Light Weight View Camera

<p>Hi,<br>

<br />I'm after a light weight, affordable 5x4 monorail camera, and am after some recomendations. I intend to use it for streetscapes, and want something I can carry without being too heavy or cumbersome. I will probably use 150mm mostly, but would also like to be able to use something shorter, such as a 90mm. From my experience, a monorail just seems easier and faster to set up than a field camera. <br>

<br />I was using a borrowed a Graflex Graphic View, which I liked very much and seemed to fit the bill, unfortunately I had to give it back. Probably the main drawback was the tripod mount which dosn't tilt, but for my use, it was great. I'm also looking at Arca Swiss Model A/B/C, but they appear to have one release for tilt and swing. I've never used one and could be wrong, but I imagine it's a bit like using a ball head, which dosn't appeal.<br>

<br />Any recommendations or tips on what to look out for would be appreciated. </p>

<p>The Arca's are very good, but also look For a Sinar Norma (not the F or F2) or save up for a Canham DLC.</p>

<p>A monorail would be awfully difficult to use on the street IM[-H]O.</p>

<p>It's large, awkward, and cumbersome, requiring a transport case.</p>

<p>Plus if you carried it around exposed you'd probably get arrested as a terrorist.</p>

<p>There are lots of good light field cameras out there. The Wista weighs about 52 ounces excl. lens & board.</p>

<p>Field cameras can be hand-held for transport if desired, and are much more compact than monorails.</p>

<p>- Leigh</p>

<p>The smallest and lightest monorail I've used is the old Calumet CC-402 which is the wide angle version of the 400 series. It is an excellent camera, has a very flexible bellows designed for extreme movements with wide angle use and a rail long enough to easily use your 150mm.</p>

<p>It is considerably smaller than traditional studio monorail cameras, but a field camera is still my recommendation. Something like the old Zone VI camera which had interchangeable bellows for a bag bellows to allow wide angle movements even at extreme bellows compression would be my suggestion. I would not consider a field camera without interchangeable bellows because you may need extreme rise with some of your street scenes and with a wide angle lens, the normal type of bellows is too compressed to allow that kind of movements.</p>

<p>Thanks Ellis, I'll look up the Sinar and Canham. </p>

<p>I was carrying the Graphic View on the tripod (medium sized Manfrotto 55), and just rested it on my shoulder. This was fine for my purposes, I probably walked around 2-3km before it became really cumbersome. I wouldn't take it hiking, but the quick and easy set up was great. I want to be able to make my exposure, then move on.</p>

<p>I was originally thinking about getting a field camera, but a Linhof I had a very brief experience with was heavier, had less movements, and seemed much slower to work with. This combined with the suprisingly manageable Graphic View turned me on to monorails. </p>

<p>Monorails are more cumbersome & heavier than wooden field cameras, some of which don't even require setting up, such as the Ebony 45s. I had one of those and was able to carry it, lens mounted and tripod ready in a shoulder bag, on a cross country trip. With several filmholders & a meter it was no heavier than a full frame dslr with a few lenses. </p>

<p>Graphic View would be a good choice, as you have already found. Sinar Norma is a great camera but not particularly light or compact - absolutely the lightest (but expensive) view camera I know is the Toho (not Toyo) view</p>

<p>Get an Arca Swiss Field Camera -- it's a monorail (with all the capabilities of one) at the weight and encumberance of a field camera. Awesome piece of engineering, and it will easily fit into a backpack for serious backpacking...</p>

<p>Gowland built a very small one</p>

<p>Why do you want a monorail?</p>

<p>Monorails are fundamentally studio cameras, and are clumsy carry in the field. A field camera might be easier to use, and also lighter in weight.</p>

<p>Depending on what you mean with "affordable", here are a few suggestions:</p>

<p><strong>Ebony </strong>make some non-folding 4x5 cameras, but they are not cheap. Built quality ist great and more than sufficient for street and outdoor work. I have a (folding) Ebony camera and LOVE it (www.ebonycamera.com ---> cameras ---> 4x5 non-folding)</p>

<p><strong>Shen Hao</strong> make non-folding cameras too, kind of Ebony clones. Quality seems to be ok. Robert White has specs and pictures (www.robertwhite.co.uk ---> Large Format ---> Shen Hao).</p>

