Anyone have a Gowland Pocket View?

[craig_roberts]

I'm planning to upgrade from my all metal B & J Orbit. I'm looking for

something reasonably priced (I'd love a Sinar, but...) and am intrigued by Peter

Gowland's Pocket View 4 x 5. Does anyone have any experience with teh Gowland

cameras? They look sturdy and stable -- but then, so does my somewhat shaky old

Orbit.

 

Thanks,

 

Craig

Washington, DC

[frank r]

I have a very similar model, the Calumet Gowland 4x5. It is very lightweight for a view camera; that is why I bought it.

 

The Gowlands are handmade so they do not have the professional fit and finish like other commercial cameras. Mine has all the necessary movements. Everything is held together by locking knobs.

 

At first I was a little disappointed at how wobbly it performed. Mine was succeptible to more movement because it comes with a bail back instead of a graflock back. Later I reconsidered when I mounted it on a much sturdier tripod. Pulling open the bail no longer yanked the camera out of alignment.

 

If you are going to buy new and are looking for something ultra light but with better features, you should consider the Toho (not Toyo).

[david_brown1]

I have two of them. If you are looking for a compact, lightweight monorail, the gowland is definately worth a look.

 

Just be aware, Peter made these cameras very light by making them very basic. Some models require an allen wrench for some adjustments; some models don't have all movements. Movements aren't very precise, and the monorail design doesn't fit a backpack as easily as a field camera.

 

That said, it's sturdy, it doesn't require a 15 pound tripod, and handles lenses from 75mm to 300mm.

 

- Dave

[john_schneider2]

There is not too much else of substance that I can add to the above answers; my love-hate relationship with my Pocket View got the better of me and I replaced the entire front standard with a unit from a Technika, added a gear rack for geared focusing, and remade the rail clamp so that it uses a big knob like a Linhof. Now I have much more what I was looking for, which was a lightweight Technikardan, but with a good bit of work. The Gowland is a nice camera within its limitations, but you have to decide if your shooting style fits within those limitations.

[frank r]

FYI: The one I bought off Ebay had those allen screws and a little allen wrench on a lanyard. I replaced them all with threaded plastic knobs. Much more convenient.

[troyammons]

I had one and sold it. Its too limited. If you need something superlight and only want to use tilt that would work.

 

A toho would be better