Rangefinder options (beginner question)

[pierods]

Hi,

I am trying to put together a 4x5 field camera system specifically for portraits (whole body and head shot).

My main concern would be speed. Subjects tend to lose genuineness with long posing times.

So I am thinking of having a rangefinder. That would avoid having to focus and then mess with a film back. Ideally I would be handholding the camera, so if I focused and then inserted a film back, I would lose sharpness at the very least, the composition and so forth.

The only cameras accepting a rangefinder I could find are Linhof Technikas (6 grand!) and Crown Graphics.

I would go with a Crown Graphic, but what if I use another lens than the one that comes with the camera? I would like the flexibility to use different brands and focal lengths.

As I understand, a rangefinder must be somehow coupled (calibrated?) with a lens. Would I be able to couple a Crown Graphic's rangefinder with a, say, Rodenstock lens?

Maybe I haven't looked hard enough and there are more cameras which accept rangefinders, or there is another way of focusing without looking at the fresnel, so that the back is already in place when I shoot right after focusing.

Thanks for any help.

piero

[David A. Goldfarb]

Some Graflex rangefinders use cams (top mounted rangefinders) like a Technika, though they aren't as precise, and some (like the Kalart) can be calibrated to the lens within a certain range, so you could easily recalibrate the rangefinder to your new lens.

Used Technikas aren't so expensive as new ones, and Linhof can cam lenses for you for the Tech IV and later. There are also private shops that will cam lenses for the Tech III.

[Emmanuel BIGLER]

Many view camera lenses can be mounted on an helical where you can read the proper distance setting when the lens as been properly aligned for infinity.
You could use a separate hand-held rangefinder, in the good old days, many manufacturers had separate rangefinders on catalog, I have one from a German manufacturer but I do not know if the procedure based on a separate rangefinder and a lens on an helical would be precise enough for tight portraits.

[ic-racer]

Many view camera lenses can be mounted on an helical where you can read the proper distance setting when the lens as been properly aligned for infinity.
You could use a separate hand-held rangefinder, in the good old days, many manufacturers had separate rangefinders on catalog, I have one from a German manufacturer but I do not know if the procedure based on a separate rangefinder and a lens on an helical would be precise enough for tight portraits.

The 4x5 Horseman FA could also be used like this. It has an adjustable focusing scale on bed, for various focal lengths.

If you drop down to 6x9 then things open up a lot, in terms of different choices of cameras with rangefinders.

[John Schneider]

Why not a Gowlandflex tlr?

[Darryl Baird]

Wista RF is a rangefinder 4x5 camera, albeit more rare than a Technika and not much less cost... w/135, 150, and 180mm lens cams

[Toyon]

Why not an SLR? Various SLR Graflex models were made in 4x5 and 5x7 format. They can handle different lenses and gives you a through-the-lens view. There is a site devoted to Graflexes, both rangefinder and SLR types, at www.graflex.org, though it is not very comprehensive on the latter.

[Scott Kathe]

Crown Graphics can be inexpensive, get one for each focal length you want to shoot and set up the rangefinder on each camera appropriately. There are also Bush Pressman 4x5s that are very similar to the Crown Graphics.

Scott

[Aender Brepsom]

Not a rangefinder, but how about the inexpensive Gaoersi 45 hand held camera?

[ic-racer]

Wista RF is a rangefinder 4x5 camera, albeit more rare than a Technika and not much less cost... w/135, 150, and 180mm lens cams

I forgot about that one. I remember looking into this a while back. I think there are 4 options:

COUPLED RANGEFINDER 4x5:
Speed or Crown Graphic and clones
Linhof, new and old
Wista
Polaroid conversions

Others?