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I was in the same boat as you earlier this year. You can get a less expensive 4x5 at the auction site but I really wanted to take pictures with a camera that I built. That and the fact that the Bender is lighter than any of the other 4x5s that I know of closed the deal for me. I plan on doing some hiking to get some nice landscape shots after black fly season here in Green Mountains and Adirondacks. It is bulky and you do have to build it but for me I think it was worth it. I was (and still am) tempted by the Shen Hao, heavy but a nice looking camera. But in this day and age of instant gratification and digital cameras I still want to 'connect' with my subject, experience photography without all the automation getting in the way. So I built the Bender 4x5 and so far have just been shooting black and white and doing all the work in the darkroom. It's been very refreshing.
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I built a Bender 8x10 camera, and I love it. It is BY FAR the lightest 8x10 camera in the world, it fits into a normal school backpack (along with 3 film holders and everything else!) and it is easy to use. If you like building stuff, I say you should get one. Its a very fine camera.
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I built and have used the Bender for 9 years now. It is my traveling 4X5 because it is so light and packs down small. I used it in SE Asia (Cambodia, Thailand, Laos) last year. I mention this because I feel I got my money's worth out of the rig and can travel with it without worrying about it.
It is also nice to build and use accessories: I built an adapter to set the front standard back far enough to use ultra-wide lenses (for about $8.00 in cherry wood and hardware). Finally, Jay Bender is good to work with: he put his name on the camera and has a stake in the success. In an age of declining customer service it is nice to work with Jay.
I am toying with building the Bender 8X10.....
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