<p><strong>Walker</strong> might also be of interest for you (www.walkercameras.com ---> cameras ---> titan XL wide 4x5).</p>

<p>For 150mm and 90mm, I'd never think of schlepping a monorail around.</p>

<p>I'm with you Geoff, I find a monorail perfectly suitable for walking around shooting street scenes. I use a Sinar F2 with bag bellows which I carry (lens mounted) on a Gitzo CF tripod slung over my shoulder. Everything else (darkcloth, two additonal lenses, 18 film holders, meter, filters, etc.) fits in a medium-sized shoulder bag.</p>

<p>Honestly, this setup is no heavier or any less manageable than when I used to lug around a couple of D2s and lenses while shooting sports. I just find the whole field camera/backpack thing far too much trouble. If I were hiking, however, I may change my mind pretty quickly (and for 8x10, there is no way I'm hauling my Sinar P out anywhere)!</p>

<p>A 4X5 Gowland...or the slightly later Calumet/Gowland of the same basic design, will work great with a 90/150 combo. Not that sturdy...and a bit finicky in use assuming you'd need more versatility...but for your use, you could leave this camera mounted with a 90 (or 150) - pre-focussed to some general distance which you can tweak after setup - and you can carry this on a shoulder strap. Add a quick release mounting plate and there you have it - quick to set up, shoot, take down, and move on. Would be perfect for you. Not a bad rise with the 90 either (assuming you'd need/want this with buildings, etc.), as its bellows is already rather short and therefore not all that stressed with this movement.</p>

<p>I can remember...back in 1982 - took a workshop with Cole Weston and garnered a bit of attention by having a Calumet/Gowland slung around my neck. Got some truly great work with this little camera! Still have it around, and just....might.....consider....selling it. Then again - maybe not!</p>

 

<p>Thanks for all the suggestions and info, I certainly have a lot of reading to do! There are several cameras here which appear to be suitable, some of which I had previously not heard of. There are some very different designs which appear to meet what I'm looking for. </p>

<p>By affordable, I am hoping to get a second hand kit (basic set up with one lens) for under $1,000. If the right camera is above that, I can also look at selling some extra gear to make up the difference. I would rather spend a bit more now, than go looking for a new camera in a year or so. </p>

<p>I would recommend the Toyo 45 CF which is a carbon fiber body camera. It is extremely light, but it does not have the range of movements that a monorail camera would have. If you (like me) don't find a tremendous need for extensive movements, I would definitely look at this camera. I own a Canham DLC 45 and absolutely love it. It is a bit heavier than the Toyo, yet lighter than most metal bodied field cameras. The Canham is a nice fit between a folding field camera and a monorail view camera. The only thing the Canham lacks (which does not bother me at all) is rear rise and fall. The first 4x5 camera I bought was a Cambo (Calumet) SC monorail. It's a nice camera, but it is too awkward to carry around. I since bought a Crown Graphic and thus began my journey into Large Format. My Cambo monorail has still never been used (by me, I bought it used 3 years ago). For under $1000, you can get a great kit to start off with. A brand new Toyo 45 CF costs about $850, and a used one probably about $600. You could get a great 135mm or 150mm lens for less than $200. I would go with Schneider, Nikon, Rodenstock, or Fuji, and would get one that has a max aperture of f/5.6 in a Copal 0 shutter. </p>

<p>I'm with Dave Carroll's setup, 100 percent. Whether I carry the monorail camera (inverted, using the rail as a handle) in one hand and the tripod in the other, or with the camera mounted on a tripod over my shoulder the way Dave does, a monorail is for me much quicker to get ready to shoot than a folded field camera is. There's only a minimal weight penalty if one uses a lightweight camera like the F2.</p>

<p>Best of all, with a bag bellows mounted on a monorail camera you have almost limitless movements with lenses from superwide through normal <em>without forcing the bellows or deflecting the front and rear standards</em>. That is often not the case when using full-rise at infinity -- a common choice for my streetscapes -- with wide-angle lenses on a folding field camera with a pleated bellows.</p>

