Linhof Master Technika vs. Technika V with 75mm

[Mark_Se]

I either want to buy a Master Technika or a Technika V. My widest lens is a 75mm. Does the Master Technika offer more rise with 75mm lenses than the Technika V ?

[karl french]

Yes. Via the flap on the top of the body.

[Bob Salomon]

Yes, that is because of the lift-up top flap on the body of the Master Technika cameras. Also the Master has more movement then a V. The V had 50mm of front rise compared to 55mm for the Master series. The V had 50mm of shift in front, 25mm in each direction. The Master has 40mm to each side. The V had 15° of tilt, front to back on the lens board the Master has 30° front and rear lens tilt. The V had 15° of movement for the back the Master has 20°.
So yes, a Master allows more movements with any lens.
Also bear in mind. The very last V ever made in 4x5 was made 35 years ago in 1976. Some V cameras no longer have repair parts available for it from the factory.

The best of the Technika cameras for extreme wide angle would be the Master Technika 3000 as this can easily handle lenses as short as a 35mm Apo-Grandagon. In addition, with the 3000, the drop bed goes down to almost 90° to eliminate any possibility of the drop bed being in the image when shooting with the back vertical as it would be with a 75mm or shorter with all of the other models, including the Master Technika 2000. However, the 2000 and 3000 do not have a rangefinder so they can accommodate the extreme wide angle focusing system in these two cameras.

[gary mulder]

A Technika is not a very good choice if you want to do wide angles. It is extremely good as a travel / landscape camera with a normal range of lenses. 90 - 240. Beyond that it can be done but it's not optimal. With wide angels you will eventually want a bag bellows

[Mark_Se]

thanks for the informations!
in case sombody here is using a master technika with a 75mm - I really would like to know how many mm rise / shift is possible with this lens.

@ garry, I will shoot landscape and architecture.

10% 240mm
25% 120mm
40% 90mm
25% 75mm

I also took a look at the technikardan but i like the folding design of the technika way more.
its smaller, a bit lighter and more solid when folded...

[mikezvi]

excuse me if I am taking this thread too far off course, but how much damage could I do trying to DIY the "flap" of a MT in a machine shop? The camera seems pretty solid; has anyone tried this?

[Bob Salomon]

I also took a look at the technikardan but i like the folding design of the technika way more.
its smaller, a bit lighter and more solid when folded...

It should be more solid when folded. It is in a metal box. But the TK S is far more versatile, especially with very short lenses, long lenses or macro.

[Tim k]

excuse me if I am taking this thread too far off course, but how much damage could I do trying to DIY the "flap" of a MT in a machine shop? The camera seems pretty solid; has anyone tried this?

Its easy to take metal away, its a little harder to put it back, and even harder to make it look pretty.

I think your going to get a little "sacrilege response" here wanting to cut on your MT. But its just a metal box, (a pricey metal box). Let us know how it turns out.

[mortensen]

Mark, I shoot architecture too and have been in the exact same dilemma as you. I chose a Technikardan 45 S with bag bellows - it gives full movements with anything up to 150... and that includes 50mm of shift in each direction for instance. Normal bellows from 150 and up. It a wonderful machine. My other candidates was (of course) an Arca metric (Igor Camera has a mint one reasonably priced) or Misura and a Toyo VX125 (lovely and versatile, but rare and expensive). The TK was without a doubt the best bang for the buck ($1350 for mine)... but hey, it didn't cure my secret longing for a Tech IV to use for 115 and longer As gary and bob points out, no Technika is well suited for the combination of wides and lots of movements... just too many weird workarounds. You might end up discovering that a two-cam combination will give you the best of all worlds... personally, I'll start saving up.

But, just to confuse you, people like Peter Bialobrzeski and Edward Burtynsky uses Master Tech's. But if you look at their work, it seems to me that they rarely (if ever) use a lot of rise with anything wider than a 90.

[Frank Petronio]

I have heard of people cutting "flaps" into older Technika IV and V bodies for additional rise but like Bob explained, you get more movement from the later Master. I don't think it is worth the hassle or risk myself. You might do better with a Technikardan or other monorail that can use a bag bellows and butt standards together.

Note that you could always get a $300 Sinar F and a $75 bag bellows to do the occasional shot that requires a lot of rise with a superwide lens.