Beginners First 4x5 Camera

[j. caputo]

<p>I have searched the forums and found no threads like this one in which I hope to find an answer to my question as well as help other future beginner LF people. I want to get involved in large format cameras starting with a 4x5. Can you all offer a list of good cameras for the first time buyer? I am looking for both new and used since I am not sure which I want to go with yet. My budget is $1000 OR LESS. If I can get a camera with everything else I need to get me started for $200 I would love to do that. Please include the manufacturer as well as model of the camera suggested. If you can point me in the right direction to find that particular camera it would be even better. I am not looking for anything too fancy. As long as it has what it takes to take a nice image. I will be shooting landscape and I will be looking for a field camera. Size and weight are not a huge worry of mine. Thanks everyone, Jimmy.</p>

[frank_menesdorfer]

<p>Ebay would be a place for you to look and I beleive that any wooden camera like nagaoka, wista, tachihara. ebony would do. Than you need some holders, a lens, lightmeter, dark cloth, tripod and something to carry those and off you go!<br>

Just go into Ebay and hit photography and there large format. Just look around and see what is upthere.<br>

Good luck to you!</p>

[BrianS1664879711]

<p>For field work, a wooden field camera, as mentioned above, is a good choice and there are many on the auction site. Keep looking and you'll find what you want at a decent price! For handheld work a Graphic is a good choice to consider. Also think about what kind of film you intend to use. Almost anything will hold the regular film holders, but you'll need a graflok back for most roll film holders.</p>

[brucecahn]

<p>New field cameras for under $1000. are a limited choice. Tachihara and Osaka are among the better budget cameras. If you don't care about weight you might consider a monorail. A used Sinar F is heavy and clumsy to take out, but costs very little and is a good camera. Sometimes Plaubels turn up on Ebay. Plaubel is a first class monorail, not a budget camera. They go for very little used. Either is a fine tool. Another possibility would be a Graphic. They have lmited movements but are tough, inexpensive and OK to start with, if not full featured. </p>

[norman_valentine]

<p>You could get an MPP for what you are prepared to spend. They are very versatile and can even be used hand held!</p>

[j. caputo]

<p>How would I find an MMP? Is that the manufacturer or the model? Also, how do I know which lens to get with these listed cameras? I am assuming they all come with the lens since there was no talk about lens specifics.</p>

[norman_valentine]

<p>MPP is the manufacturer, Micro Precision Products. There are a couple on Ebay right now. Around £200-300 will buy you a body. A 150mm symmar lens would be a good start.</p>

[frank_menesdorfer]

<p>Well to learn you might just get 135mm lens or the 150 this considered as normal lens. Choices could be Schneider or any other oriented to your budget. lather a WA and a kind of longer lens up to 300mm would be nice for you..<br>

No not all the 4x5 coming with the lens but; if you find a complete kit usualy it's cheaper to get.</p>

[brucecahn]

<p>These cameras are sold without a lens or lens board new. Sometimes they are included with used equipment. You may use any view camera lens on any view camera as long as it is not too big and you have a lensboard for it. Lensboards come with standard size holes for #0, 1 or 3 shutters. The great selection of possible lenses is one of the big advantages of a LF camera. The best lenses are made by Rodenstock and Schneider. Nikon lenses are OK too.</p>

[jack_welsh]

<p>If you don't mind a monorail. I bought a Cambo SCII in Ex condition at Keh for $215.00. A wooden case can be made very cheaply out of Birch Plywood.</p>

[John Crowe]

<p>A Graflex Speed Graphic or Crown Graphic would be an economical way to start. There are quite a few versions of each and they also come in medium format sizes, so watch out for that too. I have a Speed Graphic in perfect working order and enjoy using it, although the focal plane shutter only goes as slow as 1/10 second, so I have never had cause to use it's shutter. Go to graflex.org for more info.</p>

[jnanian]

<p>hi jimmy,<br>

get one lens and an inexpensive camera, save your money for film and everything else ...<br>

besides the camera+lens, you will need film holders, dark cloth<br>

( you can go to a fabric store and get something cheap) a tripod, and light meter.<br>

then you will either need trays or tanks or a rotary processor ( if you want to process the film yourself)<br>

or a little money left ofer to give to the lab ...</p>

<p>have fun!</p>

<p> </p>

[bawallace]

<p>I recently got into 4x5. Difficult to buy everything you need cheaply. A graflex on ebay might be the way to go if it comes with film holders, a basic lens etc. All the accessories can add up so you should make a list to see just what you need first. I bought my equipment over time and am enjoying it. I don't want to discourage you but be prepared for some messed up negatives in the beginning. But when you get a decent shot and examine the negative you will be amazed at the fine details in 4x5 compared to 35mm, if that's what you currently shoot. Basically you need what j nanian has detailed in a previous post. Options later are filters (for b&w shooting). A cheap scanner that does transparencies is fun for easy digital conversion. If you can borrow Ansel Adam's 3 books at the local library, "camera" "negative" and "print" they have good tips about how to do all the steps, with pictures. I found the section on developing negatives in trays particularly helpful, this is the cheapest way to do it. The tanks cost at least 30 to 40 dollars on ebay. And you can use the trays for developing contact prints after, if you don't have a scanner that works on transparencies. A cheap digital camera is good for finding the right exposure and some can be set to b&w for a preview. They are also good for door stops. Search the forums on photo.net for other questions as they come up, you can usually find a good answer to most problems.<br>

