R.H. Phillips 4x5 Large format field cameras

[mike_hegerfeld]

I am in the market for a 4x5 large format camera to use for landscapes. I plan to do a lot of hiking over sometimes rough terrain, primarily in the Blue Ridge Mountains so I would prefer a rather light but sturdy camera. I have researched Winser, Wista, Toyo, and Canham cameras. Does anyone have experiece with the Phillips 4x5 camera and how does it compare to other field camera in your opinion. I tried searching the photo.net but could only find information on his 8x10 cameras. Thanks for any help you can give me.

[brian_c._ellis]

I don't have much personal experience but since no one else has

responded, here goes. Phillips made, or at least used to make, at

least three different models of 8x10 cameras. Unfortunately I don't

remember which model used which name. However, the least expensive

model (the "Explorer" maybe?) was an amazingly light 8x10 camera that

would be wonderful for back packing. I believe it weighed around 6

pounds or so. It did have two downsides. First, the back couldn't be

rotated from horizontal to vertical so if you wanted to do a vertical

photograph the only way was to turn the camera on its side on the

tripod, a little scary with an 8x10 camera, even one this light. The

other was a short bellows for an 8x10 camera- I think something in the

20 inch range. If you could live with these two drawbacks, it was a

great 8x10 for back packing. The other two models were more expensive

and were more like "normal" 8x10s - the back could be rotated, the

bellows was longer, the weight and cost were more. I've never seen

these two models so I have no experience with them. There was a review

of all Phillips 8x10 cameras in "View Camera" magazine a few years ago

but I no longer have the magazine so I can't give you a cite.

Hopefully someone will be able to provide you with more detailed

information than this. I saw the basic model for sale by Mike Jones, I

think in the photo.net large format section, a month or so ago but I

don't know if it's still available.

[brian_c._ellis]

Sorry for the above useless response. I see "Phillips" and I think

8x10 camera since they just started making 4x5s a short while ago. I

didn't see that you were asking about the 4x5 until after I posted the

message. Sorry. Brian