Noob just a little help on first purchase

[RodgerThePhotographer]

Hello and Greetings,
One of your members has finally coerced me from the darkside (Nikon D3) to large format, or what he calls, "real photography."
Looking for a solid, pretty much basic mono (from my research from your .info page) and came across this....
http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/pho/3047930968.html
Love landscapes and architecture shots, although studio work isn't out of the question. Hiking uphill for moderate distances will require chiropractic care!
Getting the Rodenstock 150 S lens later this week...
Thoughts?
Many many thanks,
Rodger

[premortho]

Looks like a good deal for what you want to do if it comes with a tripod and film holders. 90 for architecture, 210 for portraiture and still lifes...and landscapes if you like traditional (re: old school) views. Many modernists like the wall-eyed look of the 90's for landscapes as well

[Mark Sawyer]

It's a very nice modern 4x5 outfit, and the lenses should be quite good in quality, and a nice choice of focal length. Maybe a bit heavy for hiking around in the landscape, but not too bad. Start looking for a big tripod!

[RodgerThePhotographer]

It's a very nice modern 4x5 outfit, and the lenses should be quite good in quality, and a nice choice of focal length. Maybe a bit heavy for hiking around in the landscape, but not too bad. Start looking for a big tripod!

Thanks All -
Mark, would this be a big enough tripod?
http://www.adorama.com/VGAUC283AT.html

[Leigh]

would this be a big enough tripod?

That's a nice looking tripod. The specs seem appropriate for a good LF camera.
I'm not familiar with the brand, but that means nothing.

You'll need to get a good head for it.
I strongly dislike ball heads because it's very difficult to get a view camera set up on both axes simultaneously.

A nice pan and tilt head will let you set each axis individually.

- Leigh

[Mark Sawyer]

Thanks All -
Mark, would this be a big enough tripod?
http://www.adorama.com/VGAUC283AT.html

Looks like a good tripod, perhaps even a bit of overkill, but a lot of us believe overkill is a good thing with tripods. Keep in mind it doesn't have a head, although some do without if they keep the camera fairly level, and just use the leg length and angle to tilt the camera angle. Bogen or Manfrotto (same tripods, different names) would also be a good choice.

[John Koehrer]

Regarding the tripod, it doesn't give heights for column extended or not. I suspect the max height is with the column raised. Estimating the column to have about a 20" length would put it at ~46-48" column down.
Depending on your height it may be too short for you.
Check Induro, and a couple of others before you buy.

[Bill_1856]

That's an awful lot of money for a tripod with no head.
You might consider a used TILTALL (get the one made by Leica), usually under $100,
or:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...ipod_with.html

[Lachlan 717]

Thanks All -
Mark, would this be a big enough tripod?
http://www.adorama.com/VGAUC283AT.html

Rodger,

I just bought my girlfriend the CF version of this tripod. I think that it's a really good piece of kit! Seemed as solid as anything I've used before. Weight's not too bad (in CF) either!

[RodgerThePhotographer]

Thanks Everyone!!!