Zone VI Camera (ala Tachihara)

I have owned a Zone VI camera for a couple of years, one of the originals from

the '70's I believe ,which I always believed to be a modified Wista--the freznel

lens stamped "Wista " on the camera gave me that impression. Recently after

seeing some Tachihara's on e-bay I know now I have a lighter weight

Tachihara, at just 3.3 lbs with nickel plated knobs. In reading Fred Picker's

newsletters(very entertaining and informative) from the mid 70's he refers to the

1st Zone VI 4 X 5 camera of Japanese origin as "Field 45". He mentions that it

had "back slides." My Tachihara does not have this.

So my question is, what is the sequence of the various models of the early Zone

VI camera? My camera by the way is stamped with the low # 13. Were Wista's

and Tachihara's sold randomly together?

I have looked at previous posts but could not get a clear picture.

Here is an old thread about the history / sequence of Zone VI cameras: "Zone VI camera history info" at http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00Cilx

 

In his article in the Jan/Feb 2003 issue of View Camera magazine, Richard Ritter says that Fred Picker / Zone VI switched from selling Tachihara cameras to Wistas in 1980. It wouldn't make sense for them to randomly send one or the other to customers -- cameras would differ from the descriptions / specs / photos in the catalog.

The Zone VI camera history is complicated, but it generally can be divided into five eras (for the 4x5 model):

 

1. Cameras made by Tachihara (78-80) - 12" bellows, front and rear swing and tilt, with a Zone VI nameplate, cherry with nickel-plated hardware, single extension

 

2. Cameras made by Wista (80-85) - 12" bellows, front and rear swing and tile, front rise and fall, nameplate said "Zone VI Studios", with Zone VI modifying the Wista standard to strengthen the baseboard, cherry, single extension

 

3. Cameras made by Wisner (85-88) - mahogany, 16" bellows, double-extension, full movements, nameplate said "Zone VI Studios, Made by Wisner Manufacturing"

 

4. Cameras made by Zone VI (88-2001) - 22" bellows, full movements, gold-plated brass hardware, with serial numbers in the range of 1000-4500 (for Mahogany) or 9000 (for Black Walnut)

 

5. Cameras made by Calumet (Zone VI Lightweight, 2001-2006) - 22" bellows, full movements, black anodized aluminum hardware, mahogany

Thanks for your responses. I wonder if I have the 13th model of the 1st Zone VI camera as it is stamped #13.

If you have four different Mfg's on the Zone VI cameras, it makes me wonder where there ever a true Zone VI camera? made by Fred Picker!

Other than the number 4 group! no matter what age or anything these

4x5 's seem to keep their price's!

Not all the Zone VI fields from category 4 (in the excellent list above) had gold plated

fittings. The earlier examples used regular brass fittings, coated with some sort of

finish to prevent darkening and discoloration of the brass. Later versions of these

category 4 Zone VI cameras (including the Zone VI 8x10 field, which was just an

enlarged version of the 4x5 with a non-interchangeable bellows) used the more

expensive gold plating, which Picker claimed was even more durable than the coated

brass.

 

I always thought the gold plating looked a bit gaudy, others thought it was gorgeous. At

any rate, the gold plating did develop tiny, black pitting marks while the regular brass

finish held up really well over time.

 

Other small differences and improvements found in the category 4 Zone VI fields were

the types of clasps used to hold the groundglass back frame onto the body, the clasps

used to attach the bellows to the front standard's wooden frame and the clasps used to

hold the folded camera together. These were replaced with stronger, more secure

clasps

in later models.

 

They also added the easier-to-use bail opening back device to later category 4

cameras, and even re-trofitted earlier models with this bail opening mechanism for a

small charge.

 

The true Zone VI fields were great cameras, really pretty, very well made and with

excellent capabilities. They do hold their value well. I owned one for many years and

sold it for more than I paid for it.