Well, I haven't personally encountered anything resembling a clean Norma as low as $250. Anything that "too good to be true" would probably have issues like leaky bellows. If one already has another Sinar bellows on hand, no problem, just switch it out. But as I already mentioned, I really prefer the original tapered 4X5 Norma bellows to the later box-style ones. And I was perfectly happy to pay triple that alleged price for an especially clean unit. It was still a comparative bargain, considerably less in fact than almost any new wooden folder.

I have seen some used F+ and F1 4x5's down in that $250 range. The problem with those is that the front standard is really just the same thing as an intermediate bellows standard, and wears out a lot faster than the improved F2 front standard. But if in good condition, these models are still desirable if one is on a tight budget and wants to get into the Sinar system.

Normas do seem to need a bit of tightening up screws and so forth more often than F's. And the early ground glasses are based on a supplementary screen diffusion layer rather than actual grinding, so are dimmer, and should ideally be replaced. But unless something is significantly worn out, a set of jeweler's screwdrivers and small metric allen keys is about all you need.

Carry-wise, review my numerous backpack posts. I leave em all set up in the top compartment of my external frame pack. I've had Sinar along on many an ice climb in younger days. Recently found a few of those negatives never printed yet, so am doing some of that lately. Some of the glacier scenes simply are no more.