4x5-Field vs. Monorail

[eric]

I went the monorail route, though admittedly I really enjoy LF portraits and macro shots as well as landscapes. I do take the monorail out and don't have many problems - just move both standards to one end, throw the stap over my shoulder and the other end sticks out away from me. If you only want to do landscapes, go for the field camera. If you want more versatility, go for the monorail. It may not be pretty to carry, but the monorail has been portable enough for me.

Pretty cool way of carrying it. Never thought of that. I use a my kids red Radio Flyer to carry my Cambo 4x5.
When I think how hard it is, I just think of those cinematographers that carry movie equipment to Africa or up mountains. I watched some animal show once on Animal Planet and this one guy was running with a huge tripod and a movie camera so he can catch a snake somewhere.

You know,they sell those Radio Flyer's with massive, air filled wheels. I'll have to borrow one of those one day to see if it'll make it on a hike.

 

[aizan]

there are some monorails that are easy to pack, such as the arca swiss f-classic, linhof technikardan, kardan lt, the tohos...

 

[Trius]

Is the monorail for the G one piece or two? If two, you're good to go. As I said in a PM to Wayne, the killer is the number of film holders you take in. Most people underestimate the weight of those; we're used to having as much 35mm or 120 film as we might possibly use in oh, a couple of years, along on a single day's outing JUST IN CASE. With 4x5 your muscles will hate you forever if you do that too often, hence the Ready/Quick load systems. (Very few LF shooters who hike in considerable distance take more than one lens. A single lens and 4x5 camera kit can be reasonably "light" compared to the kit some 35mm shooters take into the bush.

So if the G kit is a really good price and can be packed efficiently into a proper case, then I'd go for it since selling it later if you change your mind will be pretty straight forward.

... BUT ... what is the weight of the G? The current GII weighs in at 12 lbs, I know my 45A is ~ 6, and the current 45AX is < 6lbs. 6 lb difference is a lot of film holders. And wooden field cameras often weigh even less.

Earl

 

[wlewisiii]

Backpacking is one area where the old convertable lenses still make sense - one lens and 2 or 3 focal lenghts for the same wieght. Holders & accessories (meter, dark cloth, etc) are where the real weight comes from, though.

I had a Speed Graphic, bought a Calumet monorail, & am working on a stripped down Crown Graphic for my light weight field camera option. All are good & all have different strengths & weaknesses. See if you can try one or two before buying. Just don't look at any 5x7 or 8x10 negs in the meantime <GD&R>

If I can pick up a couple of Grafmatics for sane prices, then the Crown with my convertable Symmar will make a nice light backpack system.

William

 

[mbisc]

If you can afford it, get an Arca Swiss Field Camera -- capabilities of a monorail with the weight, size and portability of a wooden field camera (almost anyways). The best of both worlds and an awsome piece of engineering. Pretty easy to stuff into a backpack, too.

 

[john neal]

Like some of the others who have replied, I would think about the weight. I used to have a nice MPP monorail that I used in the woods, but it weighed a ton. Now I have a cherrywood Wista that weighs less the 1/3, but still has all the movements I need - plus it looks the absolute business!

 

[JCT]

Backpacking is one area where the old convertable lenses still make sense - one lens and 2 or 3 focal lenghts for the same wieght. Holders & accessories (meter, dark cloth, etc) are where the real weight comes from, though.

I had a Speed Graphic, bought a Calumet monorail, & am working on a stripped down Crown Graphic for my light weight field camera option. All are good & all have different strengths & weaknesses. See if you can try one or two before buying. Just don't look at any 5x7 or 8x10 negs in the meantime <GD&R>

If I can pick up a couple of Grafmatics for sane prices, then the Crown with my convertable Symmar will make a nice light backpack system.

William

I'm a *serious* newbie to the format, started with a Shen-Hao (that I love) and recently acquired an old Toyo monorail for free (guy didn't have time for it and wanted it to be used). I also got a very neat little 2x3 Century for the price of postage. Someday I want to do what William is doing a convert a stripped Crown.

If you're just starting out, I think the field camera is the way to go (and HU, there's a Zone VI on photo.net for $475 this AM)). The get-up-and-go factor is really great and the fact that it doesn't have as many movements as the monorail has been a bit of a blessing as I have started to work out my approach. I have found that too many degrees of freedom can get a little frustrating at first. You can always grab a monorail for a song later on --- keep an eye on craigslist, one of the great things about LF is that you can use the same set of lenses with different cameras in many cases (and certainly among the same format)-- a huge advantage. Also, if you end up not enjoying the field camera, resale is quite good.

BTW, LISTEN to William regarding NOT looking at 5x7 or 8x10 negatives. I didn't and now I have an old B&J 5x7 on the way for $100. Going to be my rainy day project along with replacing the seals on my XA and Ricoh G500. This forum is dangerous.

Good luck and enjoy,

JT

 

[f/stopblues]

BTW, LISTEN to William regarding NOT looking at 5x7 or 8x10 negatives. I didn't and now I have an old B&J 5x7 on the way for $100.

Excellent advice. I saw my first 8x10 contact print this month at a museum here in Kansas City. An Edward Weston original contact print is enough to give anyone a tickle down deep and start checking the LF classifieds. Oh, and next to it was an Ansel Adams contact, and on the wall behind it was an Avedon and Steichen. I *love* this new museum building.. I've been 3 times this month already. It's NOT good for my wallet, but its also an incredible source of inspiration.

