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Thread: Help me choose 4x5 camera to buy in 2022

  1. #81

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    Re: Help me choose 4x5 camera to buy in 2022

    Quote Originally Posted by Joseph Kashi View Post
    Perhaps I've missed the point with all of the to-and-fro, but it seems that the OP as a new LF user initially has two decisions:

    1. Studio use only, or frequent field use away from home or a vehicle? That will affect whether to go with a lightweight, easily portable field rig or a less-portable monorail view camera.

    2. New or used? There are many excellent used cameras out there on Ebay, etc. and we all have our favorites, but for a new LF photographer may want to get a decent used camera to determine whether they want to pursue LF photography and, if so, what flavor of it?

    The finer points or one camera or another will gradually sort out for each person with increasing experience.
    I realise that the sentence that I've emphasised in bold reflects a widely held view. I think that it is factually incorrect in the case of some monorail cameras. For example, Arca-Swiss monorails are used by many people as field cameras. Indeed the company makes a monorail specifically for field use, although I think that its standard cameras work just fine in the field. I don't believe that field cameras of comparable quality are lighter, or break down more compactly, than the Arca-Swiss in the photo two posts up, especially since the changes in Arca-Swiss standard/lens board size. As far as I know, there is also no field camera that offers anything close to Arca-Swiss's degree of modularity.

    When purchasing a camera, I think that it's a good idea to compare cameras of comparable quality, regardless of construction style, rather than summarily dismiss an entire class of camera. I also think that it's useful to consider overall bulk and weight of the system, not just the camera.
    Last edited by r.e.; 27-Oct-2022 at 06:35.
    Arca-Swiss 8x10/4x5 | Mamiya 6x7 | Leica 35mm | Blackmagic Ultra HD Video
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  2. #82

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    Re: Help me choose 4x5 camera to buy in 2022

    Quote Originally Posted by Alan Klein View Post
    I've found that the more skin in the game a person has, the more they care how it comes out. They work harder to get better results.
    "Skin", in this context, is relative.
    $1000, to me, is a lot of money...I'd think long and hard before spending that much on anything.
    To someone else, it's chump change, maybe picking up the tab for dinner for 4 at a nice restaurant and thinking nothing of it.
    So, I agree, and disagree...
    It's not the volume of $ involved, it is the value of the $ involved.

  3. #83
    loujon
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    Re: Help me choose 4x5 camera to buy in 2022

    Quote Originally Posted by Dugan View Post
    "Skin", in this context, is relative.

    It's not the volume of $ involved, it is the value of the $ involved.
    Well said & I totally agree with you Dugan.

  4. #84

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    Re: Help me choose 4x5 camera to buy in 2022

    Quote Originally Posted by Alan Klein View Post
    Who wants someone else's headache? If you buy a camera that has issues, it may turn you off completely with LF photography.

    Tell that to every Deardorff user! LOL

  5. #85

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    Re: Help me choose 4x5 camera to buy in 2022

    Have you considered a K B CANHAM 4x5? Light weight, beautiful design with natural walnut.
    And you can buy a 5x7 back to have a two format camera.
    Check them out

  6. #86

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    Re: Help me choose 4x5 camera to buy in 2022

    Quote Originally Posted by Alan Klein View Post
    I bought a new camera. Who wants someone else's headache? If you buy a camera that has issues, it may turn you off completely with LF photography.
    Just because someone sells some used gear doesn't mean they had a problem with it. It might not even be their gear. I've sold lots of stuff that was in perfect condition, not because it had a problem -- or it gave me a "headache".

    Most of my gear was bought used, and 99% of it was in GREAT shape, just what I wanted, and at a SUPER discount over new.

    Plus, for a lot of great gear there is no other option, except used. Call it "Pre-Owned" if that makes you feel better about it. If your snobby friends POO-POO it, tell them it was once owned by AA.

  7. #87

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    Re: Help me choose 4x5 camera to buy in 2022

    Further to Alan Klein's posts starting with #72, and the responses...

    @Hiroh says in a 2020 post that he had just started using a film camera. Given that he has a Rolleiflex 2.8F (post #1) and that Rollei stopped making that camera 40 years ago, it would appear that he's happy to purchase used gear. His Rollie and Leica MP (still in production) are expensive cameras, suggesting that he also isn't terribly limited on price.

    Hiroh said way back in post #22 that he has tentatively decided on a Linhof. My only point (post #77) is that he should have a look at Linhof models in person as part of deciding which to get, and maybe also look at one or two other brands in person if he hasn't made a final decision. I've also questioned the accuracy and utility of an oft-repeated field vs monorail distinction (post #81).
    Arca-Swiss 8x10/4x5 | Mamiya 6x7 | Leica 35mm | Blackmagic Ultra HD Video
    Sound Devices audio recorder, Schoeps & DPA mikes
    Mac Studio/Eizo with Capture One, Final Cut, DaVinci Resolve, Logic

  8. #88

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    Re: Help me choose 4x5 camera to buy in 2022

    Alan, I agree w XKAES, used does not mean abused or having issues. Since there are fewer builders, this limits your choice. For example, Deardorff, Ebony, Wehman, Phillips, are no longer being made, & I would choose any one over the Intrepid.
    For many years I used a no-front-swing 1938 Deardorff 5x7 which i bought for $600 (Cdn). It was a terrific camera and I only sold it when i down sizec to 4x5.
    Unlike the common 'gear-head' 35mm (film or digital) users who constantly change cameras and 'upgrade,' many LF users are more interested in the process and the print than the equipment. Jay Dusard still uses his 8x10 Kodak Masterview, Craig Richards still has his old Linhof & set of Fujinon lenses.
    "Best camera?" asks more questions.... for what? & for whom?

  9. #89

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    Re: Help me choose 4x5 camera to buy in 2022

    FWIW, Hiroh stopped participating in this discussion three days ago. I think he's gotten all he needed from this thread.

  10. #90
    Peter De Smidt's Avatar
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    Re: Help me choose 4x5 camera to buy in 2022

    Quote Originally Posted by paulbarden View Post
    FWIW, Hiroh stopped participating in this discussion three days ago. I think he's gotten all he needed from this thread.
    “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

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