I began shooting 35mm in 2002, graduated to 120 in 2007, and had the itch to go bigger in 2010 or so. I had a false start with a late Linhof Technika III which needed a new bellows. There was a local technician who was going to replace them for a reasonable price who unfortunately passed away. I received a quote for bellows replacement from the factory authorized Linhof repair centre which was considerably more than I paid for the camera so I elected not to do it (the cost was close to the price of a used Tek IV in good shape).
Fast forward to now and I have acquired an Arca Swiss F-line Classic which I have made about 20-30 exposures on. I haven't used movements very much as I'm having trouble thinking beyond parallel lenses and film planes... but the details in the negs are extremely addictive! The only lens that I have is a bit of a piece of junk... by design it is a lower tier enlarging lens that Linhof sold for a time (Schneider Componar 135 f4.5 mounted in a Compur shutter) and it came basically for free with the Tech III. It is all right for macro but movements are limited as sharpness falls off rather quickly out of centre and quickly looks like a lens baby (looking at eBay it actually costs less than a lens baby).
I just purchased 135mm and 210mm Sironars and can't wait to try them out. I will be going on a road trip through the American southwest next month and hope to shoot a ton of film, although I should probably acquire more holders; 4 may not be enough! I don't yet know how often I will have access to a dark(enough)room. What do others do on the road? Changing bag/tent? Or towel at the bottom of the bathroom door in hotels/motels?
Bookmarks