameras and love my Linhoff. Yes it is heavy but all of the standards, movements and rail lock down solid.

Tom

[Bob Salomon]

There was also the one and only "Technika 18x24 Medizin" sold in 1949 (!) to a photographer from Stuttgart/Germany. One can see this camera - and the owner sitting on a "double tube tripod" - in Linhof's catalogue from 1959 and also in the first issue of "Grossbildtechnik".

Peter

There is also a picture of it next to a 45 from the same year in the Linhof Camera Story book.

[cjbroadbent]

Repeating myself from an older thread - but I have to put in a good word for the Technika....
I had three (at the same time) and used them regularly over twenty years, sometimes all three in a day on different sets.
It might seem an irrational choice of camera for studio photography but here are a few reasons why.
I was never at peace with monorails. Too much breaking down and setting up every day. I don't shift much anyway. Monorails wear out - The Technikas never wear-out. I bought my three (plus 2 4x5s) used, as they cropped up on the market.
The Technika doesn't even need a case. It is like a tortoise. Nothing hangs out. You have to have used Sinar for a few years to appreciate that. The lens lives inside. (my lenses never came off, I have three 180s and a couple of never-used 210 which came with the cameras) The camera can sit there closed on the tripod in a dusty and hostile environment (set construction work) and will take a knock or two.
Linhof filmholders keep film flatter (buy them up!). Linhof lens boards are everywhere. I've used the rangefinder only once ever - so the cams are wasted on me but need to be there so as not to do damage when closing the camera (right, Bob?).
The newer 'jack' front raise is a pain compared to the older geared wheel. And the older drop and tilt front Is a pleasure.
I pick a format for a job following the path of least resistance and I've consumed more 13x18 film than all the other formats put together.