Good luck with the new hobby!</p>

[jack_welsh]

<p>I have an Anniversary Speed and that would be a great camera, too. Any Graphic would be. Bear in mind that the focal plane shutters on the old Speed were made of cloth. And, it is very common for the cloth to have tons of pinholes in it. But, any lens with shutter would solve that problem easily. A spot meter is excellent to use for landscapes. I don't know where I would be without mine. It also has an incident meter.</p>

[frankz]

<p>I would suggest an Omega 45D - they show up on FleaBay occasionally and you can find one for a reasonable price (sometimes). The problem is the gents/ladies that have them think they've got something really valueable when in reality they are a bottom line camera. It will last rather well if you don't get rough with it. I had one 25 years ago as my first LF camera.<br>

Pair it with a 150mm or 210mm lens (with shutter) and you'll have a full motion view camera you can learn about the movements with for less than $500 or so.<br>

I'd suggest not going for anything too modern until you've learned a bit about LF. I have a Sinar 4X5 and 8X10 set now and I don't think I would have appreciated it as I do if I had to learn with it, not knowing the basics.<br>

At any rate, you've made a good choice and welcome to the world of insanity that is large format fotograffy!</p>

[tom_toolan]

<p>I love my 4x5 Busch Pressman with 135mm lens for average situations, (about $150 with lens on ebay). It is very rugged, having a metal body as compared to the Graphic that is wood, movements are smother also. I also have been using a 2x3 Busch that I adapted the back to hold a 6x7 roll film back, nice quick hand held setup. <br>

For more critical work the 45D that Frank Szabo suggests above is an excellent choice, but it is heavy and bulky, needs a strong tripod.</p>

[frankz]

<p><a href="../photodb/user?user_id=2363975">Tom Toolan</a> <a href="../member-status-icons"></a>, Dec 31, 2008; 07:55 a.m.<br>

... snip <br />For more critical work the 45D that Frank Szabo suggests above is an excellent choice, but it is heavy and bulky, needs a strong tripod.<br />_______________________<br>

Tom:<br>

With the exception of the uprights and the monorail (and a small handfulof other parts), the 45D is allmost all plastic (and therefore, must be used gently), hardly what I'd call heavy, though. I'd guess about 12 lbs counting a Bogen 3030 tripod.</p>

<p>I'll let you call my 8X10 Sinar heavy - it is!</p>

 

[christopher_graham1]

<p>Recommendation. Obviously this comes up occasionally but the question is really vague. Really you need to have an idea of what you want to shoot and how. Only then would you know what movements are necessary and what kind of weight issues you would have. For me a Calumet C400, 6 dark slides, a cheap but sturdy tripod (next LF purchase is likely to be a surveyors tripod that I will do a few minor modifications to very light very sturdy very cheap very tall all good to have), a shutter release cord, a good black sweatshirt, and a schneider lens were a cheap excellent beginner pack. I can put the C400 on the tripod and throw it over my shoulder. It turns out to not be much of a burden but then again I don't hike so it doesn't have to go more than a few hundred feet, so far no more than 500 I would say. You can probably get a good Wollensak lens for less money and a nice 135 would be a good place to start. I generally use a t-shirt as a dark cloth but a sweatshirt has been reported to me to be better than any dark cloth. It sets up like a dark cloth has arms so if you need to do careful loop focusing you have your hands free for that and after shooting soft evening light you can wear it back to the car to keep you warm. Judging by the fact that I can see the older somewhat faded screen on my camera beautifully with just a t-shirt I would say that he is probably right about the sweatshirt. You might be able to find a C400 with a lens and some dark slides for a little over $100 the rest wouldn't be that bad. The heavy duty tripod and the lens are the worst expenses if you are ok with a fairly basic camera with decent movements. The old saying that the glass and the film make the picture and the body is just a dark box is especially true with LF. Nicer ones are lighter with more convenient or easier movements or more drastic angles. The drastic angles won't be all that necessary you will find as you would need a massive lens to do much more than a basic camera would give you but easier and lighter may be a big deal. The fold up style portable cameras are light and great for hiking but have fewer movements, however, usually enough for most projects. </p>

[cheryl_malone]

<p>Last fall I bought a Calumet Cadet complete with lensboard, lens, focusing cloth and 6 film holders for less than $600. It had never been used. I took a class at MassArt and was able to take home a Cadet and tripod to use for the 8 week class. After the class I knew that I would buy a 4x5, but didn't have a lot of money to spend at the time. I was considering a Tachihara, but decided to buy the Cadet when the opportunity presented itself.</p>