<p>But only you can know how much you'd use extreme movements, how much you're willing to spend, how wide-angle you're likely to go, how often you'd be walking with the camera ready to shoot vs. driving with it, etc.</p>

<p>The lightest momorail 5x4 that know of is the <strong><em>Gowland Pocket View.</em></strong> They come up on the'Bay from time to time and usually go down for under $400. Is that light enough and/or cheap enough?</p>

<p>Geoff:<br>

Your posting caught my eye by combining <strong><em>street shots</em></strong> with <strong>view <em>camera. </em></strong><br>

Geoff: <br>

<strong>I have two thoughts: I once used a little Sinar F view camera. </strong><br>

<strong><em>I loved that camera for its fast set up. IN fact, I usually carried it in a bag ready-to-shoot --very light, very fast. On the other hand, it was a view camera and needed a tripod and was slow to use in other respects.</em></strong><br>

<strong><em>Have you considered the Graphic Super Speed? Consider: a handheld 4x5. the lens stays attached; the whole body folds into its own sturdy box. You can focus with a rangefinder, groundglass, or with a scale atop the body! Or you can use the scale with the pop-up sports finder! Fast. Fast Fast. </em></strong><br>

<strong><em>It's just a thought: the 4x5 press camera.</em></strong></p>

<p>Gene, a press camera is a good suggestion, they are certainly light, affordable and quick to use, I'll probably pick one up eventually then run around pretending to be Weegee! I currently use a Leica M3 and a Yashica 6x6 TLR for street photography, and they're both great. With a LF camera I want to take a very different approach to street, and really focus on my composition and 'learning where to stand'. With the borrowed Graphic View, I really enjoyed being forced to consider every little detail, and the flexability of the movements.</p>

<p>I guess I'm not expecting the ease or speed of a hand held camera as I already have that covered, but I do want to be able to put the tripod down and start composing straight away, rather than unfolding a field camera. I thought the Linhof was great that it folded into such a small, protective package, which could easily be carried in a back pack, but just seemed a bit slow to unfold, then slower to work with that a monorail.</p>

<p>I very much like the look of the Ebony 45S, is anyone making a similar camera at a lower price? The Toho and Gowland both look good. Sinar Norma or F also looks great, and there seems to be plenty available second hand. </p>

<p>For street and walking around, I use a TLR a lot, I also do some with 35mm; but I prefer a larger negative---So I use a 4x5 when I can. I also use a Tachihara 4x5 field camera--which I carry in a big Domke bag---I never fold it--so it's ready to go out of the bag! It is arguably the lightest out there. In fact, I also have an 8x10 Tachi, but it's a real commitment to use. IMHO, there's not a single camera that offers it all; each has its own frustrations and delights---I bounce from one to another. For an alternative that's cheaper, you might look at the Toyo models--they make one that's mainly rugged plastic--in a folding field camera style. Anytime you go out with a view camera and set it up in the street, you'll get lots of questions--good for portraits on the street. I have been using the Super Graphic for shooting civil war reenactors--not Matthew Brady, but still retro.</p>

<p>I have a Bender 4x5 monorail kit camera. With the short rail it weighs around 3 1/2 pounds.</p>

<p><em>"I very much like the look of the Ebony 45S, is anyone making a similar camera at a lower price?"</em></p>

<p>Look at my first response.<br /> Shen Hao TFC-IIB 4x5 (£530, robertwhite.co.uk)<br /> Shen Hao XPO 4x5 ($840, badgergraphic.com)<br>

Walker Titan XL Wide 4x5 (£1075, walkercameras.com)</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Thanks Friedmann, I had looked at those cameras, but I think I've done so much reading over the least few days I'm perhaps getting a bit overwhelmed! I'll digest it all over the next week or two. </p>

<p>Hello G: <br>

Another thought might be one of the Polaroid 110 conversions ( Razzle, Byron, Alpinhaus). They fold up compactly and shoot a good bit like your M-3 with a range/viewfinder (coupled, paralax corrected etc). Ground glass viewing is possible and the tripod can be very light.</p>

<p>Geoff said he wanted to shoot "streetscapes," not grab shots on the street, so I don't see a problem with using a view camera. My vote is for the Canham 45 DLC, which I've been using for about a decade. It's a great compromise between a field camera and a monorail.</p>