Monorails in the field

[Jeff Dexheimer]

I am curious to know, is anyone using a monorail camera in the field and why? Some specifics I am interested in is how heavy your camera is, how far you hike with it, and what you use to carry it.

Right now I am just toying with the idea of getting a monorail camera because I am starting to incorporate more studio work. My primary focus has been landscapes, but like I mentioned I want do do studio work as well as portraits. Owning one of each is out of the question for me so I have to pick one or the other. I will be shooting 4x5 too.

For reference I am currently using a tachiara 4x5 and am considering either a Sinar F2 or cambo sc 4x5.

[domaz]

I'm using a Gowland Pocket View 4x5 Monorail. With two lenses and Readyloads my entire system weight is less than six pounds. So not all monorails have to be heavy. But is the Gowland a good studio camera? No probably not- although it is usable as such.

[Jeremy Moore]

8x10 sinar p, but i don't have a field 8x10 or i'd be using that!!

[ic-racer]

Graphic View would be somewhere between the Gowland and the Sinar/Cambo/Horseman, etc cameras. O Winston Link and John Szarkowski used the Graphic View in the field. I used one for a while and it is pretty light but still needed that big box which was a little difficult to carry.

[BrianShaw]

I use a Cambo SC in the field. Why... because that's the camera I own... that's why.

I transport it in the stroeage box that gets strapped to a 2-wheeled luggage trolley. This confines me to trails, but I've covered many miles with that configuration. That is the primary, maybe even the "only", limitation of using a monorail in the field.

[csant]

I used a Linhof monorail 4x5 when it was the only LF camera I had - have to confess that it was a blessing when I got myself a field camera instead… It's been field cameras ever since - 4x5, 5x7, and the most used 8x10.

[Bob McCarthy]

I used a 8x10 Sinar P in the field in the past, and am using a heavy folding field camera now.

What Ive learned, the Sinar is only a pain getting to the shooting point, once there its far superior.

So if I shoot close to a car, or a short stroll then the monorail is about as good as it gets. More than a couple hundred yards, the pendulum swings the other way.

For 4x5, the sinar F can go a lot further before it becomes a pain. I also have a Sinar F in 4x5, and portability is fine with a shoulder bag.

bob

[Ari]

I used a Toyo 45G in the field (city for me); The case, camera, lenses and other stuff weighed about 20kg (45 lbs).
I hauled it around town with a hand cart.
I prefer working out of a case, and I have a car, so getting around was pretty easy, and using a heavy system outdoors never seemed a burden.

[Drew Wiley]

I prefer 8x10 folders in the field, and for really long backpacks, a 4x5 folder. But there
are many instances where a monorail works better. You can basically leave any lens on
and a compendium too, and simply collapse the bellows and slip it in the backpack. I did literal mtn climbing for several decades with a Sinar F2 in a Kelty ext frame pack
(a real one, not the cheap import packs sold nowadays). Monorails are esp nice with
very long lenses because you can just slip on another rail section. And now I finally have my dream Sinar system - a very clean vintage 60's 4X5 Norma. It interchanges with all my existing Sinar F and P components, yet is much more rigid than the F, and way way lighter than a P or X camera. All one gives up is the yaw-free option.

[DanK]

I use an older monorail in the field about half the time - collapse the bellows and carry over the shoulder - mounted on the tripod (3021)...Just something I got used to doing - it's little less than 8lbs w/out the tripod - really not much different than a 5.5lb ELM w/lens that I hauled around the same way before - little more awkward through trees...but I usually stick to short hikes, minimal holders, and one lens - slow and easy...anything longer sees a 2D in a backpack...