I pulled the trigger, OMG, what have I done?! 😱
The Chamonix N-1 was gone and no others seems to be available at the moment, so I bought a refurbished Linhof Super Technica V with new bellows and covering
Looks like a great camera! Here's the instruction manual for the IV, should be useful for your V:
https://www.pacificrimcamera.com/rl/01693/01693.pdf
Now I need:
[*]Lens. I will probably get a 35mm equivalent ~105mm lens. Not many on the market in the US, all I found is in Japan.
Comparing 24x36mm with 96x120mm isn't super straightforward, since one is a 2:3 ratio and the other is 4:5, so do you crop one to match the other or not? There's no easy answer, by the way.
If you compare based on the short dimension, 96/24 is 4x, so you'd want a 140mm lens, which doesn't exist, but lots of 135mm lenses exist.
If you compare along the long dimension, 120/36 is 3-1/3x, so 35mm x 3.33 is 117, and that also doesn't exist. Schneider made their APO-Symmar and APO-Symmar-L lenses in 120mm, and that's what I started with when I got back into LF in 2000 (the plain APO-Symmar, as the L came out a few years later). 120mm is a less common focal length, so it may be harder to find.
If you compare along the diagonal (~154mm to 43.3mm), which is the most common way of comparing two formats that aren't the same ratio, you get about 3.5x, or 122.5mm, and I can recommend the Fuji 125/5.6, which is what replaced my Schneider 120/5.6 APO-Symmar.
Or, just get one of the very many 135/5.6 lenses from Caltar, Fuji, Nikon, Rodenstock or Schneider as a good "somewhat wide" starter lens. It's one of the most common focal lengths in 4x5 for a reason. Just get one with a good shutter. If it's a Copal shutter (overwhelmingly the most common), the black rim versions are newer (post 1980 or so) than the silver rimmed versions, so are likely in better shape.
[*]Sheet film holders. Plastic or metal sheet film holders? Catlabs has both and I am not sure what the difference is.
Plastic is plentiful and cheap. Lisco, Fidelity or Riteway (they're all very similar) from Ebay, get a bunch, some may be bad, so get a few more than you need. Toyo holders are very nice, but not so cheap. Linhof holders are very very nice and very very much not cheap! Expect to pay $8-15 for Lisco, Fidelity or Riteway plastic holders in good condition. I have mostly Fidelity holders, plus some Toyo.
Keh is a good source for equipment, not the cheapest, but not as iffy as eBay:
https://www.keh.com/shop/accessories/large-format-accessories.html
[*]Sheet film! Has to be Ilford FP-4 because I have used nothing else since the 1980s and love it.
[*]Developing tank & reels, probably the
Jobo 2500 system because I have been using the 1500 system for decades for my 35/120 negatives.
I picked up a 2500 kit long ago, it had the 2520 drum, one 2509n reel (just like the kit you linked), plus the sheet film loader (#2508). I don't see catlabs selling that particular 3-part combination, but I do like the film loader:
https://www.catlabs.info/product/jobo-2508-sheet-film-loader, so you may want to consider getting one as well.
Some people swear by the film loader, others swear at it. Anyway, if you're used to Jobo, stick with it. Just realize that rotary processing should be 15% less time than non-rotary processing when you're ready to process your first sheets. See times for virtually any film/developer combo here:
https://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php
Oh, and once you buy film, take out two sheets from the box, and sacrifice those two sheets to teaching yourself how to load not just the film holders, but the Jobo reel, in daylight. Practice several times, then practice with your eyes closed, then practice with the sacrificial sheets in your changing bag, then load "real" film. You'll save a lot of future sheets by sacrificing those two!
[*]4x5 negative holder for my Epson V700 scanner. Any suggestions?
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I wanted to get into LF photography my entire life ... but now that I bought a LF camera I am thinking that I must be crazy.
As others have said, your 700 should have come with a 4x5 holder.
Welcome to the madhouse! It's a lot of fun!
Drew