 

[Santafecino]

More free advice--You might want to design your camera bag before buying anything. I used to have a Zone VI bag that held a Wista field camera, plus about six holders, a 135mm Symmar (light!), a 210mm Symmar-S, a reflex back (specally adapted for the Wista) and a Soligor spot meter--and it wasn't too much weight on the shoulder strap. Tripod went on the other shoulder. This was much better than the Toyo-View in its fiber box and was enough for me. Why did I ever sell it??? (I know the answer and it's another story). Now I'm thinking about getting back into LF, and it'll be a Crown Graphic--cheap and tough.

 

[Trius]

Bingo ... I have the Zone VI bag for 4x5 (I didn't/won't sell it unless the whole kit goes!), and it is a superbly designed piece of gear. You are right in that it carries very well even when loaded. This summer I will probably use it at Lake Superior with the Toyo, one lens (Fujinon 150/5.6, a few holders and maybe a meter.

Finding the RIGHT bag before the camera is a superb idea.

Edit: This bag has durable, "wipe-clean" outer surface that is white ... keeps the contents 10-20deg F cooler than black bags. Black bags are stupid, IMNSHO. 😀

More free advice--You might want to design your camera bag before buying anything. I used to have a Zone VI bag that held a Wista field camera, plus about six holders, a 135mm Symmar (light!), a 210mm Symmar-S, a reflex back (specally adapted for the Wista) and a Soligor spot meter--and it wasn't too much weight on the shoulder strap. Tripod went on the other shoulder. This was much better than the Toyo-View in its fiber box and was enough for me. Why did I ever sell it??? (I know the answer and it's another story). Now I'm thinking about getting back into LF, and it'll be a Crown Graphic--cheap and tough.

 

[venchka]

I just built a watch list at ebay. For educational purposes.

 

[Trius]

and I drink wine for medicinal purposes only.

 

[venchka]

I answered my own question

I answered my own question

After purchasing a Minolta Auto Meter IVF last night I asked the gentleman, "What else have you got for sale?"

"Are you interested in a Speed Graphic?" 😎 😱 😀

"I might be."

He left the room and returnd with a cardboard box. In the box was a decent looking Speed Graphic, 5 holders, flash gun with cord and a big, old, brass Voigtlander & Sohn, Braunschweig lens. The camera had a sticker on it with $100 written on it.

"$100 for everything in the box?"

"Yes."

😎 😀 🙂

Body Serial # : 8859xx
Ektar Serial # : RM248x
Voigtlander Serial # : DRP 8850x

Everything on the camera worked. The body covering is all intact and looks very good. The bellows look & feel like new. The camera has a coated Kodak Ektar 127mm 4.7 lens. The slow speeds are really slow. From 1/10 up seem ok. The focal plane shutter works in both ranges. The optical viewfinder is missing an element and is out of focus. The Kalart rengefinder works. The images are displaced horizontally. Can this be adjusted?

The camera is virtually identical to this one for sale on ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/SPEED-GRAPHIC-K...RMATIC-NR_W0QQitemZ260137209230QQcmdZViewItem

The serial numbers of both lenses and bodies are very close together. The lens was manufatured in 1953. I reckon the body dates from the same year or very close. The gentleman I bought it from has had it since the mid to late 50s.

The brass barrell lens is a Voigtlander Collinear II No 4 7 7/8 in 5.4 to 45. 7 7/8 in convets to 200mm. 🙂

Both lenses cleaned up very nicely after I got them home.

A few new questions:

What the heck is the Voigtlander lens? Good? Bad? Useable? The focal length equals 53mm on 35mm film. That's good.

What is the consensus on the Ektar lens? What is it's field of view? I just did the math. Approximately equal to 34mm on 35mm film. That's good.

Should I use the Fuji Quickloads? What gizmo do I need to be able to use the Fuji Quickloads?

Are 5 film holders adequate?

Do the optical viewfinders come up for sale? Or should I remove it and do without?

What kind of sheet film tank do I need to develop my own film?

I'm excited. It may be awhile before I get any film through my camera.

Oh. I passed on the Bronica with prism, one back & a 150mm lens. I could go back and get it. 😀

Thanks again for all of your help.

 

[Todd.Hanz]

Wayne, congrats on a sweet deal!

here is a good resource for Graphic cameras and lenses: http://graflex.org/speed-graphic/

Todd

 

[venchka]

Thanks Todd. I wasn't sure if the price was sweet or not. Then I found the thread from a few weeks ago for the $175 Speed Graphic that went to Erik in Norway. Last night I figured any 4x5 camera and lens was worth $100.

I'll do my homework at graflex.org tonight.

 

[Todd.Hanz]

The Ektars are sweet lenses, I have a 100/6.3 wide field ektar that doesn't suck, it's far better a lens than I am a photographer 😉

Todd

 

[venchka]

"I got that shot!"

"I got that shot!"

The same could be said about every lens I own. 😱

 

[venchka]

Pacemaker Speed Graphic

Pacemaker Speed Graphic

Apparently I bought a Pacemaker Speed Graphic from 1953 or 1954.

Pacemaker Speed Graphic

 

[Graham Line]

That's the way to buy them -- everything together from someone who's had it forever. Congratulations. The Ektar is sort of the standard lens for those and capable of very nice images. Don't forget to check the bellows for leaks (dim light source inside it in a dark room).
The first newspaper I worked for (in 1972, yet) was using that set-up. The chief photographer was very dubious of my 'miniature' camera (35mm) and we compromised on a 2 1/4 TLR.
My local lab says their 4x5 processing business is growing a few percentage points every year.

 

[venchka]

This is way cool

This is way cool

...

The brass barrell lens is a

Voigtlander Collinear II
No 4
7 7/8 in.
5.4 to 45
7 7/8" converts to 200mm. 🙂

...

Wayne, your Collinar is between 1907 and 1913 - probably 1908 or so.

I can't believe I am about to be using a 100 year old lens. It doesn't look a day over 50! 😎