Comments on Toyo 45CF

[Jeffrey]

I am happy with my CF, although I also own other 4x5's. Mine is for sale right now, but not for any problems with it.

Like automobiles, there are horror stories about every model made, and then glowing reports on those same models. The CF does a fine job, especially for the money. Try one.

[Rinthe]

My big problem with the basic design is the lack of back tilt. Even in a field camera, I feel back tilt is one of the essential movements, and couldn't live without it.

My suggestion would be to look at a used 45AX instead. These come up on eBay frequently at good prices, and are quite durable. The extra durability and functionality is worth the extra 2 pounds, I think.

wait what? I'm looking at the toyo website and for both 45AII and 45CF it says:

Base Tilt front & rear 90°+15°

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

[TheFlyingCamera]

You can achieve effective rear tilt by dropping the bed, a la Crown Graphic, and then re-leveling the camera. It's sort of an all-or nothing proposition - 15 degrees or no degrees. You do realize that this is a nearly six year old thread?

[Hikari]

It's sort of an all-or nothing proposition - 15 degrees or no degrees.

Not really. I have a flatbed with a similar design. The rising front gives the degrees above -15.

Old thread? Maybe. But you don't want to rush a large format purchase.

[domaz]

I would bid on the Gowland on Ebay right now instead. Much cheaper and lighter and pretty much indestructible.

[TheFlyingCamera]

Not really. I have a flatbed with a similar design. The rising front gives the degrees above -15.

Old thread? Maybe. But you don't want to rush a large format purchase.

In this case, the rear standard tilts -15 degrees, or 0 degrees, because the drop bed has one detent.

[jnanian]

here is a pdf file from the toyo site
that gives information about the cameras
they line it up with other entry-level cameras ...

http://toyoview.com/Products/45CF/JanEntry45CF.pdf

[Rinthe]

yes i know it's an old thread, so?

thanks for the info. Looking to buy a LF camera

[Andrew4x5]

I have both a Toyo CF and 45A, and am very happy with both. Although the 45A is more robust, has back swing and a rotating back, it is much heavier. Roughly 2.5kg for the 45A and 1.6 for the CF.
So if you are interested in a very light 4x5, then the CF is well worth considering, especially, if like me, you combine it with lightweight lenses, such as a 210/9 Claron.
Although it has plenty of bellows extension, enough in theory for 300mm, there is potential for a lot of vibration with such a long lens - in part because the tripod mount is very close to the back. (By comparison, on the 45A the back and front extend in both directions with long lenses, so that the tripod mount remains roughly in the (stable) middle.)

One advantage of the CF is that you can close the camera without removing the lens, providing it has a Copal 0 shutter and a filter thread less than about 60mm. (Unfortunately, that excludes the Claron with its Copal 1 shutter.

Andrew

[TheFlyingCamera]

Andrew- how do you feel about closing the camera? I remember trying it in the store when they were new and you had to remove the front standard from the focusing track in the bed to get it onto the little rail in the body in order to close it. It always felt like it was going to break or jam when trying to close it. So I passed and later got a Shen Hao HZX ATII. Yes, it's in the same weight category as your 45A, but hiking around with it at 8500 feet (approx 2600 meters) of elevation never bothered me. I also never had a stability issue with it, even when using my longest lens (a 300mm Fujinon T telephoto). That stability and the weatherproof quality of the teak body made the extra weight worthwhile in my opinion. I've never worried about it breaking; I felt like I would always be worried about the 45CF.