Hunting for that special 4x5, my first LF camera

[r.e.]

After searching for an affordable 4x5 for a long time, I have come to the conclusion that there simply aren't many available on the market and that it’s better to wait until you can afford the camera you want.

I imagine that a fair number of people go though the process that @abruzzi describes in the above post, but not everyone does. I decided that I wanted a monorail and purchased an Arca-Swiss Discovery as my first large format camera. This was Arca's entry-level camera, marketed at an attractive price to photography students. I've added bits and pieces to the Discovery over time, so now I can configure it for 4x5 or 8x10. The Arca has worked fine, including for travel. I've never used a field camera or felt the need to.*

I'm just posting this to point out that sometimes one's first large format purchase works out well, not to recommend Arca's cameras in particular.


Photo and specs for the Arca-Swiss Discovery
from an old B&H catalogue.




My Discovery. This is stock except that I've changed out
the Discovery function carriers, which work by friction,
for geared ones. Friction works fine, geared is nice to have.




Here, I've added an Arca leather bag bellows for use with
wide angle lenses, in this case a 75mm Rodenstock.





* I also have a 5x7 monorail (a Linhof Kardan Bi), but only because second-hand 5x7 parts for my Arca are hard to come by and the condition of the Linhof and price were right.