About Toyo VX125

[nhp]

Thanks for a lot of advice about my prior questions(Which Wide angle lens is good for Architecture?/Compact View camera for Architecture & Interior,etc...) I have got a lot of responses from photo lovers. Thanks again. At last I have got Toyo VX125 camera. It is really compact and light weight for field location. However, I think I need extra bellows and monorail like 450~500mm for studio shooting with my 210mm lens. If anyone knows about this, please give me a advice about correct model name. I am still wondering between 65mm and 72/75mm wide angle lens. My budget is tight, so I should take just right one for Architectue and Interior with 4X5 sheet film or 6X7 roll film back. By the way, I have got Toyo 3.6X groundglass focusing loupe and ABS compact camera case for VX125, but I think I do not need them. If someone has interesting with them, please let me know. Thanks. www.welcome.to/studionaki

[ellis_vener_photography]

Gee does the VX125 extend that far, even with the extension kit? Maybe you should have gotten the very expandable (and less expensive) Arca Swiss F-line

Metric that the VX is an overpriced clone of? Maybe even a Linhof TK45s.

[yong_ran_zhu]

Please check Toyo Web Page:

http://www.toyoview.com/Products/*Accessories/VX125ac.html

[kerry_thalmann2]

NHP,

 

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Congratulations on your new camera. I have a favor to ask. Could you

please weigh your camera on a reasonably accurate scale (postal scale

should work fine) and post the actual weight? I know the specs say

2.5kg (5.5lb.), but I have found many view cameras, especially those

designated by their manufacturers as "lightweight", often weigh

considerably more than advertized. Since I don't have access to a

VX125, I'd like to know the true weight from someone who actually has

one.

 

<p>

 

Thanks,

Kerry

[jim_chow]

Since you can get 324mm of extension using the screw-on end inserts,

you don't need a long rail unless you plan to do macro work w/ the

210mm. You can use up to a 300mm non-tele lens or the 400/5.6 apo

tele-xenar HM (will focus to 15 ft w/ 324mm of extension, according

to Schneider USA). With the Toyo VX125, you can use a 72/90XL w/ the

stock bellows and get full rise (I've even done it w/ a 58XL). This

is impossible w/ the Arca or Linhof without the bag bellows, and the

Toyo's setup and takedown times are faster than those of either one.

[alpshiker]

Toyo's technical sheet advertises 2,6 Kg. I have put it on a scale and naked, the VX 125 weighs 2,850 Kg

with the rail extensions. Fully operational with a Linhof recessed adapter, Bogen Hex plate and a

Horseman folding binocular viewer, the camera weighs 3,600 Kg (without lens) which is not bad at all if

you think you can manage lenses from 35 to 300 mm and have the convenience of a studio camera. Ellis, I

had asked a similar question about the Arca, some time ago but have not been able to get an idea of the

weight of a set capable of managing this range of lenses. Can you help? Thanks!

[greg_lawhon]

I think some of Ellis' pricing information is out of date. A few

years ago B&H sold the VX125 for $5,995 (yeah, that is hard to

understand), but now it's listed on the B&H website for $3,999.

That's only about $500 more than the Linhof Technikardan and

Arca-Swiss F-Line Metric. But of course if you've read this forum for

long you'd get your VX125 from Robert White Photographic in Great

Britain, which sells the VX125 for $2,400 (1,600 pounds).

[kerry_thalmann2]

Thanks for the weight info, Paul.

 

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Sorry, I don't have access to an Arca Swiss, so I can't help you out

there. But, I do have a Linhof Technikardan TK45S (the other camera

Ellis mentioned, and along with the Arca Swiss, the one most often

compared to the VX125). Also, I don't have a binocular viewer, so

none is included in the numbers below.

 

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Naked TK45S:

Mine weighs - 7 lb. 8 1/4 oz. (3410)

Advertised weight - 6.6 lbs = 6 lb. 9.6oz (3000g)*

Note: * The 3000g figure is from a Linhof Technikardan TK45S

promotional brochure dated August, 1996. Oddly enough, the

instruction manual that came with my TK45S (dated November, 1994)

lists the weight as a much more accurate 3400g.

 

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Bag Bellows:

Mine weighs - 5 1/4 oz. (150g)

 

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RRS Quick Release Plate:

Mine weighs 9 oz. (260g)

 

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Total:

Mine weighs - 8 lb. 6 1/2 oz. (3820g).

 

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A lighter quick release plate could be used, but the RRS plate was

designed specifically for the TK45S and makes it better balanced when

using long lenses or doing close-up work. It's still not perfectly

centered above the tripod head when fully extended, but I prefer the

RRS solution (smaller, lighter, less expensive, can be left on the

camera when folded, etc.) over the Linhof Macro Support Bracket.

 

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Not sure if it can use a 35mm lens (perhaps with a recessed board). I

don't own anything shorter than a 75mm (which works fine on a flat

board with the bag bellows). The Technikardan brochure I have

predates the availability of the 35mm APO Grandagon, so the shortest

lens mentioned is the 47mm (which they say can be used with full

movements with the bag bellows). However, with 504mm maximum

extension, the TK45S can easily handle my little 450mm Fujinon (425mm

ftf) for general purpose use, or even the 720mm Nikkor T-ED (469.2mm

ftf) for distant subjects - something neither the VX125 or the Arca

can manage without additional longer bellows and extension rails.

Since I prefer longer lenses over ultrawides, this is a better

solution for my needs. Perhaps somebody out there who has used the TK

with ultrawide lenses could enlighten us as to how it does for that

application.

 

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Kerry

[ellis_vener_photography]

My Arca Swiss F-line with a full 40cm optical bench weighs just about 7.5 lbs. An FC will weigh less since it has a tripod block, not an optical bench.

[alpshiker]

Kerry, Ellis, thanks for the informations! No doubt either the TKs and Arca are excellent portable

cameras.