Topic: Thoughts about large format camera

[Yaniv Waissa]

 I thinking to buy large formt camera ( I misss my sinar from school.... )
 I think that field camera will be perfect to me . What you think about Tachihara  and Shen-Hao?

[Francois]

Depends on what you want to do with it. How much movement you need.

Shulman did all his work outside with a Sinar and a Horseman...
Ansel had that wooden field cam...
Weegee had a nice Graflex (they are built like tanks)

[Skorj]

That new Toyo 4x5 with the carbon and black plastic body comes pretty close to being the choice for me. If I was to need a LF device that is... Short lens, Polaroid back, drooolll...

http://www.toyoview.com/Products/45CF/45CF.html

[Tammy]

If you are going for something adequate for the money, you can use both of these cameras with good success. 

I do not know the specs of each exactly, but I would look at versatility, movement, bellows draw, and weight- make comparisions.  Then decide what works best with your style. 

I have a Tachihara.  I have it because of cost, and weight.  I find that it suits my needs for field work quite  nicely.  I can pack it in my minitrekker with 3 lenses, light meter, loupe, darkcloth and filmholder for hiking and the weight is manageable for hiking up mountains.  It's actually lighter than my 35mm gear, and much lighter than my medium format.  So, it's all I use if I want to shoot landscapes. 

I have heard that Shen Hao is very nice to use and it's a pretty camera.

Good luck deciding. 

Tammy

[Francois]

You could always check out http://www.largeformatphotography.info/

As for cameras with rangefinders like the Crown Graphic, the rangefinder uses a cam which is often either hidden or hard to loose. Make sure it's included when you buy.

Linhoff cameras are also ultra nice to handle...

[Yaniv Waissa]

I didnt make my decision but thanks you all for writing back.
As soon as I'll get the camera I'll post some images

[Francois]

I know I have "parts" of a Graflex Crown Graphic (I don't have the original lens board so I made one out of sheet aluminum and heavy cardboard)

On the up side, it's portable, cheap, rugged.
On the down side, you have to turn the camera for vertical shots and by doing that, you loose a lot of movements for the lens...