stefan_dalibor1

Sorry for a not exactly LF-related question, but I think this might be interesting for all of us foreigners buying expensive foto stuff in the U.S. from time to time...<p>

Has anybody succeeded in reclaiming the state tax on the goods you purchased and exported from the U.S.?<br>

Here in Germany, this is no problem (although it involves quite a bit of bureaucratic overhead), but a friend of mine has been told (in stores in N.Y.C.) that it is impossible to reclaim U.S. state taxes, regardless of wether you are a non U.S. resident and the products purchased will be exported.

Two remarks: <ul><li>You didn't tell which monorail you use - while it might be true that you could get faster by switching to a technical/press/field LF camera from a studio monorail (which has to be assembled/dissembled before/after shooting), I don't believe that you'll get faster than a Technikardan, Toyo VX, or (in my case) Arca F line C - my camera is out of the bag (with a large lens already attached), on the tripod and ready to operate within about 30 seconds.</li>

<li>I used a MF range finder (Fuji GW 690) extensively and exclusively for 3 years, and switched to LF due to the limitations of this system - it's true this is a very light and small device (the complete kit is smaller than the 35mm equipment many people carry).<br>But if you want to get decent pictures from it, in my experience you'll have to invest time: Use a tripod, frame/meter accurately etc.<br>I finally switched to a (non-handholdable) LF system because I had to admit that less than 5% of the really nice pictures I got were done the `snapshot' style.<br>I don't have experience with press cameras, but IMO at least for the Fuji 6x9 RF, getting high quality from quick hand-held shots in architecture/landscape is a delusion... I believe also that this comes from the inherent limitations of the RF concept, combined with the long focal lengths needed for larger than 35mm formats.<br>

If you really want to work faster, but with higher quality than 35mm, IMO a portable MF SLR system would serve better (Pentax 67, or Pentacon/Kiev as cheap alternative).</li></ul>

Has anybody tried the carbon tripods made by Velbon (Carmagne 630/640) or Manfrotto (Carbon No. One 440/441) for supporting LF equipment of moderate weight (e.g. an AS F-Line with focal range between 75 and 300mm)?<br>

The B&H specs for the carmagne tripods look rather impressive (B;can support25LbsB+ at 3Lbs weight and below 50cm packed length) - is this just marketing hype?<br>

Manfrotto specs are much more conservative (supports up only up to 11Lbs at similar tripod dimensions, and is shown only with an MF camera on top of it in the flyer)...<p>

If you do use those tripods, did you notice any problems regarding robustness/quality? How compare Velbon/Manfrotto carbon tripods to those made by the carbon pioneer Gitzo?

I'm contemplating about aquiring the (non-selfsupporting) viewing bellows with the bino viewer (w/ integrated loupe) made by Arca Swiss.<br> Is anybody using this device? Does it prove useful, and if not, why?<br>

An Arca rep at Fotokina said that he would recommend their reflex viewer over the viewing bellows, but I tend to think nothing compares to direct ground glass observation when judging sharpness.<p>

Asking more generally, what are the pros, and especially the cons, of such (non-reflex) binocular viewing aids, compared to the traditional dark cloth?

[ urgs, late nite posting ]... to end the story, he turned red and asked a collegue. This guy found out (after some paper searching) that the prints had been done using a scanner back at some unknown resolution (I'd estimate about 5 to 10px/mm).<br>

Maybe that going digital is unavoidable, but what is really depressing for me is that the <i>consumer electronics</i> marketing hype attitude that brought marvels like APS to us seems to take over the professionel photo gear market...

When I was at Fotokina, I tried to see a sample of the new Readyload system - but I was unable to find a single representative in the whole Kodak hall who could tell me where to find the Readyload system in the colorful Kodak labyrinth. After about 15 minutes, I gave up and tried Fuji - where I was told that yes, they knew the product (i.e. Quickload), but no, there wasn't a sample holder/film package available at the booth...<p>

At the Sinar booth, I asked for a demonstration of the Zoom rollfilm holder - they managed to find a sample, but the guy who tried to show it to me had no idea how it worked.<br>To do both of us a favour, I gave up on the Zoom and asked him about the resolution of shots taken with the new 3m x 2m pixel back: he insisted the digital shots would have more resolution than anything 4x5 film could do nowadays.<br>

When I showed some sceptiscim about this claim, he tried to prove it to me by refering to the demo prints decorating the booth (about 0.9m x 1.2m). Now, these prints really looked fine - but they consisted quite obviously of much more than 6 megapixels.<br>

I pointed him to the fact that 1m/2000 pixels would result to 2 pixels per mm

I have only 1 catalogue of a Linhof retailer in front of me, and it might be not the best price you can get here (www.monochrom.com)...<br>

Anyway, a Linhof Master Technika is DM 8909,- (in the 2001 catalogue I got at Fotokina). They don't list the Technikardan anymore (IMHO amazing, I thought that the TK would sell much better!), but in the last (i.e. 2000) catalogue, a TK 45S was DM 5788.-.<p>

As a non-german/non-EC resident, you should be able to reclaim the `Mehrwertsteuer' of 16% (albeit with quite a bit of paper overhead/time lag - don't forget that this is total bureaucracy quality country :), which means the Technika would cost about DM 7700,- and the 45S DM about 4990,-.<p>

At these prices, you really should try to bargain - it pays, esp. if you can pay cash.

I, too, was rather impressed by the camera (inventor/producer Dr. Gilde demonstrated it to me at Fotokina)...<br>

Referring the focal length, he had even a sample of the new Schneider 400mm attached to one of his cameras, and he said that you can use the Nikkor tele lenses up to 720mm if necessary (using 2 tripods). Focus is obtained either per estimation/DOF, or by a groundglass (which is a standard accessory part) - the camera has a light-tight detachable film magazine, so you can check the groundglass at any time.<p>

I think if I were rich enough, I would buy a Gilde system immediately... it really brings together the best things from (medium format) panorama and view cameras (shift & tilt!)... I hope the Fotokina was enough marketing boost for the product to allow lowering the price due to increased sales (just dreaming :). According to Dr. Gilde, the cameras are produced on order currently due to the limited interest, explaining the high price.

I've not used this camera, but played with it for a while at Brenner Foto (Weiden, Bavaria) - they are marketing the B.I.G. products in Germany.<p>

My experience with large format cameras is very limited, and I tend to (over?)emphasize stability, rigidity and precision in any kind of equipment, so it may be that I'm a bit to critical to any wooden camera... anyway, the B.I.G. seemed a bit flimsy to me - the wooden surfaces feeled rather soft, and the whole construction not very robust (I was really afraid to damage the wood/screws when trying to lock the standarts). The movements felt not very smooth, and un/folding the camera was a complex operation, compared to a metal field (e.g. Linhof Technika).<BR>

Otherwise, it seemed to be workable (with the usual limits of such systems, i.e. only 30cm bellows draw and limited movements/extendability).<br>

By the way, a test of the B.I.G. 45 GJM in the german fotoMagazin 4/99 resulted in rather similar conclusions: A bit on the cheap/unprecise side and not really a LF system, but otherwise O.K. (when comparing price/feature ratio).