Hello from Long Island, NY

[oibal60]

Hi folks,
Long story short: I inherited the photographic 'gene' from my Dad and have been more than just an enthusiastic amateur since doing B+W from the age of 13. (Hey, back then, that was what Saturday afternoons were made for!)
He, at age 88, recently gave me (at 49) his prized Linhof Super Technika IV (built in 1960) along with a selection of lenses (some from 1957) and other accessories. He *knows* it's going to a good 'home' because I have always treated everything I've ever owned with 'care'.
My intention is NOT to put (what others might term 'an oddity') behind glass for display in the sitting room, but rather to USE it -- albeit very carefully!
'Immediate feedback', I've always found, tends to speed up the learning (appreciation?) curve, so I intend to FIRST put a digital back (001693 adapter plate to a Hasselblad V digital back) on her - and work with this beautiful instrument - before I try film.
Well, that's me in a nutshell.
Cordially,
Gerry

[R Mann]

Hi from Northport -

[bobwysiwyg]

Welcome, now living in Ann Arbor, but was raised in Merrick. Need to get back for a visit one of these days as it has been about 40 years.

[Sdrubansky]

Hi Gerry,

I welcome you on behalf of all the new members who also made their first post today.

Do you already own digital back and adapter?
It is a bold expense otherwise.

What the Technika will surely give you is the joy of tilt/shift and plane of focus controls.

On the other hand a MF digital sensor is so much smaller than 4x5" that the camera/lens combination you have
may still give much more satisfying results with film.

-If I had the opportunity to work with a 4x5 camera and MF digital back (and I certainly don't)
I would try it with a stitching back like the ones from Kapture Group.
Stitching would be the only way to keep the lenses working at their actual focal length
instead of behaving like muck longer lenses.-

Still, I'd have a go with film first.
It's what those camera and lenses were made for anyway.

M

[eddie]

hello from kingston ny

[rguinter]

Gerry: Hello from NJ neighbor.

Gee... must have been some film holders in that kit your father gave you. Why not just buy a box of film and have him show you how to load the holders? Then give it a try.

I suspect it will be very satisfying to see your first few sheets of processed film and a lot cheaper than springing for a digital back at such an early stage. Bob G.

[Flexnib]

Hello Gerry,
Arthur from Stony Brook.

[Vick Vickery]

Welcome to group therepy, Gerry. That Technika IV is a fine camera and will do a great job, even with film! I'd try some sheet film...you might learn to love it like most of us have...if you don't want to process your own, have it done...you won't believe the beauty of a well-exposed 4x5 transparency!! And you can also get roll film backs for the camera. You're going to find that you shoot many fewer shots with the Technika as compared to 35mm or DSLR...it take a lot longer to set up and compose the shot when using the ground glass focusing and that makes you slow down and make sure everything is right before you click the shutter.

[Renato Tonelli]

Welcome - from nearby Queens, NY. I have a Super Technika I purchased a few years ago and it is really, really nice to work with it.
Enjoy -