Today I received a new Linhof, a 13x18 or 5x7 camera. Serial number is before extant manufacturer records due to their loss in the war.

Randy Moe and I were having some interesting conversations about this era of Linhof cameras, and I wanted to share some photos of my new camera and see some other Linhofs from this time period.

I'm also interested in what distinguishes the different models of the time - the "Technika," the "Technika II," the "Classic," etc. I believe my camera is a "Classic" as it has limited movements (none on the rear).

Also, I believe the back has been manufactured. The rotating back has a small "extension" and the material seems slightly different than the rest of the body. It's nicely made though, and the ground glass is of much higher quality than I would expect from a 70-year-old camera. Also, interestingly the front focus rail and clamshell can be dropped completely vertical for extreme wide angles. The hand-made focus reference chart mentions lenses 90mm through 210mm, so the previous owner must've been a wide-angle junky just like me! I can't try yet, but I'll have to see if it can focus a 72mm XL. One last note - the camera weighs 8lbs and 2.5 ounces, or 3.7kg. Heavier than I was hoping it would be - supposedly some older 13x18 Linhofs weigh only 4.5lbs, from what I researched.

It came with one #1 lens board and so I put a very old Dagor-type 21cm Symmar lens on the camera to try out. I will note here the lens board is about an inch longer in both directions than the older Linhof III 4x5 boards I have. I'll need to make a custom adapter to "standard" Linhof boards.

It's raining now but perhaps tonight or tomorrow I will have time to give it a whirl. Here's some photos though: